Changes are coming to Lompoc’s health care industry.
On Aug. 24, Lompoc Valley Medical Center (LVMC) announced the planned acquisition of the Lompoc Sansum Clinic and its 14-year-old building. A spokesperson said the medical center held an informational discussion on Nov. 13 with its CEO, Jim Raggio.
The event, held at the Ocean’s Seven Cafe (inside the medical center), offered the public a chance to learn more about what the purchase will mean for the community’s health care options, according to a LVMC spokesperson.
“We hope to have Sansum transitioned under Lompoc Valley Medical Center by January next year,” Public Relations Coordinator Nora Wallace told the Sun. She said questions had been pouring in over the past few weeks after the move was made public.
One concern is if Sansum patients will have to change physicians. According to Wallace, “almost all” physicians and assistants at Sansum in Lompoc will remain on staff with two exceptions: Drs. Richard Onishi and Sharon Kim, who she said had “already made plans to relocate out of the area.”
A full list of physicians is expected to be released in the coming weeks, Wallace said. She added that Lompoc Valley had already begun recruiting two new primary care physicians and that a search was also underway to staff Sansum’s Urgent Care center.
The plan, according to Wallace, is to keep the current Sansum location at 225 North H St. open and eventually open a seven-day-a-week urgent care there. The location only offers same-day appointments but no walk-ins. Its hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. Urgent care is closed on Sunday.
LVMC’s chief operations officer, Dr. Naishadh Buch, told the Sun that re-establishing the Urgent Care as an every-day-of-the-week service is a priority for LVMC.
“We’ve started recruiting providers for the urgent care, and we anticipate opening it as soon as possible,” Buch said.
At the moment, the Sansum facility offers family and internal medicine, pediatrics, physical therapy, and orthopedics, as well as the same-day urgent care appointments. Their patient load is approximately 200 patients daily, a spokesperson said.
The LVMC Board of Directors is tentatively scheduled to vote on the Sansum acquisition at its Nov. 29 meeting.
Highlights:
• While the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce is celebrating Small Business Saturday on Nov. 24, the organization is using the entire month of November to highlight local companies and encourage people to #ShopSantaMaria. One of the first businesses promoted this month is SESLOC Federal Credit Union (2506 S. Broadway). “When you ‘bank’ local, your money stays local, allowing our credit union to lend to your neighbor next door,” the company stated.
• The Santa Maria Elks Rodeo held its Golden Circle of Champions Distribution night on Nov. 7 at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge. For the third year running, 25 Central Coast families were chosen to receive monetary aid from the Elks Club for help battling life-threatening cancer. “The founders of Golden Circle of Champions believe there’s no bigger champion in the world than children and their families fighting life-threatening cancer,” stated Chief Operating Officer Tina Tonascia.
• The Santa Maria Police Department raised $10,000 during Breast Cancer Awareness month by selling special “breast cancer pins.” The department presented a check with the same amount to the Mission Hope Cancer Center on Nov. 9.
• The Buellton Chamber of Commerce will host a valley-wide mixer on Thursday, Nov. 15, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Solvang Festival Theater. At the mixer, the Chamber will announce the winner of the Harvest Cup from this year’s Scarecrow Fest.
• On Nov. 5, Santa Barbara County’s Community Services Department (CSD) announced it would receive $716,000 from California Natural Resources Agency to enhance existing park space in the Cuyama Valley. The New Cuyama Greenway Project proposal was one of 20 projects selected for funding to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide other environmental and community benefits.
Staff Writer Spencer Cole wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, mail, or email at spotlight@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 15-22, 2018.