Medical Hubs to Spur Valley's Growth

Courtesy: Jim Skeen AVPress Nov 10 2016 LANCASTER - A plan to turn the area around Antelope Valley Hospital into a "Medical Main Street" will help keep talent from leaving the region and will spur economic development, city officials said Wednesday. The city wants to create a medical and healthy lifestyle hub on roughly 360 acres around the hospital. The area includes about 100 vacant acres, of which roughly 40% are owned by the hospital, which is partnering with the city on the effort. During a presentation before the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, Councilman Raj Mahli talked about how area students leave the valley to attend college and do not return. As an example, Mahli said two of his high school friends left the valley and became doctors and never returned. Medical Main Street will create a desirable area that will give students a reason to return after college, he said. "My high school buddies aren't coming here," Mahli said. "What I really hope is when my son and his friends graduate from high school and go away that they will come back and work in this community." The area the city is looking at stretches from 20th Street West to east of 12th Street West at Avenue J, and from north of Avenue J to the shopping center on 15th Street West north of Avenue K that contains offices of High Desert Medical Group. "Today the hospital is very isolated," said Chenin Dow, a management analyst with the city. "We would like to bring dining opportunities, shopping opportunities and also housing opportunities for the doctors and nurses." The city has approximately $13 million in grant funding secured for the initial improvements to the area. Sargent Town Planning, a Los Angeles-based firm that specializes in urban planning and designs that emphasize pedestrian- and transit-oriented neighborhoods, has been hired to prepare a master plan and environmental impact report for the project. The planning work is about 40% complete and will take about a year to 18 months to finish, said Vern Lawson Jr., Lancaster's economic development director. Sargent will also prepare an economic analysis for the project. The hospital already employs about 2,500 workers, Lawson said. "I would expect to double that," Lawson said. "We certainly have room to grow. We've always been the center of medical in the Antelope Valley and we want to make sure we continue that and that we shift with the times. I think this plan does that."

Antelope Valley’s Expanding Medical Centers

Portions contributed by Jim Skeen in AV Press article Palmdale Regional Medical Center opened in December 2010, it ended Palmdale's 14 years of being the largest city in California without a hospital. According to a recent AV Press article the facility has 157 beds and can increase to 230. According to the article, the region does have to do a better job at building up the number of primary care physicians. There appears to be a lack of initial care facilities, and not more primary care facilities, but not enough primary care doctors. We previously wrote about the new Kaiser Medical center in Lancaster. It will open this month on 5th Street West at Ave L. This is an expansion for Kaiser as they have been in the area since the late 60’s. They have expanded this past decade as well with a Palmdale clinic in 2003, and expanded the Lancaster facility in 2008. Part of the need for this growth by Kaiser is its own growth. They have over 100,000 members in the valley today with over 10 increase over this past decade. Antelope Valley Hospital on 60th West near the prison was the main hospital in the Valley for decades. It currently serves about 200,000 patients. It has been the only full service facility in the Valley for decades. The AV Press article indicated that there are lack of mental health facilities in the valley. Due in part to the lack of psychiatrists. Our research has shown that Psychiatry has become merely a pharma drug pushing practice. They have gone away from the talk therapy, and happy left the lobotomies, electric shock treatments and strait-jackets in their past. Just this past June High Desert Regional Health Center Opened a $141.5 million High Desert Regional Health Center opened at Avenue I and Third Street East, which is run by LA Dept. of Health. Antelope Valley has seen a number of medical groups, and hospitals open or expand. This shows that these facilities see populations expanding in the valley spurning growth of these facilities. Growth and expansion is what the Antelope Valley needs to ensure a vibrant future.