Hospital Acquires Medical Facility

Columbia Los Robles Hospital has purchased the former Charter Hospital facility in Westlake Village in order to expand its medical services and health programs--bringing 130 jobs to the Conejo Valley.

Acquired for an undisclosed price, the 55,000-square-foot hospital building at 150 Via Merida will be renovated beginning in about 90 days.

Expected to open in 1998, the new medical facility will include:

* An 11-bed acute rehabilitation department for people who have suffered injuries such as head and spinal trauma.

* A 17- to 19-bed unit for patients 65 and older who have psychiatric as well as medical issues to deal with.

* A 43-bed transitional-care unit for those who are recovering, but still need nursing care and are not well enough to return home.

“We’ve always wanted to expand services, especially those we don’t have out here, and we’ve also found there is a great need for a [transitional care unit],” hospital spokeswoman Kris Carraway said. “Right now there is no place for them to go in the Conejo Valley. They have go to to Northridge or Woodland Hills.”

Also, the Ventura Heart Institute, now situated at Columbia Los Robles Hospital, will be moved to the new center along with the hospital’s cardiac rehabilitation department, now on Hampshire Road. The relocation will give cardiac rehab patients access to a complete gymnasium and provide an aquatic program for physical therapy patients.

“We’re going to open a new facility and employ new people,” Carraway said. “It’s truly a positive moment for the area.”

Charter Hospitals closed its Thousand Oaks facility last year as part of a larger downsizing effort in Southern California.