Los Robles Hospital May Buy Charter Site

Officials at Columbia Los Robles Hospital confirmed Wednesday that they are shopping for space in Thousand Oaks to expand their rehabilitation facilities for seniors.

Ron Phelps, chief executive officer at the Thousand Oaks hospital, said the corporation is in negotiations to buy a closed psychiatric hospital in the Westlake neighborhood.

Pending the final sale, Phelps said Columbia will spend up to $2.5 million to remodel the former Charter Hospital of Thousand Oaks--which has been shut down since April--and turn it into a 60-bed rehabilitation center. The new facility will provide basic rehabilitation and transitional care as well as psychiatric services for the elderly. Phelps said it should be open by Jan. 1, 1998.

Columbia also plans to move some of the support services at Los Robles into the new building. Phelps said those departments may include finance, accounting and home health. By shifting those departments, Phelps said more space will open up on the Los Robles campus.

“There are a number of physicians in town who want to relocate their offices nearer to the hospital,” he said. “This will free up space for them in the medical building.”

Originally, Columbia planned to open a similar facility in the former Westlake Medical Center. But that building has been sold to Salick Health Care Inc. and is being converted into a cancer specialty hospital.

The Charter Hospital building is on Via Merida, off Lakeview Canyon Road.

Phelps would not comment on the price, citing ongoing negotiations. He said he expected there to be 100 to 200 new jobs available for nurses, technicians, food service workers and others at the rehabilitation center.