The Palo Verde Healthcare District (PVHD) board, which oversees the Palo Verde Hospital and Community Clinic, pushed back the closure of the facilities by a week pending receipt of a $330,000 bridge loan from the city of Blythe.
“This will allow for approximately one additional week of payroll,” PVHD attorney Lena Wade said at the January 9 special meeting. “This time will allow for discussions with the county, city and other stakeholders regarding transition opportunities.”
The loan was approved by the Blythe City Council earlier in the day with the caveat that the PVHD board allow the county to come in and manage the day-to-day operations of the hospital, according to interim City Manager Mallory Crecelius.
“I understand the county is ready and willing to come in,” she said in an email to The Riverside Record.
In an email sent to Wade ahead of the meeting obtained by The Record, County Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen said the collective goal of ensuring the residents of the Palo Verde Valley have access to emergency medical care “remains steadfast.”
“Please know that the county will continue to work expeditiously with the hospital to explore all potential options and to offer whatever assistance we can,” he said. “We do recognize, however, that challenging financial and legal hurdles stand in our way, including the pending Chapter 9 bankruptcy proceedings and the district’s significant outstanding debt.”
At the meeting, PVHD interim Chief Financial Officer Michael Rose said the district received the draft terms of the loan agreement earlier in the day, but that the conditions were “not yet finalized.”
“The motion should be to approve the loan with the city, subject to additional negotiations with council representatives and district representatives,” Joanna Gonzalez, PVHD Board Clerk, said.
The board unanimously approved the loan as recommended by staff. Director Dr. David Brooks was absent.
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After approving the loan, the board unanimously voted to authorize the district to post and deliver closure notices for the indefinite cessation of medical services at the hospital and community clinic as of 11:59 p.m. January 16. That date, according to Rose, assumes the district receives the loan from the city by Monday morning.
“If the loan is not forthcoming, then there will not be enough money to continue to bring staff to work, in which case then closure of the hospital would become imminent,” he said, noting that the district as of Friday evening had approximately $300,000 in the bank.
The day before the meeting, the district announced that the California Department of Health Care Services (HCS) declined the district’s request for funding through the Medi-Cal Intergovernmental Transfer (IGT) Voluntary Rate Range Program.
In order to participate in the program, the district was required to pay $3.45 million in December in order to receive roughly $10 million this month. The district was able to secure a $4 million loan to cover the cost, but HCS determined that a loan was not a permissible source for the contribution.
“As has been stated, I believe since before the start of the fiscal year, the IGT fund was needed to balance the budget through the end of the fiscal year,” Rose said at the January 9 meeting. “Without this funding, it puts the district in a very difficult predicament.”
The state said the proceeds from the loan would be returned to the district, but it was not immediately disclosed whether that money would immediately be returned to the loan company.
Last May, PVHD announced that the hospital would be suspending patient admissions due to financial issues. In September, the Riverside County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) voted to begin the process of dissolving the district. In October, the hospital filed for bankruptcy prompting LAFCO to reevaluate its next steps. That same month, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved a property tax revenue advance to support continued hospital operations.
“It’s just a shame that [if] this hospital, which provides health care for folks in that immediate area, shuts down what it will do, not only for healthcare, but what it will do for the economy, for the people overall,” Board Chair V. Manuel Perez said at that October 21 meeting. “It’s just a tough situation.”
If the hospital closes, more than 17,000 residents will be left without local access to emergency care, according to the city. Those with PPO plans would be forced to travel 50 miles to La Paz Regional Hospital in Arizona, while those with HMOs would need to travel 100 miles to John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio or other Coachella Valley hospitals.
The district has another special meeting set for 6 p.m. January 14 at Blythe City Hall.
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Over $100 million is spent each year by Medicare, Medi-Cal and commercial insurance plans on medical services rendered to the residents of Blythe. Most is spent 100 miles away in the Coachella Valley. It can be captured with a local Rural Centric Care Organization (RCCO) and used to capitalize a new hospital and multispecialty clinic in town enabling the RCCO to centralize care in Blythe, increase jobs and the local economy. Blythe will sparkle.