PPH Has Given Up on PMC. Should Sell It.
The Palomar Medical Center in Escondido should be sold to those who care. A scaled-down PMC is a viable hospital platform for serving the communities of Escondido and Valley Center. PMC has 180,000 square feet of hospital space built since 1987 [that] is in full compliance with the seismic requirements of SB 1953. Housed in this compliant space is the heart of an acute care hospital and trauma center. Furthermore, the parking structure and heliport, built in 1985, are in compliance with the seismic requirements. The potential conversion of the eastern portion of the parking structure into usable hospital space should be investigated.
The Palomar Pomerado Hospital District has given up on PMC as a usable acute care hospital and trauma center and wants to dismantle its modern and seismically compliant facilities. Instead of dismantling PMC, the district should sell it, giving fair credit to the communities of Escondido and Valley Center for the tax burdens imposed by Proposition BB. The district should keep its administrative office at the present location. The outpatient and mental health facilities that are currently planned for PMC may be sited on the 6.6 acres that the district has purchased in the Escondido Research and Technology Center.
Pomerado may have some minor competition from the scaled-down PMC, but the current "landlocked" location and smaller size of PMC would make it unlikely to compete with Pomerado in the rapid growth areas outside of Escondido and Valley Center. Palomar Pomerado Hospital District is the largest hospital district in California, covering an 800 square mile area experiencing rapid population growth. However, the most rapid growth is occurring outside of Escondido and Valley Center. San Marcos is now a vibrant city and freeway traffic concerns alone may encourage the future building of an acute care hospital in San Marcos or Vista of the same size as the current Pomerado Hospital. The district's rush to build a mega-hospital complex would eliminate that option.
The district has threatened to put its acute-care hospital outside Escondido if it cannot build its mega-hospital complex in the ERTC. Such a move would be unacceptable for a public hospital district, and the threat of such a move is a strong indicator that this one has grown too big. If the district is unwilling to maintain PMC as a scaled-down acute hospital and trauma center, or if it is unwilling to sell PMC at a fair price, the hospital district should be split along an east-west line following the San Dieguito River, Lake Hodges and San Pasqual Valley.
Published in the Union Tribune: Thursday, May 26, 2005 - Another Way to keep hospital in Escondido
Links to picture and map of the PMC showing contruction phases:
http://members.cox.net/4robroy/escondido/PMC-BlogD.pdf (146 KB)
http://members.cox.net/4robroy/escondido/PMC-Blog.GIF (93KB)
The Palomar Pomerado Hospital District has given up on PMC as a usable acute care hospital and trauma center and wants to dismantle its modern and seismically compliant facilities. Instead of dismantling PMC, the district should sell it, giving fair credit to the communities of Escondido and Valley Center for the tax burdens imposed by Proposition BB. The district should keep its administrative office at the present location. The outpatient and mental health facilities that are currently planned for PMC may be sited on the 6.6 acres that the district has purchased in the Escondido Research and Technology Center.
Pomerado may have some minor competition from the scaled-down PMC, but the current "landlocked" location and smaller size of PMC would make it unlikely to compete with Pomerado in the rapid growth areas outside of Escondido and Valley Center. Palomar Pomerado Hospital District is the largest hospital district in California, covering an 800 square mile area experiencing rapid population growth. However, the most rapid growth is occurring outside of Escondido and Valley Center. San Marcos is now a vibrant city and freeway traffic concerns alone may encourage the future building of an acute care hospital in San Marcos or Vista of the same size as the current Pomerado Hospital. The district's rush to build a mega-hospital complex would eliminate that option.
The district has threatened to put its acute-care hospital outside Escondido if it cannot build its mega-hospital complex in the ERTC. Such a move would be unacceptable for a public hospital district, and the threat of such a move is a strong indicator that this one has grown too big. If the district is unwilling to maintain PMC as a scaled-down acute hospital and trauma center, or if it is unwilling to sell PMC at a fair price, the hospital district should be split along an east-west line following the San Dieguito River, Lake Hodges and San Pasqual Valley.
Published in the Union Tribune: Thursday, May 26, 2005 - Another Way to keep hospital in Escondido
Links to picture and map of the PMC showing contruction phases:
http://members.cox.net/4robroy/escondido/PMC-BlogD.pdf (146 KB)
http://members.cox.net/4robroy/escondido/PMC-Blog.GIF (93KB)
posted by Robroy at 12:01 PM
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