By Bruce Barton
 Measure D, if passed, will enlarge the emergency room at El Camino Hospital. |
The community’s allegiance to El Camino Hospital will be put to the test next Tuesday when residents will be asked to pay $148 million of a nearly $300 million rebuilding project required to seismically upgrade the main tower.
Measure D, on the Nov. 4 ballot, asks voters in the hospital district to authorize the sale of general obligation bonds that would cost taxpayers $12.90 annually per $100,000 assessed valuation. In other words, homeowner with a $1 million assessed valuation would pay $129 annually.
In return, hospital officials promise a new hospital tower that meets the higher seismic standards required under state Senate bill 1953. At the same time, they plan to enlarge the emergency room, update facilities to include more outpatient services, and make parking and traffic flow more efficient.
“This is a benefit to the entire community,” said Jon Friedenberg, vice president of resource development for the hospital and leading the Measure D campaign. He said the hospital’s emergency room is the chief reason why voters should support the measure.
“A critical part of the community is the emergency response system,” Friedenberg said. “Most (patients in the district) go through our emergency room. If you’re on Kaiser, the ambulance doesn’t drive another 20 minutes to get to Santa Clara.”
El Camino’s location, on Grant Road in Mountain View, offers convenient access to those throughout the district, from Los Altos to Sunnyvale. But Friedenberg said Measure D funds would pay for expanding the emergency room, “dramatically reducing wait times.”
In addition, an observation area would be part of the ER, allowing for only the most critical of patients in the ER itself. Plans also call for an urgent care center to serve patients from the ER who need immediate attention but not emergency assistance.
The 1994 Northridge earthquake, which left three hospitals badly damaged, spurred passage of a bill requiring all hospitals to be seismically safe by 2008. If El Camino receives the two-thirds majority needed for the bond, groundbreaking for the project would be scheduled for 2005 with completion set for 2008.
Mountain View attorney Gary Westley said Measure D asks the public to finance a plan he says is overkill. He claims hospital officials admitted only a small portion of the main building would need to be retrofitted, and added that building a new hospital at $300 million would never be required by any state mandate.
Friedenberg countered that hospitals are being rebuilt throughout the state because of the new seismic standards. He added that a Byron Sher-sponsored state Senate bill prohibits public hospitals from making such changes without a vote of the residents.
Measure D, he said, pays for less than half the cost of the project. The remainder would come from private donations and hospital funds.
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