AVMC Board Moves Forward With Hospital Measure

Measure would ensure the region has access to quality health care services and state-of-the-art hospital

Lancaster, Calif. – The Board of Directors voted unanimously at its Nov. 20 meeting to put a bond measure on the March 2020 ballot to build a new, state-of-the-art Antelope Valley Medical Center (AV Hospital) to serve the region’s 500,000 residents. A new hospital is critical because the current facility, which was built in the 1950’s, does not meet the State of California’s new seismic safety standards. State officials have set a January 1, 2025 deadline for the construction of a new hospital. If a new AV Hospital is not built by 2025, the hospital will be forced to close.

“Antelope Valley Medical Center is more than a hospital. It’s where our parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, children and grandchildren were born,” said Mateo Olivarez, RN, Antelope Valley Healthcare District Board Chair. “Every year, 220,000 people receive extraordinary care at the hospital regardless of their ability to pay. Nobody is ever turned away.”

A new hospital would allow the region to have access to a state-of-the-art hospital with new technology, a lifesaving trauma center, the best doctors and nurses and reduced Emergency Room wait times. Important benefits include:

• A new Emergency Room with a larger capacity, designed specifically to reduce patient wait times and protect patient privacy, would significantly assist with the 130,000 Emergency Room visits we see per year.
• Doubling the pediatrics unit which currently serves nearly 1,200 children annually.
• Improved care by attracting and retaining highly trained and talented doctors and nurses.
• New senior services, better treatment for stroke patients and protected access to AV Hospital’s Comprehensive Community Cancer Center & STEMI Receiving Center.
• Increasing the hospital’s workforce.

“Closing the hospital would mean losing a Level 2 trauma center, forcing critically injured patients to be transported more than 50 miles to Los Angeles during crucial moments that could mean life or death. We also recognize our growing community needs two hospitals,” said Edward Mirzabegian, AV Hospital CEO. “This measure reinforces our commitment to quality, affordable health care, public safety and a brighter future for the communities we serve.”