Palomar Pomerado Health President and CEO Michael Covert responds to the Downtown Business Association of Escondido members' concerns at their meeting on Wednesday.
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PPH official seeks to reassure downtown business leaders
By: ANDREA MOSS - Staff Writer
Group sought answers about hospital's renovation, expansion | ∞
Palomar Pomerado Health President and CEO Michael Covert responds to the Downtown Business Association of Escondido members' concerns at their meeting on Wednesday.
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ESCONDIDO -- Seeking to reassure antsy downtown business leaders, Palomar Pomerado Health's top employee said Wednesday that the hospital district is moving forward with plans to renovate and expand Palomar Medical Center, despite rumors to the contrary.
Michael Covert, president and chief executive officer of the public hospital district, addressed the Downtown Business Association's board of directors during a meeting at the organization's Grand Avenue office.
The directors had asked Covert to respond to issues that critics had raised before the board last month.
Those issues include escalating construction costs for an $811 million hospital the district is building in west Escondido and other projects. Critics have said those higher costs have eaten into most of the money originally earmarked for improvements to Palomar Medical Center.
Critics maintain the district will be forced to scale Palomar's renovation way back, as a result.
On Wednesday, association President David Barkin and Executive Director Debra Rosen told Covert that downtown business owners had been disturbed when they heard that, because they rely on the hospital to draw potential customers to their part of the city.
"They're coming to us and asking what we're doing to make sure our business community is going to grow," Rosen said of the association members.
Covert said the district's recent purchases of four properties along Valley Boulevard demonstrate it is going forward with the renovation. The plan calls for Palomar Medical Center to expand across the short street, which runs along the hospital's west side.
The district will ask the city to close Valley Boulevard as soon as Palomar Pomerado acquires a final property on the road, Covert said. And the district expects to move 400 to 500 administrative employees to one of the newly purchased buildings from their current offices in Carmel Mountain Ranch by May, he said.
The number is approximately a third of the employees who are expected to be based on the hospital's campus once it is renovated. Covert said plans have always called for work on Palomar's patient wings and other buildings to be started only after the new hospital opens in late 2011 or early 2012.
Architects working with the district recently finished a second set of designs for that part of the project, he added.
"If we weren't going to do that one, why would we have spent the money on that?" said Covert.
The CEO acknowledged the district's finances will "get real tight" around 2012.
But Covert said that by then, Palomar Pomerado will have paid off revenue bonds that date to the 1990s. That will put the district in a position to borrow money to help pay for improvements at Palomar, he said.
Voters approved $496 million of general obligation bonds in 2002 to help pay for the district's projects. Unlike those bonds, which are paid off with the proceeds of a special assessment added to property tax bills, revenue bonds are paid with the agency's future income.
Critics have publicly questioned plans to parcel out some aspects of Palomar's renovations to developers. Covert told association members that the district's board always envisioned partnering with developers for the construction of retail shops, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, and potential apartments for employees.
"The reason is (my) board doesn't feel its dollars should be put into commercial (development) like retail," he said.
Naysayers' comments notwithstanding, he said, Palomar Pomerado needs the downtown hospital to house some of the health care programs the district wants to offer.
"It's been our end goal to sort of be the anchor on (downtown's) east side," said Covert.
Barkin said after the meeting that he found Covert's answers to be genuine and satisfactory for now.
"At this point, from a personal standpoint, I'm willing to take (Covert's) word that that's the hospital board's intention," Barkin said, referring to the renovation plan.
Even so, he said the organization needs to stay on top of the matter and maintain "tight communications" with district officials.
-- Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.
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Fool on the Hill wrote on Dec 20, 2007 2:00 AM:I have a problem with mixing taxpayer (BB) money and developer money. My opinion is that this is PPH's tactic to get out of their MOU promises. Introduce enough chaos into the mix and no one will know where to point fingers when public gravy train (BB funds) end.
Top Naysayer = Covert wrote on Dec 20, 2007 6:50 AM:Let's look for the source of the rumors, "Palomar Pomerado Health's top employee [Covert] surprised its board of directors Tuesday by asking them to consider building part of a new hospital in stages and delaying Palomar Medical Center's renovation by several years. . . . However, holding off on construction of three buildings associated with the new hospital, delaying Palomar's renovation from 2011 until 2015, and extending the timeline for completion of the second phase of an expansion at Pomerado Hospital would pare the overall cost to $988.4 million, he [Covert] said. . . . The district had planned to start renovating Palomar Medical Center once the new hospital is finished." www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/12/20/news/inland/escondido/19_00_3412_19_07.txt
Mr. Mike’s Traveling Miracle Medicine Show wrote on Dec 20, 2007 7:00 AM:It Sounds Like Mr. Mike’s Traveling Miracle Medicine Show
To President David Barkin wrote on Dec 20, 2007 7:09 AM:President David Barkin you are “Willing to take (Covert's) word ” WOW! Will this be what you are remembered as President? Be careful President Dave. He might try to sell you snake oil.
Expiration Dates wrote on Dec 20, 2007 8:45 AM:PPH refunded its 1993 Series revenue bonds as part of its 2006 Series revenue bond offering made in December 2006. Therefore, PPH must be referring to its 1999 Series revenue bonds. When will those bond be paid off? 2019? The MOU expires on February 8, 2020.
too late to whine wrote on Dec 20, 2007 9:26 AM:Escondido's weak kneed leaders let PPH loose each step of the way. Prop BB funds were promised for things that could never be delivered and that was obvious from the start. Now all of the promises for downtown have drifted into the distant murky future. Blame yourselves!
McLeod Retrofit = $3 to 6 million in 2000 wrote on Dec 20, 2007 9:36 AM:Back in 2000, before Michael Covert came to town, the cost of retrofitting the McLeod tower was a modest $3 million to $6 million. "'We're marching through the hospital stem to stern, looking at every square foot to decide what our future needs will be,' said David Owen, spokesman for the Palomar Pomerado Health System, which encompasses the 333-bed Palomar Medical Center in Escondido and the 199-bed Pomerado Hospital in Poway. Pomerado is in good shape. But there are two unsafe buildings at Palomar Medical Center, including the tower that houses a large number of hospital departments. McLeod Tower, built in 1967, will take by far the most amount of work ---- $3 million to $6 million, officials estimate. The tower ---- highly recognizable to passers-by ---- is in the center of the complex and could be considered the hospital's nerve center. It houses surgery rooms, oncology, radiology, mental health, pediatrics, orthopedics and the Graybill Auditorium. The Adams wing, built in 1957, houses administrative offices and is expected to cost $400,000 to retrofit. The problem, hospital officials say, is the non-construction costs, which have yet to be determined. Depending on how intensive the repairs are, those can include the costs of closing whole units and relocating patients, the costs to move expensive machines and the costs to build temporary housing for the displaced patients, doctors and machinery. 'The basic cost of construction is relatively minor compared to what other hospitals have to spend,' Owen said. 'But we have no way to guess what other expenses we are talking about. It might take $3 million to fix the wall, but another $3 million to $4 million to move all the X-ray stuff.' It's all going to take money better spent on program and patient care, hospital officials said." www.nctimes.com/articles/2000/06/11/export10392.txt
Business Leaders ? wrote on Dec 20, 2007 11:19 AM:The DBA Business Leaders ? "At this point, from a personal standpoint, I'm willing to take (Covert's) word that that's the hospital board's intention," Barkin said, referring to the renovation plan." Business Leaders NO, Puppets YES
Where is the Money ? wrote on Dec 20, 2007 11:28 AM:Downtown was to get from Prop BB $ 73 Million then $ 93 Million NOW $ 3 Million and President David Barkin believes them? Mr. Barkin you can’t be serious!
Medical Village ?^%#&%? wrote on Dec 20, 2007 11:30 AM:So NOW when will the "Medical Village" arrive ?
PPH'sFuture Spending Priorities wrote on Dec 20, 2007 2:10 PM:As reported months ago, PPH will have over $100+ million in high priority, unfinished projects, needing funding when revenue bond money becomes available after 2017. "On Tuesday [May 22, 2007], Covert put the price tag at $1.15 billion. . . . However, holding off on construction of three buildings associated with the new hospital, delaying Palomar's renovation from 2011 until 2015, and extending the timeline for completion of the second phase of an expansion at Pomerado Hospital would pare the overall cost to $988.4 million, he [Covert] said." www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/12/20/news/inland/escondido/19_00_3412_19_07.txt Needing funding will be: I. Three buildings (Women's Center, Hospital Support, and Outpatient) at the new hospital's ERTC site; the second phase of expansion at Pomerado Hospital; and the PMC renovations. Mr. Covert claims the Board's intentions are or will be to fund the PMC renovations, rather than to fund the second phase of expansion at Pomerado Hospital, or the Women's Center, Hospital Support, and Outpatient Buildings at PMC West. That is truly wishful thinking to believe that the PPH Board has such a funding priority in mind.
Wake up Escondido wrote on Dec 20, 2007 2:31 PM:Wake up Escondido! The Wolf is in the Hen House
William B wrote on Dec 22, 2007 1:02 AM:As far as I can see PPH is on line and on time with what they promised (buying buildings downtown and moving people in. All this controversy is because of those same few people writing all these comments under different names trying to stir up trouble. I guess that's all some people are good for. Tearing down.
Esco resident wrote on Dec 23, 2007 6:05 PM:Where is LT? arent they paying him 2 million?
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