The Pajaro Valley Health Care District now has enough money to move forward with the purchase of Watsonville Community Hospital, KSBW reports.
The announcement was made after a multi-million dollar donation from Kaiser Permanente ahead of an Aug. 31 deadline to raise sufficient funds for a buyout of the hospital.
“We’re now within $1.6 million of our overall goal of $67 million with that new pledge from Kaiser,” said Santa Cruz County Administrator Carlos Palacios.
Kaiser Permanentes’ $4.5 million pledge was announced during an update before the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.
The donation means Pajaro Valley Health Care District can close the purchase next week and return the Watsonville Community Hospital to public ownership.
In all, a total of 450 donations were made toward the hospital during a pressure-packed six months to raise funding.
The bankrupt community hospital is one of two in Santa Cruz County, California. In the last 21 years, 20 different for-profit healthcare companies have taken ownership of the facility and subsequently sold the hospital. Read more.
