Santa Paula Hospital is making a quick recovery from its 2 1/2-year closure.

Since its reopening a year ago today, the 49-bed acute care hospital on the hill above the city has recorded nearly 9,500 emergency room visits, 1,357 admissions and 305 births.

"Every day we really have increased our census. We're seeing that throughout the hospital," said Bea Frias, hospital nurse manager. "It's been a wonderful success."

The progress at the hospital has exceeded expectations, said officials with the county, which assumed control of the hospital last year.

"The patient bed count is higher than expected, the payer-mix has more private-sector (money) than we expected," said Supervisor Kathy Long, one of the leaders of the effort to reopen the hospital. "We are very pleased."

The momentum from the hospital's successful first year is only expected to continue, said Mike Powers, director of the county Health Care Agency. The agency's latest budget includes money for 13 additional full-time positions at Santa Paula this fiscal year, and plans call for adding and expanding services at the facility.

Those services include community health programs on such issues as prenatal care and diabetes management; expansion of the obstetrics department from three beds to six; and adding or expanding services in a number of other areas, including orthopedics, so the hospital can provide services such as total joint replacement and hip replacement, Powers said.

It's a sharp turnaround for the hospital.

Facility previously private

The facility, formerly Santa Paula Memorial Hospital, was a private institution managed by a local board of trustees when it filed for bankruptcy protection and closed in December 2003. As the only hospital in the Santa Clara Valley, Santa Paula is considered a lifeline for the region's estimated 50,000 residents, who otherwise face long drives to hospitals in Ventura or Santa Clarita.

In a plan backed by city and county officials, about half of the hospital's 29-acre site was sold to a developer for $10.6 million, clearing the bulk of the hospital's debts. Construction is now under way on the Comstock Homes development of 76 houses.

The county purchased the other half of the property, including the vacant hospital, for $2.75 million, then spent about $4.5 million on renovations and reopened the facility as Santa Paula Hospital. The county predicted a first-year operating loss of about $3 million, but early indications are the first-year loss will come in about $200,000 less, at $2.8 million.

Operating losses for 2007-08 are now expected to be about $1.8 million, about $700,000 less than was initially expected. Santa Paula is expected to hit a break-even point sometime in its third year, Powers said.

The cost reductions came because of higher-than-anticipated usage of the hospital as well as prudent cost and staffing management, Powers said. Having Santa Paula under the umbrella of the larger county hospital system helps because overhead costs can be shared.

Pleased with local support

He also credited the staff and the medical community in Santa Paula for the hospital's early success. "We've been really pleased with the support of the local physicians," he said.

Hospital officials hosted a staff barbecue this week to celebrate the first anniversary. Already, the employees have become a family, said Frias, the nurse manager.

"We've really jelled," she said. "We have a very committed group of people."

Perhaps the only blip in the hospital's first year was a change in leadership. County hospital employee Christina Thielst was appointed the hospital's administrator and began the job last month after former administrator Michael Borelli left the post for personal reasons.

Some residents have complained about the hilltop development's large retaining wall and views of the project from Ojai Road, but otherwise, the hospital deal has brought high marks from city residents, said Santa Paula City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz.

Benefits of the deal have included county hospital officials' participation in city emergency preparedness plans and improved emergency response times for emergency personnel, Bobkiewicz said.

"The one thing the community had to give up was the acreage behind the hospital. That's really been the only trade-off," he said. "In return, we're getting that emergency access. I think it's been very positive."