The board that runs Watsonville Community Hospital voted 3-2 Wednesday night, Oct. 28, to begin the formal process of closing the hospital's labor and delivery service and its neonatal intensive care unit. More than 100 residents, nurses and hospital staff packed the hospital's community room for the meeting, Lookout Santa Cruz reported.
According to The Pajaronian, board members Tony Nuñez, Alexandra Friel and Emily Balli voted yes, while Joe Gallagher and Marcus Pimentel voted no. Pimentel had suggested waiting until a Nov. 11 special meeting, after voters decide on Measure E, a countywide sales tax for safety-net services.
Not an immediate closure
State law (Senate Bill 1300) requires 120 days' notice to the California Department of Public Health before a maternity unit closes, and a public hearing must follow. Interim CEO Tim Moran said services will stay open during that period. The board also amended the motion so management must return and recommend reconsideration if a feasible funding alternative appears.
The money problem
Hospital leaders say the publicly owned hospital is losing about $85,000 a day, and the two units account for about $27,000 of that. Nearly 80% of patients are covered by Medi-Cal or Medicare, which don't cover the full cost of care, according to a hospital report cited by Lookout. Without changes, management projected it could run out of money for payroll within six to 12 months.
Moran said he will ask Kaiser Permanente for $5 million a year for three years to stabilize the maternity services, and the hospital plans to apply for a $26 million state distressed-hospital grant, with an answer expected by mid-December. Nurses warned that the emergency department isn't set up to manage active labor, and that the nearest alternatives are in Santa Cruz and Salinas.
Earlier coverage: the run-up to the vote.