This time, NBC Universal figured out it needed some neighborly support. In announcing a 25-year master plan for its 391-acre Universal City property this month, the media conglomerate learned lessons from previous failed plans and went to the community to build a consensus about the massive project. The tactic, started at least six months ago, has triggered an unexpected about-face among some business and community groups, which have historically had an icy relationship with the studio: they’re withholding judgment until all the specifics are fleshed out. “We’re waiting for all the details. We haven’t seen the whole project yet,” said Richard K. Bogy, chair of government affairs and community development for the Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce. The blueprint calls for a considerable overhaul of the historic production facility and back lot, including refurbishing the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park by adding 80,000 square feet of retail and dining, plus 35,000 square feet of additional retail and dining, a 3,000-seat entertainment venue and a 500-room hotel at City Walk. Thomas Properties Group, meanwhile, plans to develop a 650,000-square-foot studio and office campus near the Universal City MTA station at Lankershim Boulevard and Campo de Cahuenga Way. But the centerpiece would be the 124-acre, nearly 3,000-unit residential element called Universal Village centered on the eastern portion of the back lot, a largely undeveloped area hemmed in by existing hillside homes to the east. Tom Smith, senior vice president of West Coast real estate for NBC Universal, said crews would also construct a new surface road from Forest Lawn Drive through the back lot to Coral Drive, the connector road just north of the Hollywood (101) Freeway (also called Buddy Holly Drive). The street would serve as a “Great Street,” housing 100,000 square feet of retail and dining in addition to 2,900 apartments, condominiums and homes. All told, the 25-year project could add more than $3 billion in direct investment in the Valley. At a Dec. 6 press conference, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called the proposal a “golden opportunity to make the vision of new urban design a reality.” “With a housing crisis, traffic congestion and an ever-growing population, this is the face of smart, responsible, environmentally-friendly development for the future,” he said. Victor Viereck, a vice president for the Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, also applauded the project. “Any additional housing, even when it’s all market rate, helps the overall supply, which helps the affordability,” he said. “When people are earning money they can afford it.” Viereck also pointed to the impact on the NoHo Arts District, a redeveloped section of Lankershim Boulevard teeming with art galleries, theater scene and the new 278-unit Lofts at Noho Commons. “It will spur additional good development from there,” Viereck said. “That will be helpful.” Community concern The expansion, however, has reignited two long-held fears about any project at Universal: increased traffic and noise. “The concerns are always about the Cahuenga Pass and Barham and people trying to access the freeway,” said Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council President Anastasia Mann. “It’s already congested.” Villaraigosa said he’s aware the worries. “While I welcome this project with open arms, I completely understand your legitimate concerns about its magnitude and scope,” Villaraigosa said at the press conference. “The community will be part of the process every step of the way and I will personally hold NBC accountable to deliver on that commitment.” NBC Universal, in turn, has met with several community groups to go over plans, including the Studio City Neighborhood Council. “They didn’t want it to be a big shock,” said Secretary Alan Levy, who was surprised at how candid the developers were. They also met with the Toluca Lake Chamber about five months ago and incorporated many of the suggestions into the plan, including the new surface road, Bogy said. Universal is also calling for a widening of the Barham bridge over the 101 and adding a southbound entrance to the expressway. Officials are also hopeful that the Red Line, which has a stop at Universal, will help cut down on congestion, although the current stop is at least a mile from the proposed residential element. Years away The project still faces a gauntlet of issues before construction starts, one of the biggest being figuring out what elements will sit on county and city land. The majority of the property including all of the theme park, studio and a large chunk of the back lot sits in unincorporated Los Angeles County. The city, meanwhile, controls all four corners of the vast property: an office building and parking lot at Barham Boulevard and the Los Angeles River; a largely undeveloped plot at Barham and Buddy Holly; a small plot at Lankershim Boulevard and the L.A. River; and the southwest corner, which includes the hotel and office elements, the property’s largest tax earners. Under the current proposal, the housing and hotel elements would sit on unincorporated land and therefore benefit only county coffers. That could create an issue between the city and county, especially in regards to the highly sought hotel bed tax. Thomas Properties and Rios Clementi Hale Studios will iron out such issues in the master plan currently under development. Once that’s completed, the project will likely require a number of zoning changes before any environmental issues are addressed. City and county approvals are expected to begin next fall; early estimates put a groundbreaking no sooner than 2008. With such a number of issues, one figure that will likely play a major role is city Planning Director Gail Goldberg. She said how the city and county will interact is important, but that hasn’t been figured out yet. “We haven’t worked out the planning process,” she said. “It’s a bit of a challenge.” What is clear, Goldberg said, is that the agencies will have to work with the community to make sure everyone is on the same page. “Our goal is to make it an extremely public process,” she said. “We’ll all come to an agreement.” From Bogy’s perspective, that process has already started. “The hope is that they’ll continue to work for the community,” he said.

Precision Dynamics co-founder and chief technology officer Walter Mosher was inducted into the ID People Award’s Hall of Fame during the ID World International Congress in Milan, Italy. Mosher was recognized as one of the outstanding individuals epitomizing the spirit of enterprise and leadership in the Auto ID industry at the event on Nov. 28. Mosher, a graduate of Glendale Community College and UCLA, founded Precision Dynamics in 1956 with three investors. The company is one of the largest manufacturers in the San Fernando Valley and a leader in designing, manufacturing and distributing identification band systems primarily for the medical and hospitality industries. During his years with the company, Mosher helped develop product innovations including the first single-piece hospital wristband, bar code wristbands, and patented Smart Band radio frequency identification wristbands. Precision Dynamics employs 500 people in both San Fernando and Mexico facilities The Auto ID International Congress is the annual world summit on automatic identification technology. Mark R. Madler

Michael L. Wall, president of Northridge Hospital Medical Center, sums up the pressures of operating a hospital in today’s San Fernando Valley with a simple statistic: Five hospitals closed since 1995. It’s no accident, Wall said. “What we’re seeing right now are the strong getting stronger and mission kinds of hospitals those that serve the poor, the indigent that don’t necessarily have most reimbursements are struggling more and more,” he said. “You’ve got two different types of classes: those in the right neighborhood with the right market and the right mix and do well and those mission-driven hospitals that are struggling.” Such daunting concerns are among the hundreds of challenges facing Valley hospitals, which employs more than 80,000 people, according to the 2006-2007 San Fernando Valley Economic Report. Among the most pressing issues is the state legislation requiring medical institutions to meet certain seismic standards before 2008. The law, passed in the wake of the 1994 Northridge earthquake, has hospitals scrambling to retrofit existing facilities or build wholly new structures from the ground up. Budgets, however, have skyrocketed and hospital officials report there are few contractors or engineers versed in the complex process of building a heavily regulated hospital building. Another state regulation still affecting hospitals is the one signed in 1999 by then-Gov. Gray Davis setting minimum staffing levels in hospitals. The rule, which didn’t go into effect until 2004, requires a certain number of nurses per patient in California hospitals. Nursing shortage While heralded by patient groups, the regulation has triggered a pervasive shortage of nurses in the state, and especially in Southern California. To keep staffing at the level required by the state, hospitals have resorted to offering new nurses signing bonuses, sponsoring visas for foreign nurses, contributing funds to college nursing programs and paying thousands of dollars for traveling nurses. Another major issue is how to care for those without health insurance, said Cathy Casas, director of hospital operations for Kaiser Permanente, which has hospitals in Woodland Hills and Panorama City. “Within the valleys, we continue to grapple with the issue of access to healthcare for the underinsured (and) uninsured population,” she said. “The system is really challenged with meeting the needs of the uninsured.” Challenging because Medi-Care and Medi-Cal reimbursements continue to dwindle, leaving hospitals to foot the bill and pass fees onto customers. “The fact is, the government, particularly Medi-Cal, does not pay at full cost of caring. So hospitals are forced to cost shift,” said Albert L. Greene, president and CEO of Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys. “It’s all about location. If it’s a well-insured community, you’re going to do well versus if it’s not a well-insured community and you’re dealing with government pay,” Greene said. Hospitals are also facing escalating competition from outpatient clinics, locations operated by doctors that offer simple medical procedures, such as cardiac checkups or colonoscopies. Because clinics are often geared toward a designated set of procedures that don’t require overnight stays, overhead can be kept low. Patients like that they can determine where and when they have a procedure, which often happens much faster than a traditional hospital. The result is that outpatient clinics are drawing patients away from hospitals in droves, further damaging the bottom line. Deficit spending The amount Valley hospitals spend continues to outstrip how much they earn. The collective operating loss in 2005 was a daunting $35 million, according to the most recent Valley Economic Report. “Southern California is a tough healthcare market. It’s a tough financial healthcare market,” said Scott Reiner, president and CEO of Glendale Adventist Medical Center. All of this is happening as the bulk of the baby boom populace nears the beginning of their twilight years. The state’s senior citizen population around 4 million today is expected to double by 2020, according to the California Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-term Care. With that many sophisticated issues afflicting a single industry, it begs the question: is the time-honored hospital model a dinosaur? Greene of Valley Presbyterian said the current model has to evolve to meet new standards. Thirty years from now, “I think we’re going to find ourselves in a much more integrated role,” he said. “If we’re going to deal with cost containment, if we’re going to deal with quality issues, all of these have to be aligned and the only way you’re going to do that is through some form of integrated system.”

The Thousand Oaks drug maker Amgen Inc. is expanding its distribution center in Louisville, Ky. The company will pay $38 million to add 27,000 square feet to an existing Amgen building on 16 acres east of Louisville. Amgen opened the property in 1992. The expansion is the latest operational addition for Amgen following similar moves in Colorado and San Francisco in recent years. The company is also reportedly interested in expanding into Pennsylvania, although no definitive plans have been announced.

One of my favorite Business Journal special reports is coming up in our Jan. 22 issue. It’s 40 Under 40. This is where we search all over the Valley region for 40 exceptional businesspeople under the age of 40 who we know we’ll be writing about again and again and again over the years. This is the fourth year we’ve done this (a Business Journal-sponsored event honoring the 40 we pick this year will be held on Jan. 17). I’ve been here the whole time we’ve done this and as a newspaper editor, finding young up-and-coming businesspeople is interesting and in a selfish sense very helpful to me. These are people who have fresh ideas and will be the leaders of tomorrow (some of them already are leaders). These are the people who are interesting to write about and have great new suggestions for stories we should be writing. These are the people who are leading are biggest and smallest companies in new fresh directions. We are currently accepting nominations from readers and others in the business community of people you want us to consider for our 40-40 this year. Response has been great so far. We’ve received several nominations. Thank you. But there’s time left to get some more in. Deadline is Fri., Dec. 22. Getting nominations from readers who work in our Valley companies and who know the movers and shakers is always better than our editorial staff cold-calling businesses and organizations to ask if there are any outstanding young people that we may be missing. What are we looking for in 40 Under 40 winners? They must be full-time working professionals and spend at least 90 percent of their time in our greater Valley region which includes the San Fernando, Santa Clarita, Conejo and Antelope Valleys. Other things we’ll consider: Are they moving up quickly in their professions? Do they hold a significant management position and look as though they’ll be moving up even higher? How significantly are they contributing to their professions? What is their community involvement? We’re looking for well-rounded individuals who contribute to their community and don’t just make money! Do older people look up to these younger businesspeople? How do these younger people relate to older people in the business community? We don’t want all our 40 people to just be traditional soldiers who immediately sign up with the status quo and don’t rock the boat. We’re looking for people with original and innovative ideas both for their industries and the community as a whole. I know every one of our readers knows at least one businessperson under 40 years of age that is worthy to be profiled in our paper as someone who is going places and doing things. Please let us know about these people. Go to our website at sfvbj.com and pull down a nomination form in our “events” section on the site. Or just call me up at (818) 316-3125 or e-mail me at [email protected]. Reporter Chris Coates is heading up this project on our staff so you can contact him, too. He’s at (818) 316-3124 or at [email protected]. Looking forward to profiling our 40 Under 40 this year. Thanks in advance for any help you can give us in finding the right people. Business Journal Editor Jason Schaff can be reached at (818) 316-3125 or at [email protected].

A community business bank in the heart of the Northeast Valley may seem like a hard sell, but the idea was a natural to Tamara Gurney, president and CEO of Mission Valley Bank, when she began organizing the financial institution about six years ago. A former executive of American Pacific Bank, Gurney saw first hand how the community reacted when that bank was acquired by City National Bank, leaving a void for a local institution. Other banks may have ignored the area, but Gurney knew the kind of potential that existed for a community bank that understood the needs of the mostly industrial small businesses that populate the area. Five years later, Mission Valley Bank has grown to two branches and assets of $185 million, up 40 percent over 2005. This year, with the addition of a specialized lending unit led by Vladimir Victorio, the bank has boosted its loan portfolio by 38 percent to more than $40 million. Gurney spoke to the Business Journal about the startup, the changing climate for community banks and what it’s like to be one of just a few women who head banking institutions. Question: Why did you decide to start a de novo bank in Sun Valley? Answer: We are all from American Pacific Bank. That bank opened in Sun Valley in 1971 and was acquired by City National Bank in 1999, and even though its headquarters moved to Sherman Oaks, the heart of that bank was in Sun Valley. People see this area as high industrial, low income and high crime. We knew this was a unique area that was underserved. We had enjoyed great success and knew the community very well. When American Pacific was acquired, this community lost that bank. It seemed logical that people here would embrace a community bank. Q: How difficult was it to raise funds for a community bank in the Northeast Valley? A: Conceptually it was an easy sell. It was very difficult because of the time. We filed application in summer, 2000, and as we went through the process, there was the dotcom burst, there was a presidential election and the administration changed to a Republican administration. So people who said I’ll write you a check in 2000, the money they had was in the stock market. So folks who first said they were in for $150,000 or $200,000 or $300,000 now were in for $50,000. Q: How did the bank gain traction so quickly? A: We originally planned to raise between $6 million and $7.5 million, and my hope was that we would end up at the high end of that. But as soon as we hit $6 million we said we have to open because it was costing us money. So we opened in July, 2001. We hit it hard. We ran it like we owned it ourselves. We didn’t have janitors. We did the cleaning up. We did everything ourselves. I think that’s how we broke even so quickly. We were in the black in nine months. And we had recovered our startup losses inside of 30 months. Q: You expanded very quickly into Valencia. Was that planned from the start? A: It was not in our original plan to have a second branch. When Valencia Bank & Trust was acquired we saw an opportunity. It was very similar to what happened to us at American Pacific. We hired Mark DeMik (from Valencia Bank & Trust) in September, 2003, and he was basically a bank in a car. He was like a business development person funneling business to Sun Valley. It took us about 18 months to get a location, so we didn’t open until early 2005. Santa Clarita is a really tight community and they don’t embrace outsiders. We knew we wouldn’t be successful until we had a branch there. Q: Do you plan to open additional branches in the foreseeable future? A: I’m still looking for opportunities like the one that developed in Santa Clarita, but I’m not out to put a footprint all around the San Fernando Valley and the Santa Clarita Valley. Technology is changing the landscape significantly and brick and mortar is very expensive. So we have to choose locations carefully. There is development along Castaic and in other areas in Santa Clarita, so I think there are opportunities for other branches in Santa Clarita when the right people present themselves. In the San Fernando Valley, I think it’s well banked. If there were any acquisitions in the San Fernando Valley that displaced a strong person I would consider building a franchise around that location. Q: How has the bank’s loan business grown since you created the specialized lending department? A: When we first opened we were trying to run so lean and mean and attend to our core customers that we didn’t have time to knock on doors and find those small business loans. Once we brought Vlad on board he went out and started finding product. By October, he produced $10 million in loans. So we’re really excited about the possibilities. Q: Does your location in the Northeast Valley insulate you from the competition that has developed now that several community banks have opened in the greater Valley area? A: I think the Northeast Valley definitely feels the isolation in terms of dollars allocated. For me it’s worked somewhat to my favor because the focus of other financial providers has not been in this area. But in a global perspective, it hurts. The services are not extended out here. I think in the last couple of years they’ve done a better job. Maybe because of the effort to pull away we’ve started to see more focus on the area. Q: What implications does the loss of enterprise zone status in the Northeast Valley have for your business? A: I think it’s too new right now. Certainly the businesses that directly received benefit are aware, but it’s mostly folks like us that are lending that are losing the tax break. Q: There are not many women heading banks and certainly not many women who have spearheaded the opening of a de novo bank. What has your experience been as a woman in the industry? A: I think amongst my constituents I had some strong support. The fact that I was a woman was a non-issue. The real challenge was opening a bank in this area. It is heavy industrial with rock crushing businesses and auto dismantlers and that is a good old boy world. As a woman walking in and introducing myself I think it was a bigger challenge. If I were opening a bank geared to women-owned business, there would have been an expectation that I was a woman. But because of the nature of the businesses, when I walk in and Vlad says this is our president, I get this mouth dropping look. They get over it very quickly. Q: What do you see occurring in the banking industry in the next year or so? A: Bigger banks are calling on my customers every day. My customers will show me a term sheet from another bank, big banks, not other community banks, and they’re cutting fees and offering very aggressive terms. It makes it very challenging. Community banks are going to be challenged with how to generate fee income. We are funding cd’s at a higher rate, so we’re paying more for the deposits we take in. If I have to pay 5 percent to get the money, and I’m lending it at 7 percent, my margins are cut, and if I’m not making money on that, I have to find some other way. You have to find other ways to generate fee income. Q: Why is the challenge of finding ways to generate fee income different for community banks? A: A Bank of America will have a wealth management division or a trust division, and they can operate it with economies of scale. They can automate a lot of things. Our cost structure as a community bank is different. SNAPSHOT: Tamara Gurney Title: President and CEO Mission Valley Bank Born: Burbank, 1952 Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of Phoenix, 1993. Graduate of the University of Wisconsin community banking program. Most Admired Person: Abraham Lincoln Personal: Single, two children and three grandchildren. Career Turning Point: “Once I had gotten to the officer level, I realized it was a lot of fun to see how a person could grow. Management sometimes gets in the way of employees’ progress. My job is to give them the tools and stay out of the way.”

As local medical facilities struggle with a number of hurdles, an aging population is another that they must face in the next several years. But with investments in the latest technology, for the most part Valley-area hospitals are getting ready for the Baby Boomers, a generation that is expected to have a huge effect on hospitals for the next several decades. As the generation that promises to stay active begins to hit senior citizen age, hospitals are investing in the latest diagnostic technology for joint, bone and brain scans, even if that equipment carries a big price tag. “It’s all high tech, high dollar stuff,” said Kerry Carmody, hospital administrator at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills. “Everything that has to do with imaging is one and a half million dollars plus construction.” Generally considered the generation born between 1946 and 1964 and totaling approximately 76 million people, the Boomers have now begun to enter their sixties. Just as their numbers influenced society in their younger years, so their numbers will continue to influence not only health care but retailers, government, schools and housing. “People will not want to climb stairs so condos that are two-story will be harder to sell to an older population,” said Jerome Seliger, a professor in health administration and public health at California State University at Northridge. Boomers will also bring a different perspective to the notion of retirement The idea of retiring and then traveling or doing what they want to do is less and less common among that age group, said Mark Beach, a California spokesman for the American Association of Retired People. “Many think of second careers; many think of volunteering,” Beach said. According to 2000 census figures for Los Angeles County, residents falling into the Boomer age group made up about 16.2 percent of the population. In the Santa Clarita Valley, officials at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital are paying close attention to what medical services it can offer to older patients in the future. “We need the beds, the specialists, the technology and the medical buildings to house all this,” said Andie Bogdan , director of planning, marketing and public relations for the Valencia hospital. At both Henry Mayo and Providence Holy Cross, the short-term response to Boomer medical care has been in the area of the heart, most specifically with heart catherization labs that will be needed by that population. The size and age of the Boomer generation necessitated Henry Mayo installing a cath lab in recent years, a service that had never been offered before, Bogdan said. Providence Holy Cross upgraded its old cath lab and added a new one, Carmody said, describing cardiac stenting as “primarily a Baby Boomer procedure.” A cath lab is also available at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. Stents, small stainless steel coils or scaffolds, are used with angioplasty to keep blood vessels open and maintain blood flow to the heart. The procedure is less evasive than what had been done in the past. A bad ticker, however, will not be the only health concerns Boomers face. As people age, some will get out of shape and not exercise as much leading to weight problems and triggering unmanaged diabetes, said Seliger, who helped Mission Community Hospital set up its San Fernando campus. The San Fernando Community Campus for Health and Education provides programs and outreach to at-risk populations, while the main hospital facility has dental, podiatry and vision care services for diabetics, Seliger said. A contributing factor for Henry Mayo putting a neo-natal intensive care unit on the drawing boards is women falling in the low-end of the Boomer generation having children, Bogdan said. Long-range plan The hospital has also invested in imaging equipment, will expand its breast cancer screening program and has put together a 25-year plan to address space needs. “Time is an issue as it takes seven years to get a new building up,” Bogdan said “We are trying to address that now for 2013.” Space needs have also been addressed at Providence Holy Cross where construction is expected to begin next year on a new 136-bed building. “Unless other hospitals chip in and do the same, with the size and the aging population, our plan said we will be full very quickly,” Carmody said. Having such a large population needing advanced medical care will spur a continued dialogue about the country’s health care system in general and its affordability. For unlike the image presented in the media, not all in the Baby Boom generation have excess money to spend. Like those in other age groups, there are Boomers who are uninsured, underinsured or have an insurance plan with a high deductible. Effect on hospitals As those Boomers age, the high deductible plans will have consequences for hospitals and physicians because the patients cannot afford the deductible and the cost gets written off as bad debt or charity. Those Boomers who have been healthy and can reach Medicare age, their health care may be settled, Carmody said. “But for those who need insurance from their mid-40s to 50s and on, the cost of health insurance is a major issue for the people we serve,” Carmody said. The Commonwealth Fund Survey of Older Adults released earlier this year bears that out. Twenty-three percent of respondents with household incomes of $60,000 or higher and more than 40 percent with household incomes between $25,000 and $59,999 reported bill problems or medical debt. According to 2004 census data, 6.6 million people between 50 and 64 years old had no insurance, a jump from 1.1 million in 2000. The AARP, however, looks at the debate over the cost and efficiency of health care in America as an opportunity for changes and not as a burden. Policy makers need to do the same, Beach said. “It is going to be a burden if we don’t do something about it,” Beach said. “If we don’t rethink the way we think about health care in this country.”

Starting January 1, 2007, California hospitals will be required to have written policies on charity care and discounts and to offer discounts to eligible patients. The new law, entitled “Hospital Fair Pricing Policies” (Assembly Bill 774, authored by Assemblywoman Wilma Chan, and now part of the Health & Safety Code), was signed into law by the governor in September. It also imposes limits on hospital billing and collection activities, and limits the amount that may be charged to “low income” uninsured and underinsured patients. In an effort to deal with the problem of uninsured low-income patients, in February, 2004, the California Hospital Association (CHA) adopted Voluntary Principles and Guidelines. These were not mandatory and were either not adopted or not promoted by many hospitals. The new law, however, is mandatory and imposes standards which are more stringent than the CHA Voluntary Principles and Guidelines. Under AB 774, hospitals must now adopt a written discount payment and charity care policy for patients whose family income is below 350% of the federal poverty level and who are uninsured, or are insured but family medical expenses exceed 10 percent of family annual income. Under the 2006 federal Poverty Guidelines, the poverty level for a family of four is $20,000, so 350% is $70,000. For a family of two, the poverty level is $13,200, so eligibility begins at $46,200; for a family of six, it’s $26,800, so eligibility begins at $93,800. “Family” includes the patient, his or her spouse or domestic partner, and dependent children under age 21, whether living at home or not. For patients under age 18, “family” also includes parents, caretaker relatives, and other children of the parents or caretaker relative under age 21. The higher the number of family members, the greater the 350% of the federal poverty level which triggers eligibility under AB 774. For patients who have medical insurance, hospitals usually charge a discounted rate negotiated with the insurer. These are often an agreed percentage of “retail” charges, or at fixed rates for services or days. The patient also gets the benefit of these discounted rates through lower co-payments. Many other patients are HMO members, for whom the hospital has been paid a portion of the patient’s monthly premiums. For Medi-Cal patients, charges to Medi-Cal are generally at substantially discounted contract rates. For Medicare patients, hospital reimbursement is generally under a fixed formula based upon the patient’s diagnosis,. All of these arrangements result in substantial discounts. For uninsured “self-pay” patients, however, there is no agreed discount, so the hospital often bills at the full “retail” rate. Although many hospitals give discounts to low income uninsured patients, whether as part of “charity” care or a discount program, there is no consistent policy among all hospitals. Under AB 774, for eligible patients, the hospital now must limit its charges to the amount which the hospital receives for the same services from public programs such as Medicare, Medi-Cal, Health Families, or other government programs in which the hospital participates, whichever is greater. A hospital’s charity care and discount policy must clearly state the hospital’s eligibility criteria. Hospitals must provide patients with a written notice. The policy must also be conspicuously posted in the emergency department, the billing office, the admissions office, and in other outpatient areas. Only income and monetary assets may be considered, and may not include assets in retirement or deferred compensation plans. Also, the first $10,000 plus 50% of monetary assets over $10,000 must be excluded in determining eligibility. Documentation which the hospital may require to verify income is limited to pay stubs and tax returns. The hospital must make “all reasonable efforts” to advise patients of their rights and to obtain sufficient information to make a determination of eligibility. Likewise, patients or their legal representatives who request assistance must make “every reasonable effort” to provide documentation of income and health benefits coverage. The hospital may take failure to cooperate into account in determining eligibility. The new law also limits billing and collection activities. Unpaid bills can’t be sent to a collection agency if there is a pending insurance appeal or if the patient is making good faith efforts to make payments. Hospitals or affiliated collection agencies may not use wage garnishments or liens on primary residences at all. Unaffiliated collection agencies must also comply with the new guidelines, limit reporting to credit reporting agencies, not use wage garnishments without court approval, and not sell a patient’s home to satisfy a judgment during the life of the patient or dependents. Hospitals must file their new policies with a state agency, commencing January 1, 2008. If hospitals fail to comply with the new law, patients may be entitled to refunds, and there are licensure and monetary penalties. Hospitals are now working hard to implement the new required policies prior to the January 1 effective date. John Marshall is a shareholder and chair of the Health Care and Real Estate Departments at Lewitt, Hackman, Shapiro, Marshall & Harlan law firm in Encino

The dark-clothed figure creeps in the hallway of a restaurant, the woman working the register unaware of his presence. With her back turned the man slides up and grabs the employee, pushing her to the ground and taking money from the register before making his escape out the door. “Is this for real?” asked Jeff King, chairman of a chain of seafood restaurants with a location in Calabasas. Yes, the Los Angeles Police tell King and other restaurant owners gathered on Dec. 11 in the community room at the West Valley Police Station in Reseda. Police officials believe the man shown in the video is one of the Ski Mask Bandits that has preyed on San Fernando Valley eateries for over two years. While the video was filmed at a restaurant outside the Valley, it was shown to give an idea of how the robbers operate and they continue to hit restaurants even though their last known Valley robbery was in August, Ca Del Sole, near Universal Studios Hollywood. LAPD Deputy Chief Michel Moore described the restaurant robbers as pervasive, persistent and ever present. “They are looking at your business and looking for opportunities,” said Moore, the department’s top cop for the Valley. The California Restaurant Association organized the meeting between restaurant owners and the police to provide an update on the department’s investigation and give tips on how the owners can more safely operate their businesses. Matt Epstein, the owner of Vitello’s Italian Ristorante in Studio City, left the meeting with notes about the safety advice offered by the police. Changes have been made in employee behavior to keep them safer, said Epstein, a Sherman Oaks real estate broker who bought the restaurant last year. “Our guys don’t go out the back door unaccompanied,” Epstein said. “They pay much more attention.” Police, however, outnumbered business people at the meeting, at which the captains of the six police districts making up the Valley were present. Councilman Dennis Zine, Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, and State Assemblyman Lloyd Levine also attended. The rash of restaurant robberies at both fast food joints and fancy sit down establishments began in the summer of 2004, often taking place at closing time. While the department made arrests in other cases the Rackaround Bandit believed responsible for 25 robberies and the Valley Knife Bandit believed to be behind 18 robberies the Ski Mask Bandits and the El Torito Bandit (30 robberies, including seven outside the city) remain at large. While witnesses say the Ski Mask Bandits are calm, they have resorted to violence in at least one case, when the robbers shot dead a young man who tried to flee during the May 2005 robbery of a Northridge Thai restaurant, police said. Problematic to the investigation is the bandits wear masks covering their faces and clothing covering up their skin so detailed descriptions are difficult. While the department and business community can partner up to prevent robberies good business practice dictates that owners make their own investment, Moore said. A silent alarm system and digital surveillance cameras placed behind a cash register were among the precautionary tips offered by the department. Restaurants should also review their opening and closing procedures to find ways to make the business less vulnerable. An owner of a North Hollywood restaurant identifying himself only as Dale said he made changes courtesy of the L.A. Department of Water and Power who put brighter lights on their poles in the back of the building. “Now my place is lit up like daylight,” the owner said. “Graffiti over the last two months has gone down.” His restaurant was the scene of a robbery two months ago although it was not the work of the Ski Mask Bandits, Dale said. Told about the police meeting by the owner of another restaurant, Dale said he came with a lot of venom because the robbery had been violent, resulting in cash taken from a safe and personal items taken from employees. “I really think it would be better if there were more of (these meetings),” Dale said. “The Valley is a big place with hundreds of businesses and the bad guys feel we are lambs for the slaughter.”

Camarillo Chamber of Commerce Open House 4 p.m. Chamber Offices 2400 E. Ventura Blvd., Camarillo (805) 484-4383 Camarillochamber.org