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Buellton asks hospital director about district expansion

By Raiza Canelon/Staff Writer/rcanelon@syvnews.com

The Buellton City Council heard a presentation Thursday about expanding the boundaries of the Lompoc Healthcare District to include all or part of the city, though council members took no action to pursue the possibility.

Jim Raggio, executive director of the hospital district, said there are no plans to expand the district to include the Buellton area but he gave the purely informational presentation at the request of the council.

Dr. Craig Juratsch, a Buellton obstetrician-gynecologist, has expressed interest in treating patients at the Lompoc Valley Medical Center, which would require him to be on the staff at the Lompoc hospital or Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria. Santa Ynez Cottage Hospital does not provide obstetric services, Raggio noted.

The public hospital district requires its hospital’s staff doctors to practice within the district’s boundaries.

An expansion of the Lompoc district would begin with a formal request by the Buellton City Council that would be considered by the hospital board, Raggio said.

Lompoc Healthcare District includes Lompoc, Gaviota, Vandenberg Air Force Base to San Antonio Road and Highway 246 as far east as Mail Road.

Mayor Pro Tem Victoria Pointer asked what the next step would be if the council decided to be annexed into the district, and Raggio said that the council would put in an application and the hospital district would do an assessment to look at physician needs within the city.

In other business Thursday night:

n Deputy City Clerk Linda Reid was promoted to City Clerk with a recommendation from City Manager Steve Thompson. Reid has been with the city for seven years and has been deputy city clerk since 2006, but she recently completed requirements to be a certified municipal clerk. Thompson had held the title along with being city manager.

With Mayor Russ Hicks absent, Pointer handed out several awards, proclamations and promotions.

n Miller Westfall and Daiana Diaz of Buellton, both seniors at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, received $2,000 each from the Norman and Gale Williams Buellton Education Fund Scholarship.

Diaz will attend UC Santa Barbara and Westfall will be attending San Diego State University in the fall.

n A proclamation was given to Buellton Union School District Superintendent Tom Cooper and Jonata Elementary School Principal Kathy Fayram in recognition of Jonata being named a 2009 California Dis-tinguished School.

“I am very thankful for this recognition for our students. We have a great school and a great community,” Fayram said.

The next council meeting will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 11, in City Council Chambers, 140 W. Highway 246.

Associate Editor Bo Poertner contributed to this story.