Alarmed over the low bed capacity in Los Angeles County hospitals, California State Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-San Fernando Valley) held a press conference urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign the reintroduced Golden Hour Bill (SB 1773). Sen. Alarcon's bill boosts funding for the local healthcare system.

Supported by the Los Angeles County Medical Association, the bill would raise up to $100 million a year to keep trauma centers and emergency rooms open by providing money for physicians, staff and facility resources.

Brian Johnston, MD, an emergency physician at White Memorial Medical Center and LACMA member; Carole Meyer, director of the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency; and Gudata Hinika, MD, trauma medical director at California Hospital Medical Center, also spoke. The event was held at the California Hospital Medical Center in downtown Los Angeles on the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

If signed, the Golden Hour Bill will increase by $20 the average ticket fine for criminal offenses and moving violations that most often lead to physical trauma. SB 1773 will also set aside 15 percent of the new funds for pediatric trauma care. The bill was previously introduced in 2005 as SB 57, but not approved.