Tehachapi is getting a brand new $67 million hospital, but it comes at a big cost to residents. Over two-thirds majority of Tehachapi residents passed a bond to pay for the new facility that will have an intensive care unit and a maternity ward. However, not everyone is happy with the new construction because a big chunk of that money will come from local property taxes.
CEO of Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District Alan Burgess showed us the old hospital currently used by local residents. "It uses a pulley and a weight to close the door," Burgess said swinging the door open to show the out-dated set up. "And these are heavy doors."
Burgess is first to admit it's not the most state of the art medical center. In fact, Tehachapi Hospital hasn't had a major upgrade since it was built in 1955. "Expansions" include a double-wide full of business offices, a mass casualty mobile morgue, and a rehabilitation center. Burgess says state law required him to update, relocate or shut down in the next three years.
"We need a replacement facility," he explained. "Our old hospital doesn't meet the current seismic standards and right now our drop dead date, pardon the expression, would be January 1, 2013."
The current hospital only has one private room and rooms full of outdated equipment. Whereas the new hospital will have 25 private rooms, brand new equipment, and a maternity ward--something Isabel Juarez wished the old hospital had last month. That's when Juarez was forced to travel 40 miles to the nearest maternity ward to have her baby Brian.
"I had my baby in Bakersfield at KMC (Kern Medical Center)," Juarez said. "It was hard work."
Dr. Mike Santillanes says time is of the essence in his line of work, and the current hospital is not up to speed.
"We don't even have a place for a helicopter to land," Dr. Santillanes said. "So if we need to helicopter somebody out because of weather conditions or the road is closed, they can't even land at this current hospital. They have to land at the airport and then they have to drive here and drive back to the airport. Whereas the new hospital will have a helicopter landing location."
Residents who voted for the plan say it couldn't come sooner. Barbara Wilhelm's mother took a bad fall and needed surgery, but Tehachapi Hospital doesn't have a surgical unit.
"We had to wait until they could find a doctor in either Bakersfield or Lancaster that would agree to accept her and do the surgery and that took 12 hours," Wilhelm said.
Since times are tough, even several supporters say it was hard to take on the additional property taxes that come with the hospital.
"I'm not big on the property tax increases obviously but this is one of the things we definitely need," Paulette Rush said.
Burgess argues the additional property taxes per household won't be that costly to local residents. He said an owner of a $200 thousand house would pay about $116 per year in additional property taxes to pay for the new hospital which is set to open before January 2013.
