SHARING INFORMATION— Greg Angle, president and CEO of Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center, speaks to guests and dignitaries after a ribbon-cutting. RICHARD GILLARD Acorn Newspapers Hospital care for trauma victims in East Ventura County has come a long way since the 1960s, when Dan Blocker fell off his horse while filming the TV show “Bonanza” and actress Jayne Mansfield’s young son was mauled by a lion at Jungleland.

At 11 a.m. July 1, a crowd of 200 doctors, emergency medical specialists and dignitaries from Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Agoura Hills and Westlake Village joined hospital CEO and president Greg Angle in celebrating the opening of a Level II trauma center at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks.

It was 48 years ago when Dan Blocker was injured at the Iverson Ranch in the Simi Hills while portraying Hoss Cartwright in the TV series “Bonanza.” Mayor Dennis Gillette, a deputy in the sheriff’s department at the time, was one of those called upon to hurry to the filming location.

“Hoss fell off his horse, and they needed off-duty deputies and firefighters to come and help lift him up into an ambulance so he could be taken to Los Angeles for treatment,” Gillette said.

In 1966, Jayne Mansfield’s son, Zoltan Hargitay, then 6, was mauled by a lion at Jungleland, a wild animal theme park on Thousand Oaks Boulevard where the Civic Arts Plaza now stands. Zoltan was taken to a hospital at the southeast corner of Hillcrest Drive and Erbes Road, the current location of Hillcrest Christian school. He was then transferred to a hospital in Los Angeles and survived his injuries.

As the population in Thousand Oaks increased, so did the resources for providing trauma healthcare in the city—which is a real accomplishment, Gillette said before the ribbon-cutting.

Gillette joined Linda Parks, Ventura County supervisor, and Brian Miller, district chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Thousand Oaks), in offering congratulations to the hospital for its new designation as a Level II trauma center. Ventura County Medical Center provides trauma care in the West County.

The Level II designation means victims of gunshots, vehicle crashes, near-drownings and other critical injuries in East Ventura County will be brought to Los Robles Hospital because it has the equipment, medical services and skilled specialists ready to treat patients.

“It means getting the right type of patient to the right facility,” paramedic supervisor Tom O’Connor said of the designation.

Angle said it requires a commitment from doctors to be immediately available to the patients.

The state authorizes county medical experts to designate hospitals as trauma facilities. Hospitals applied for the designation of Level II trauma medical centers and were evaluated before the selections were made.

“In actuality it took months and months of painstaking preparation to get to this moment,” said Dr. Hannah Grossman, hospital chief of staff.

Dr. Angelo Salvucci, medical director for Ventura County Emergency Medical Services Agency, which selected the hospitals for the designation, said the leading cause of death for people age 44 and under is injury.

He said he hopes “from this point forward” to work on injury prevention.

“Maybe we can put this place out of business,” Salvucci said.