El Centro Regional Medical Center responds to update on Assembly Bill 918
IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - This week, Pioneers Memorial Hospital expressed concerns about the new amendment to Bill 918.
On July 6, the bill was amended and Pioneers expressed their concerns about taxes being raised.
Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia introduced Bill 918 to create a new county-wide healthcare district for Imperial County.
Bringing in Pioneers Memorial Hospital, Heffernan Memorial Hospital, and El Centro Regional Medical Center into one district.
Such as voters who are taxpayers outside of Pioneers and Heffernan can vote to not pay taxes on the new healthcare district.
Taxpayers will see their money going toward the new Imperial Valley Healthcare District.
El Centro Regional Medical Center also addressed their response with the new update on the bill and how it is no secret that they are struggling financially to keep the hospital up and running.
“It is in our best interest to move in this direction as far as the services we provide the medical services and the reimbursement and insurance and payments that we get we’re good on that what we’re not good on is completing the investment of improvements on seismic retrofit the updates dor the billing program that we have the changing of the boilers so basically all the little facelifts that we need to do internally,” said Thomas Oliva President of El Centro Regional Medical Center.
Garcia spoke more about the clarification of the bill.
“There was some miscommunication or misunderstanding where people were saying they oppose the bill because they oppose who is going to be managing the hospital in Brawley let it be very clear the five elected board members of Pioneers will remain in the management oversight of that hospital for a little over a year prior to any integration or resolving of the healthcare district,” said Garcia.
According to Damon Sorensen Interim CEO of Pioneers Memorial Hospital, he is afraid that the taxpaying towards the new healthcare district will jeopardize Pioneers financially.
“So Pioneers has had some financial struggles but we’ve turned that around we’ve made over five million dollars over the last seven months we got a positive budget of over 3.5 million next year and to get pulled into this thing and to cause the one healthy hospital that you have in the county to now be unhealthy you really jeopardize and do accomplish exactly all the things that they say they are trying to avoid,” said Sorensen.
“We want to make sure that this bill doesn't require or obligate any raising of taxes that's a decision that will be made by the local leadership of the healthcare district the bill doesn't force or obligate anything of that sort so it’s important that we clarify that in the bill,” said Assemblymember Garcia.
Garcia hopes that the concerns that both districts have understood and have better clarification on what the bill is trying to serve for the community.
