The JPA - Potential Partnership with County of San Benito
In Winter 2022-2023 representatives of the San Benito Health Care District (Hazel Hawkins Hospital) approached the County of San Benito and requested a $10 million loan due to the financial distress the hospital was in. The combination of what appeared to be a lack of substantive information and the sheer size of the ask compared to the County's reserves, the County Board of Supervisor declined the loan.
However, as a county entity, the County of San Benito has certain statutory obligations to provide a certain level of health care services to residents and for practical reasons, needs to have Hazel Hawkins Hospital open. Having motive to help but not necessarily wanting to take the risk of simply giving the hospital funds with no oversight, the County proposed forming a partnership with the San Benito County Health Care District to not only operate Hazel Hawkins Hospital, but to grow the services that it offers its residents.
To validate the County's theories on the viability of Hazel Hawkins Hospital, they hired an expert firm ECG Management Consultants. Not only did they find there was enough health care occurring in Hollister to support a hospital, but with common business practives put in place, Hazel Hospital could be much bigger and better. Key findings included that 53% of residents' health care dollars are being spent outside San Benito County. If the hospital could find a way to capture those dollars through increasing its reputation and offering more services that residents want, it would generate substantial cash flow.
How
The County of San Benito, if necessary would provide a loan or otherwise inject capital into Hazel Hawkins Hospital. Together with the San Benito Health Care District, they would appoint individuals in the community to a board charged with overseeing Hazel Hawkins Hospital.
HHH Operating Board - The Skills Necessary for Success
HHH Operating Board Members would be seasoned individuals who have medical, financial, and operating backgrounds, and have communication skills conducive to organization building. Focus would be on running the business of Hazel Hawkins Hospital.
Why the JPA is Necessary
There are no requirements to get elected to the San Benito Health Care District, other than to be registered to vote in San Benito County. This can result in a board that does not know how to manage a complex entity like Hazel Hawkins Hospital and hire/evaluate the administration that runs the hospital day-today (most likely the reason we are where we are today).