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October 28, 2002 Harman, Hahn, Oropeza and Others Call On County To Delay Oct. 29th Vote On Trauma Centers And Hospitals-- Vote jeopardizes federal funding and passage of Measure B -- Los Angeles - Rep. Harman joined with Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn, State Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza, and President and CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Rusty Hammer, today in calling on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to delay the October 29 vote on whether to close several of the County's healthcare facilities, including Harbor-UCLA, due to a shortfall in funding for the County's trauma network. The elected officials argued that the October 29 vote is premature for the following two reasons: First, voters should be able to voice their support for the County's trauma system by voting for Measure B - an initiative to provide millions in additional funds for the County's trauma network - on the November 5 ballot before the Supervisors act. Second, the October 29 vote could decrease the likelihood that the federal government will provide additional funds for the County's trauma network when Tom Scully, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administrator for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, visits Harbor-UCLA on November 6. "I urge the County Supervisors to postpone tomorrow's vote," said Harman. "We still have several avenues to pursue to keep Harbor-UCLA and other trauma centers open. Passage of Measure B could bring millions in additional funding to the County's trauma network and Director Scully's visit could also lead to additional funding from the federal government. A vote tomorrow could turn both of these funding avenues into dead ends by making it appear that the fate of our trauma networks is already sealed. Delaying this vote is crucial for the people of Los Angeles." "We are wheeling our system into the emergency room, and letting it die-without any attempt at resuscitation. Let's not pull the plug on our system yet," said Councilwoman Hahn. "Let's keep our system on life support and give these prescriptions-Measure B and additional federal government funding-a chance to work before we pronounce our system dead. We must delay tomorrow's vote."
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