In 2024, a new law will combine the three current Imperial County healthcare districts into one. Before the year is out, an appointed board must figure out how much money it will take to run it, negotiate a merger plan that doesn’t drop the ball for existing patients, and hope that the voters approve some way to fund it. If it’s not done correctly, it could make getting care harder for everyone—particularly Imperial’s most vulnerable.
Small hospitals and healthcare districts are struggling everywhere. El Centro Regional Medical Center (ECRMC) is currently tens of millions of dollars in debt and closed its maternity and pediatric departments to stay afloat. Heffernan Memorial Healthcare District (HMHD) declared bankruptcy 25 years ago and provides no direct care services. Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District (PMHD) has funding via a property tax, but has staffing issues and faces expensive facility updates.
Although the California legislature acted quickly to help, the law they passed (AB 918) is critically flawed and is already negatively disrupting our County’s healthcare.
Among the many problems:
Worse, the appointed healthcare district board is struggling to meet AB 918’s requirements, throwing the effort into chaos.
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What we saw Wednesday, July 10, 2024 at the hastily-called Imperial Valley Healthcare District press conference was a self-serving, congratulatory pat on the back for the seven appointed board members of the Imperial Valley Healthcare District (IVHD), Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, and Senator Steve Padilla. While the purpose of the deeply flawed, poorly drafted legislation known
On Thursday June 13, 2024, the Imperial Valley Healthcare District (IVHD) passed a resolution to recommend the dissolution of the Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District (PMHD) on December 1 and Heffernan Memorial Healthcare District on October 1, 2024. This action was taken in following the mandates established in AB918. What does “dissolution” mean? Section 32499.95(b) states: “Effective on
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