Antelope Valley Hospital sues Los Angeles County over Measure B trauma funds
The hospital should be receiving at least $12 million a year, it claims.
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Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, California has followed through on a threat and has sued Los Angeles County and its board of supervisors for misallocation of Measure B trauma funds, according to a statement from the hospital.
Antelope Valley Hospital has the second highest volume of emergency patients in the county, yet receives less than one-half of 1 percent of Measure B property tax funds meant for trauma centers and emergency medical services, it stated.
Measure B was approved by the county's voters the year after Sept. 11, 2001, to ensure an effective response to medical emergencies and threats of biological and chemical terrorism.
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In the lawsuit filed Sept. 15, Antelope Valley Hospital claims Los Angeles County has failed to properly administer and allocate billions of dollars in Measure B revenue.
The hospital seeks equitable relief and economic damages.
No one from the board of supervisors could be reached for comment.
A state audit has been critical of how the county handles Measure B funds, stating it has given more money to its own county-run, non-trauma hospital than to all 12 trauma hospitals combined, according to Dr. Pavel Petrik, chairman of the department of surgery and trauma medical director at AVH.
The report pointed out that the board of supervisors disbanded Measure B's mandatory oversight committee, according to Petrik.
Antelope Valley brought a complaint against the county earlier this year saying it would file a formal lawsuit if nothing changed. The hospital waited more than the required amount of time before suing the county, it stated.
"Despite repeated reassurances from the county that AVH would receive its fair share of funding, our hospital has been all but forgotten by the county – in favor of those hospitals that are closer to the county seat," Petrik said in a statement. "Litigation is not our first choice, but all other avenues have been exhausted."
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Measure B generates an estimated $256 million in revenue a year.
The hospital should be receiving at least $12 million of those funds, according to the hospital. It is currently being reimbursed slightly over $1 million a year, it stated.
The 420-bed Antelope Valley Hospital, in northern Los Angeles County, is a Level II trauma center. The shortage of trauma funds leaves AV Hospital underfunded, hospital officials said earlier this year.
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