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SUN NEWSPAPERS
Medical Center pays homage to employees for Hospital and Healthcare Week
For the Sun
Following a traumatic year
fighting the COVID-19 pandemic,
the top executive of Los Alamitos
Medical Center paid tribute to its
employees to celebrate National
Hospital and Healthcare Week.
“The past year has been a devas-
tating time for our country, and for
the world, but against all odds, you
have remained a stalwart and stead-
fast force against COVID, helping
to keep our community safer. Now
more than ever, you truly make a
difference in the lives of our com-
munity,” said CEO Kent Clayton.
Since 1921, hospitals across
the country have been celebrating
National Hospital and Healthcare
Week. The event has grown over
the past 100 years to become the
nation’s largest health care event. It
is a celebration of the history, tech-
nology and dedicated professionals
who make hospitals and healthcare
facilities beacons of confidence
and care.
“This week is specifically set
aside for us to celebrate you, our
hard-working staff, and to thank
you for supporting the health of
our community through your time,
dedication and compassionate care.
Without the work you do, the heal-
ing that we see every day would not
be possible,” Clayton said.
National Hospital and
Healthcare Week also coincides
with Nurses Week, he said, and “I
want to express my gratitude to
each of our nurses - for your tire-
less effort, your expertise, and for
your care and compassion with our
patients.”
Clayton said everyone at Los
Alamitos Medical Center is grate-
ful for its nurses, “and we are
humbled by the hard work you do
every day. Nursing is one of the
most rewarding careers, but also
one of the most challenging.”
“On behalf of our governing
board, physicians and administra-
tive team, I would like to take
this opportunity to thank you for
your role in making miracles hap-
pen each and every day. Your
efforts truly make a difference,”
said Clayton.
A spokesperson for Los Al
Medical said an entire week of cel-
ebratory events have been planned The Los Al Medical Center staff lines up to greet employees coming off the night shift and those coming in for the day
to help the institution celebrate.
Thursday, May 13, 2021
shift. Doughnuts and hot coffee were also part of the week-long kick-off celebration of National Hospital Week.
Wanted
From page 1
for others to fill their positions,”
Jahncke wrote.
The Sun also counted three
empty store fronts.
“The empty space by my store
(where Heavenly Couture was)
is currently being built out for
a Bruster’s Ice Cream,” Jahncke
wrote in a May 9 text message.
“They told me they are plan-
ning to open beginning of July
if all goes well,” Jahncke wrote.
“I still believe businesses are
Lifeguard HQ
From page 1
to Public Works Director Steve
Myrter during the March 2021
workshop.
(Multiple documents confirm
the figure: In October 2020, a
slide presentation by Myrter and
a “conceptual cost estimate” by
Griffin Structures both put the
cost estimate at $9.5 million.
Page 227 of the approved 2019-
2020 city budget also put the
replacement at $9.5 million. If
you download the PDF file for
that budget, go to page 232.)
Meanwhile, the city has many
projects to consider.
Finance Director/Treasurer
Kelly Telford said, “We just don’t
have the money to do all of those
projects.”
She said it was important to
prioritize the projects.
“We just resolved the issue
of structural deficits a few years
ago,” Telford said.
“We don’t want to put our-
selves back in that situation,”
Telford said.
The lifeguard headquarters is
located in District One, which
is represented by Councilman/
Mayor Joe Kalmick.
During the March 31, 2021
planning workshop, Kalmick said
he would love to see a new head-
picking up,” Jahncke wrote.
Over the weekend, See’s Candy
recently held a ribbon cutting in
the Shops at Rossmoor (which is
actually located in Seal Beach).
“They will do very well there,”
said District One Councilman/
Mayor Joe Kalmick.
(The shopping center isn’t
in Kalmick’s district, but Main
Street is.)
Kalmick said he didn’t know
the normal number of signs in a
non-pandemic period.
However, Kalmick also said
that help wanted signs mean that
a business either needs a replace-
‘The building has
evolved over time.’
—Public Works
Director Steve
Myrter
quarters with new amenities and
ADA access, but he didn’t see
how the city could afford the
project.
He asked what could be done
to bring the building up to some
sort of appropriate standard.
District Five Councilwoman
Sandra Massa-Lavitt said, “I’m
kind of torn with this one.”
She said she would like to see
a new Lifeguard headquarters,
but the budget only has so much
money.
District Four Councilwoman
Schelly Sustarsic asked if the
recent repairs (performed a cou-
ple of years ago) did any good.
Myrter said the city had to do
a major repair at the headquarters
because of mold.
He said at the time of the repair
work he was told that the new
water-resistant coating would last
five years.
“The building has evolved
over time,” Myrter said.
Myrter also said the city
doesn’t know how the foundation
was built.
Courtesy photo
ment or more employees.
“That’s a good sign,” Kalmick
said.
He said he thought a recovery
might be possible.
Kalmick said if Seal Beach
gets some warm, sunny weather,
people will start swarming the
town.
Kalmick said that businesses
that have survived will probably
do well—as long as landlords
don’t claw back on lost revenue.
Kalmick said he is optimistic.
He said the businesses he had
spoken with told him they did
well during the pandemic.
“If we can make the renovation
option work, it comes in around
$3.5 million,” Myrter said. “But
there’s a lot of assumptions there.”
He also said there was no
Americans with Disabilities Act
compliance.
Myrter also pointed out that
once you do a 50% remodel on a
building, you have to meet exist-
ing codes.
He said the city would have to
do a major renovation of the head-
quarters to make it functional for
the Marine Safety Department.
District Three Councilman
Mike Varipapa said, ideally, a
rebuild is great.
However, Varipapa said he
thought it was important to follow
the recommendation to re-evalu-
ate the renovation as that might
cost as much as a rebuild.
Varipapa asked how long the
re-evaluation would take.
“We can do that within six
months for sure,” Myrter said.
“I think six months is fin to
find out how bad or good a shape
we’re in,” Varipapa said.
Kalmick asked if it was likely
that the city could rebuild the
garage in a way that would buy
the city time.
Myrter said the garage did not
have adequate locker space for
the Marine Safety Department.
He said it was not envisioned for
a co-ed staff.