When a private medical care contractor abandoned the residents of Needles by moving most of its operation to a new hospital miles away across the river in Arizona, the County of San Bernardino felt obligated to step in.

The ensuing drainage of resources has caused Needles' hospital, Colorado River Medical Center, to wither on the vine. These actions by the contractor, LifePoint Hospitals Inc., have left the most vulnerable citizens of the small town on the Colorado River without adequate access to health care - a situation we cannot tolerate and must address.

Keeping the hospital open in Needles is vital because there are some residents whose medical coverage plans will not cover services provided in another state - they must receive services here in California. There are other residents who lack transportation to travel to locations where they could receive adequate medical care, including many who are poor, elderly or disabled.

Another concern is the fact that a bridge over the Colorado River separates the two states and could isolate Needles from Arizona in the event of a disaster or serious accident.

In March, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a plan in concept to manage and operate the Colorado River Medical Center (CRMC) as a Critical Access facility and to restore many medical services that had been lost when LifePoint moved those services to its new hospital in Arizona.

I said at the time that I believe it is incumbent upon county leaders to ensure that adequate health-care services remain available to area residents. I stand by that statement. San Bernardino County has a mission to provide "services that promote the health, safety, well being, and quality of life of our residents." Ensuring the availability of adequate health care and emergency medical care is among the most important of our responsibilities.

Our sheriff and fire chief agree that keeping the hospital open is vital to the health and safety of area residents.

Since March, I have joined administrators from San Bernardino County's Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, the city of Needles, the County Administrative Office and others in providing CRMC with assistance in addressing operational challenges faced by the hospital - challenges that threatened to close the hospital.

We've been exploring various operational options for CRMC. Our goal has been to find a way to keep the hospital open and available to local residents and to ensure that the people of Needles have access to vital health-care services and emergency medical care services within their city limits. Working in partnership with the city of Needles has made our collaborative efforts more effective.

The county envisions operating Colorado River Medical Center as a critical access hospital and as such may not operate a full-service acute care inpatient facility in the near future. That is not the ideal situation and falls short of what the city would like to see. But I believe it is the most realistic configuration at this time.

We have significant challenges, such as adequately staffing the hospital and managing the financial needs of the hospital, but I believe we can meet these challenges.

We also have significant opportunities. I believe the county will find a profitable market in this area of 70,000 residents. I have a lot of confidence in our hospital team to find ways to make this venture financially feasible.

There are economic forces at work in the tri-state area that will benefit Needles, including the city's economic development efforts with new residential and retail projects, as well as the new Bureau Bay park facility, the El Garces Depot, the Needles Highway realignment and a potential new Indian casino. These projects could bring considerable revenue to the city through increased valuations, population base and sales taxes.

Unfortunately, we cannot wait for these factors to play out. The time to act is now. LifePoint Hospitals is currently planning to close the emergency room at CRMC, and a public hearing on that proposal is scheduled for Friday in Needles.

On Tuesday, during a rare joint meeting with the Needles City Council, I will ask my colleagues on the County Board of Supervisors to continue operations at CRMC, including operation of the emergency room, for at least a one-year period. During that time, we will be able to gather additional data regarding the feasibility of continued operations of the hospital and will be able to determine which services could make the operation more financially sound for the taxpayers.

Initial operations of the hospital will cost money, but I am of the opinion that the county is in the business of providing health care first, with the "bottom line" being a secondary priority. This effort is about providing a needed public service to one of our cities - a member of our county family - in a time of need.