Press Release 

April 16, 2002    

Cottage Health System, Public Affairs                                                                                                  

            The Board of Directors of Cottage Health System has announced its commitment to continuing acute-care services at Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital (GVCH), despite a projected operating loss of $4 million for 2002.

            In recent weeks, Cottage President and CEO Ron Werft has openly shared concerns about financial challenges facing the 122-bed Goleta hospital, which has been averaging 12 acute-care patients per night and losing more than $330,000 a month in spite of concentrated efforts to enhance activity. In addition to the financial losses, the hospital must decide on how it will meet new seismic safety standards required for all acute-care hospitals in California. Retrofitting costs are estimated at $19 million, with a total rebuild of the Patterson Avenue facility running $80 million. Because these requirements apply only to acute-care hospitals, one of the options being considered at the Goleta campus was to concentrate services on the already busy emergency department and outpatient services, and close inpatient beds.

            In the next several months, increased efforts will be made to develop relationships with physicians and physician groups, to educate the community about the option of choosing GVCH for their hospital stay, to determine if there are additional services which could be relocated to GVCH from Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, and to further improve governmental and other third-party reimbursement to the hospital.

The Cottage Health System Board also agreed that should any changes to inpatient services need to be made in the future, at least six months’ prior notice would be given to the community before such changes would take place.

 

Committee To Save Goleta Valley Hospital   PO BOX 8552 GOLETA, CA 93118

Web Design by SantaBarbaraDirect.com