San Benito County officials said they have invited Salinas Valley Health to partner in an effort to find a long-term solution on the future operations of Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital (pictured), which filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy last month.
But the county also stopped short of saying if they intend on submitting a proposal to purchase or partner with HHMH in collaboration with Salinas Valley Health, reports SanBenito.com. The county and Salinas Valley Health have approached HHMH—which is operated by the San Benito Health Care District—about conducting due diligence related to the hospital’s future operations.
However, the two parties “were told that the hospital was not willing to permit the county and Salinas Valley Health to conduct due diligence or to present a proposal.”
But a spokesperson for HHMH denied that the hospital made such a statement to the county, and said Salinas Valley Health has separately told HHMH that it “has no interest in buying or partnering with” the Hollister hospital.
“To be clear, the county was never told that it cannot conduct diligence or present a proposal,” HHMH and San Benito Health Care District spokesperson Marcus Young said. “The county just needs to come to us with a qualified proposal, which they admit they do not have at this time.” Read more.
