Last call for a new ER

Last call for a new ER

John Edelston, who’ll take the oath of office soon as the newest member of the Agoura Hills City Council, says he’ll try to get a Critical Access Hospital for the local area.

Unlike several local politicians, Edelston will give the idea more than just lip service. He actually works in the healthcare industry.

In this area, Edelston certainly isn’t the first city council candidate who promised to work on acquiring a new ER. But the previous politicians were "big talk, little do."

To constantly blabber about the need for an emergency room is easy—anyone can do it—and it probably captured plenty of votes from citizens in previous elections who desperately wanted to believe anyone who said, "I will work hard to get a new emergency room for this area."

But when it was time for reelection, the same candidates were suddenly quiet. They had used their campaign rhetoric about getting an emergency room as a one-way ticket to office. When they failed, they realized that it was time to shut up and talk about other issues.

We hope that Edelston can breathe new life into the concept.

It won’t be easy because small hospitals can’t make enough money to survive. And you can’t build an ER without a hospital around it. Meanwhile, Los Robles Regional Medical Center is expanding. It’s the only hospital with an ER that serves the local area. Los Robles will have a bigger and better ER, but it won’t be any closer to Las Virgenes.

If Edelston can’t find a solution, the whole idea should be shelved—once and for all.

And if the concept dies, we can be suspicious of any future candidate who uses the need for an ER as a campaign issue.

If Edelston can’t get it done, nobody can.

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