By E.A. Barrera

Ramona physician Marcelo Rivera, who led the battle 15 months ago to see Proposition BB pass and a new medical facility come to Ramona, said he felt very excited about the status of the project and thought Ramona could see an Urgent Care facility developed in town within the next few years.

"I was told as recently as Feb. 20 that the plans were still on target," he said. "We were negotiating with the property owners of the site, and that once the property negotiations were settled, an Urgent Care Clinic could be built very quickly, within 18 to 24 months."

Voters passed Proposition BB in 2004 by a margin of more than two-to-one. The proposition primarily dealt with a proposed $753 million medical center expansion for Palomar-Pomerado Hospital. That expansion plan included a new 453-bed hospital in Escondido, as well as increasing the number of beds at Palomar Hospital. The proposition also called for expansion of Poway's Pomerado Hospital from 111 to more than 200 beds.

But key to its winning the approval of a majority of Ramona residents was the measure's promise to bring an outpatient clinic to Ramona. During a public forum on the issue in September 2004, Palomar-Pomerado Health President Michael Covert said the need for "lump and bump" medicine existed in Ramona.

"An Urgent Care facility would be perfect for those situations that are not life-threatening, but need attention, like a child who develops a fever at 11 p.m. on a Wednesday night, or a guy who falls off a ladder on a Saturday afternoon and sprains his ankle," Covert said.

Envisioned was a facility for Ramona staffed by a nurse or nurse-practitioner, with a physical therapist, laboratory and X-ray technicians, and receptionist on hand. Covert said a pool of doctors would use the facility when they needed it, cutting down the costs for the doctors of maintaining a separate office, while having an increased capacity to treat local patients without having to drive down the hill.

Chuck DeMund, who sits on the board of an advisory committee seeking a location for the clinic, said a property on the north side of Main Street (in Ramona) between 14th and 15th streets was being looked at and considered as the longterm site for both a clinic and possibly a small hospital in future years.

"I received an update Feb. 22 and was told that while the property owners and Palomar-Pomerado Hospital were still in negotiations, the negotiations were positive." DeMund said. "Michael Covert spoke to us about five weeks ago and said this was going to happen. We believe him. I know Ramona is impatient for this to happen, but it's moving forward."