The bigger picture

The text below is prompted by three AV Press articles pertaining to the recent defeat of proposition H, funding for the replacement of the 1955 established Antelope Valley Hospital structures.

They are: “Moving forward,” authored by Mr. Michael Rives, a former AV Medical Center Board of Directors member, published Tuesday, June 21, 2022; “Ditch the Taj Mahal concept,” authored by Ms. Valerie Morales, published Saturday, June 18, 2022; and my article, “The voters have spoken,” published Thursday, June 16, 2022.

It is obvious, by Mr. Rives article, that there is serious non-agreement between Mr. Rives and the AV Medical Center Board. In Ms. Morales’s article, she expresses dislike, in her opinion, for the extravagant appearance of publicized appearance of the replacement structures.

I believe that both parties are losing perspective of the fact that the 1955 structures require replacement. My understanding is that if these structures are not replaced, because of State mandated unresolved corrective seismic issues, dating back to the 1963 timeframe, the state may shut the most violating portions of the hospital down.

Again, I point out vividly, the Antelope Valley Medical Center operates the only Trama Center in the Antelope Valley.

The Palmdale Reginal Hospital’s emergency room is not L.A. County certified to operate as a Trama Center.

Thus, if AV Medical Center’s Trama Center disappears, Trama Center patients must be transported miles away from the Valley.

As with Trama cases, minutes are precious and hours are deadly, we need to retain our County certified Trama Center.

I am not sure what the Medical Center’s Board’s next move is, but Antelope Valley populace education is mandatory.

Gordon V. Jefferson

Lancaster