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October 23, 2014
Hospital prepares to close emergency room
D e L u z , R a i n b ow , C a m p P e ndl e t o n , Pa l a ,
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Volume 18, Issue 43
Fallbrook Airpark celebrates 50 years
Urgent care to move in Andrea Verdin Special to The Village News Administrators of Fallbrook Hospital (Community Health Systems) held a public hearing Oct. 14 at Fallbrook Public Utility District to talk to community members about plans for emergency services, based on the fact that the Tennesseebased corporation gave notice to terminate their lease effective Nov. 17. The meeting was an opportunity for the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) for the County of San Diego, Health and Human Services Agency to collect public comment for an impact study. Though the decision to end services is supposedly not final, the Fallbrook Healthcare District has looked for options that would continue to provide healthcare services to the community. According to Steve Abbott, president of the Fallbrook Healthcare District, the decision has been “nothing short of agonizing.” Fallbrook Healthcare District received only two proposals, one of which included turning the hospital campus into an expanded clinic. “The other proposal was never really an option because it put all the risk and cost completely on the district,” said Abbott. “It would have made us bankrupt in less than a year.”
see HOSPITAL, page A-13
thisweek
Announcements ������������������������A-2 Business ��������������������������������������C-6 Classifieds �������������������������������� A-10 Dining �������������������������������������������B-7 Education �������������������������������������C-7 Entertainment ��������������������������C-10 Health & Fitness ������������������������B-2 Home & Garden ������������������������D-2 Legals .........................................C-14 Obituaries ���������������������������������C-12 Opinion ����������������������������������������A-5 Real Estate ����������������������������������D-2 Sports �������������������������������������������C-1
Local pilot Bob Hume banks his Twin Bonanza to approach for landing at Fallbrook Airpark.
Tom Wilson photo
Rides to public will highlight Fly Fallbrook! this Saturday Joe Naiman Village News Correspondent T h i s S a t u r d a y ’s F l y Fallbrook! celebration at Fallbrook Community Airpark, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the first flight at the airport, will focus on public rides. Fly Fallbrook! will be held Saturday, Oct. 25, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friends of the Fallbrook Community Air Park (FCAP) and the County of San Diego, which operates Fallbrook Community Airpark, are sponsoring the event while Fallbrook High School is being utilized for parking. “We are trying to give as many people a ride as we possibly can that day,” said FCAP secretary Tom Wilson. “We’re going to have
as many planes and pilots and support that we can there.” The public festivities will be held at the viewing common so that the airport will remain open for normal operation – although the number of operations will likely exceed the normal weekend total. “We just don’t know how many people are going to show,” Wilson said. The Experimental Aircraft Association (under Federal Aviation Administration standards an aircraft which is self-built or modified is classified as experimental) has a Young Eagles program which provides rides for children ages 8 through 17 in an effort to increase aviation interest among youth. A Young Eagles
Rally is normally held at Fallbrook Community Airpark twice each year, and Fly Fallbrook! will include this fall’s Young Eagles Rally. The EAA will have both a Young Eagles Rally and an Eagles Rally for passengers 18 or older during Fly Fallbrook! Wilson expects the rides to take approximately 30 minutes including ground time. Initially FCAP planned for pilots to take passengers on a first-come, firstserved basis, but the procedure was changed to an hourly lottery of passengers who will fly with certainty. That lottery procedure also means that those who will not be flying can wait elsewhere. In the event that not all desired passengers can be accommodated, FCAP may make arrangements for
flights at a later date. The pilots will be donating both their time and the aviation fuel, so the rides are free to the public. “I don’t know who enjoys it more: the pilots or the people who go for the ride,” Wilson said. Shuttle buses between Fallbrook High School and Fallbrook Community Airpark are also free of charge. There will be no parking at the airport, and the shuttle buses will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The viewing common will have booths and a food court. The Fallbrook Firefighters Association will have a kitchen serving pancake breakfasts and hamburger lunches. The activity-themed
see AIRPARK, page A-13
Is San Diego County ready for Ebola?
Village News
Debbie Ramsey Managing Editor Healthcare facilities in San Diego County are preparing for a worst-case scenario... receiving a patient with the Ebola virus. Dr. Wilma Wooten, public health officer for the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, said the possibility of an Ebola patient being received locally is real and explained why. “We are a global community; people travel here and there; they fly here from other locations; it’s certainly possible,” she said. Based on that, Wooten said healthcare centers countywide are updating their practices and procedures. “We want our healthcare system and our infrastructure system to be prepared and equipped to handle an Ebola patient if we are faced with one,” she explained. “As the County Health Officer, it is my job to protect the health of the public, but I can’t do it by
see EBOLA, page B-2 In addition to conducting a drill on Oct. 7 to prepare for the possibility of a patient with
the Ebola virus, Palomar Health conducted a decontamination drill (above) on Oct. 16.
Courtesy photo