Imperial Valley Healthcare District celebrates hospital merger

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) - El Centro Regional Medical Center has joined the Imperial Valley Healthcare District (IVHD), which already includes Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley.

The merger was approved by the El Centro City Council on October 13. Leaders said this moment follows years of negotiations.

"It was a great partnership with former Assembly member Eduardo Garcia," State Sen. Steve Padilla (D-District 18) told News 11 in an interview.

"It was very necessary as he referenced, you know, there was a lot of conversations in this region for many decades, but you're really faced with a point in time a few years ago where you were looking at the complete failure of some of the major acute care hospital facilities in the region," State Sen. Padilla said.

The goal is to coordinate resources and create a more sustainable health care system, with board members saying the focus is on hiring and keeping experienced staff and supporting medical teams.

"All through all the chaos and everything, who really I'm proud of and who I'm really excited for is our healthcare workers," IVHD Board President Katherine Burnsworth said. "You guys went through COVID, Just to get dropped into, hey, a hospital might close. Hey, we might have a merger."

Soon, residents will not have to travel outside of Imperial County for specialized care.

Patty Maysent, CEO of UC San Diego Health, said, "We can expand cancer care. We can expand cardiovascular care, diabetes care, you name it...We can add services so that. Our mantra is that we want Imperial Valley residents to get care in Imperial Valley."

The challenge now is turning the transfer into better access to doctors, specialized treatment, and care close to home.