The local nonprofit created to purchase and run Watsonville Community Hospital has won its bid to buy the hospital’s operations, a move that canceled a planned auction and advanced the matter to a sale hearing on Wednesday, reports The Pajaronian.
According to documents filed with the Northern District U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Jose, no other qualified bidder stated an interest in making the purchase by the deadline last week, moving Pajaro Valley Healthcare District Project (PVHD) a hair’s width from reaching its goal.
According to former Santa Cruz County Health Officer Mimi Hall—who has been at the forefront of the group’s formation, the court will review PVHD’s purchase proposal, along with the nonprofit’s financial ability to acquire and operate the hospital.
PVHD stepped forward late last year, soon after hospital officials announced they were facing possible closure unless a buyer stepped forward.
If the sale goes through, it will be a welcome relief to many in the Pajaro Valley community, who for years have watched out-of-town corporate management and a declining financial picture.
After remaining under local control for decades from its 1895 inception, hospital leaders in 1993, fearing a grim financial picture, partnered with Community Health Systems, which took over operations. Read more.
