Palomar officials optimistic on bond measure's chances

By: ANDREA MOSS - Staff Writer | Saturday, August 7, 2004 9:12 PM PDT ∞

NORTH COUNTY ---- The decision to put a bond measure on the November ballot was just the first step for Palomar Pomerado Health in getting the money it needs to build a third hospital and improve existing medical facilities.

The public health district now must persuade voters that its request to dip into property owners' wallets to the tune of $496 million is justified.

Hospital district officials said last week they are confident they can meet that challenge.

"When we've gotten the word out (about the reasons for the expansion), it's resonated very positively and very strongly with the community," said Michael Covert, Palomar Pomerado Health president and chief executive officer. "I feel very positive about the potential for the passage of the bond.

History is also on the hospital district's side, said Ted Kleiter, one of seven Palomar Pomerado Health directors.

"All the times that we've ever gone to the people (for money), we've explained why we needed it and they supported it," Kleiter said. "That's three times, and three times they approved it. So I feel very confident."

The directors unanimously agreed Wednesday to put the bond measure on the ballot. The move is part of a three-part financing package designed to raise the money needed to pay for a $753 million expansion that directors approved last month.

Upgrading for the future

Scheduled to be carried out during the next 10 to 12 years, the project is designed to help Palomar Pomerado meet new state earthquake-proofing requirements and the medical services needs of an area whose population is expected to grow by 30 percent in the next 25 years.

Construction of a new $531 million medical center in or around Escondido is the central component of the expansion plan. The new facility would replace Palomar Medical Center as North County's only trauma center.

The expansion plan also calls for:

n The existing hospital, which has dominated Escondido's downtown area for 50 years, to be downsized to a 72-bed speciality facility for psychiatric and rehabilitation patients.

n Poway's Pomerado Hospital to double in size.

n Palomar Pomerado Health to build four or five outpatient centers in such communities as Ramona, Valley Center and Rancho Penasquitos.

If two-thirds of the voters OK it, the bond measure will provide about two-thirds of the money needed for the expansion. The rest would come from $210 million worth of revenue bonds to be sold by the health district and $70 million in cash and donations, under the financing plan.

State law prohibits public agencies from promoting measures that would benefit them. Conducting informational campaigns is allowed, though, under the law.

Out to educate voters

Palomar Pomerado Health's public education efforts began months ago in the form of dozens of presentations that hospital district officials have made throughout the 800-square-mile area served by the district. California's largest public hospital, it serves people in San Marcos east to Ramona, and Poway north to the Riverside County line.

The presentations focused on Palomar Medical Center's role as North County's only trauma center, its age ---- parts of the hospital are 50 years old ---- and the fact that North County's population is expected to grow by 30 percent, or from 452,738 to 592,825 people, in the next 25 years.

The health district mailed similar information to area residents and conducted a community survey designed to identify people's top concerns for the region.

Early response to the campaign suggests that many residents view health care as a majority priority and have had first-hand experiences, including long waits in the emergency rooms at Palomar or Pomerado, that persuaded them the project is necessary, hospital district officials said.

"There's a growing awareness is what we've found," Covert said.

Poway attorney Pauline Getz is among those who learned about the district's plan through the presentations, which district officials call "community conversations." Twice was enough to prompt her to sign up as a volunteer with a 200-plus force of community leaders recruited to serve on an advocacy team for the district, she said.

"We are the ones responsible, I think, for making certain that we have whatever care and support that we need for ourselves and our family and future generations even," Getz said. "It's our body."

If the bond measure passes, homeowners throughout the health district would see their annual property taxes go up by an estimated $17.75 per $100,000 of assessed value, for about 30 years. Palomar Pomerado Health officials have said that, for the average homeowner, the increase will be about $50 a year.

Cost-benefit equation

They have also said that without the expansion, Palomar will be unable to accommodate overnight patients when the state seismic requirements start kicking in in 2013. Spreading the cost vs. benefits message is an advocacy team goal, Getz said.

"There's no fairy godmother out there who says, 'well geez, they need another hospital ---- poof! ---- let's put one out there.' That's not going to happen," Getz said. "And if it means we have to pay an extra $45 or $50 per year (to get one) ... it's a no-brainer ---- it's something we simply must do."

Voters approved a $900,000 bond measure in the 1950s to pay for the construction of the first of two Palomar Medical Center towers that now house its patients. In 1966, a successful bond measure raised $6.85 million to build the second tower.

The hospital district sold $12 million in revenue bonds in the late 1980s to build Pomerado Hospital. Although that type of bond does not require voter approval, the health district sought and received advisory approval of the project at the ballot box, Kleiter said.

The hospital board's decision not to rely solely on a bond measure to fund the expansion and a requirement written into the new bond measure should reassure the expansion plan's skeptics, he said. The requirement calls for the district to form a citizens oversight committee that will make sure the bond money is spent solely on the expansion, within 90 days of the measure's passage.

"It's a sign that this is what we plan to do, and that's what we're going to use it for," Kleiter said. "I think the people understand why the North County is growing as fast as it is and (that) we're the main provider up here ---- and we intend to remain that way and intend to expand to meet that need."

Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.

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