Area hospitals keep eye out for St. John's
By Michelle Knight  knight@theacorn.com

Area hospital administrators say none of the local facilities have been inundated with patients since St. John's Regional Medical Center of Oxnard closed on Aug. 8 for mold fumigation. State regulators are expected to give the 265-bed hospital the go-ahead to reopen.

At Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, President Jim Sherman said the closure of the Oxnard hospital has had little impact.

The 265-bed Los Robles facility prepared for a possible boost in patient load by readying a pool of medical staff, including an extra emergency room physician, Sherman said.

"But the reality is we did not need to bring them in," Sherman said.

Jerry Conway, president of St. John's Pleasant Valley, said his hospital has seen an average of 125 patients a day, about 40 more than usual since the closure. The Camarillo hospital prepared for the increase by opening a second eight-bed intensive care unit and an additional outpatient and surgical room, he said.

Mike Ellingson, spokesman for Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, said his facility added more admissions and emergency room doctors to accommodate the 30 to 40 more patients they've seen in the ER and in labor and delivery.

"Everything has been running very smoothly for us," Ellingson said.