Sonoma Residents Lose Fight for Hospital
Palm Drive Hospital officially closed Monday, April 28, 2014 after negotiations with the Palm Drive Health Care District failed to reach an agreement to keep the bankrupt taxpayer-subsidized hospital open. Residents of Sebastopol, CA, and hospital supporters stood outside the emergency room entrance as they watched maintenance workers secure the building and post closure notices at all entrances.
Inside the hospital, nursing staff took a final inventory of medical and pharmaceutical supplies, and arrangements made to send narcotics and other pharmaceuticals back to drug companies, The Press Democrat reported. A large trailer from the Redwood Community Food Bank arrived shortly after Palm Drive Hospital closed to collect whatever could be salvaged of the hospital’s 72-hour supply of food.
The Sonoma California hospital filed two bankruptcies in the last seven years amidst huge declines in overnight patients, reduced payments from insurance companies and staggering competition from nearby hospitals. Santa Rosa, Sebastopol’s neighboring city 8 miles to the east, is home to large medical centers including Sutter Medical Center, St. Joseph Health, and Kaiser Permanente.
Sad Day for Local Residents and Staff
Hospital staff carried out boxes of personal items and workers comforted each other over the closing. “It’s a very sad day. This is a wonderful hospital,” Palm Drive CEO Thomas Harlan, said. “It’s the last thing in the world I ever anticipated in my career.”
Harlan came out of retirement in 2012 to become the small Sebastopol hospital’s 10th CEO in five years. The 73-year-old community hospital had 47 beds, featured a state-of-the-art robotic telemedicine unit, and was recognized as having one of the most advanced Intensive Care Units in California. Harlan was handed the enormous responsibility of bringing back to financial stability; instead, he was witness to the community hospital’s closing.
Hospital officials say they are continuing negotiations and hope an agreement can be reached in the near future to reopen the hospital in some other form. “We are in agreement that we will work very hard over the next days and weeks to create a strong plan that we can present to the district board and the state Department of Health,” Chris Dawson, president of the hospital board, said in a statement. “We agree that there are important issues to work through, and the importance of taking some time now to work though these important issues and get it right.”
Hospital Supporters Launch Anti-Tax Campaign After Closure
Dan Smith, a former hospital board member who opposes the closure, launched a campaign to repeal the parcel tax that supports the hospital and the health care district. His group, The Committee to Cancel the Palm Drive Parcel Tax, said the hospital’s closure stemmed from “reckless and unlawful management” by the current Palm Drive Health Care District board, and proposes a November ballot initiative to end the parcel tax at the end of the year. The parcel tax levies up to $155 on each taxable parcel, and raises about $3.6 million a year.
According to Smith, the repeal would jeopardize repayment to the hospital’s current bondholders, and could encourage them to put pressure on the board to reopen the hospital as soon as possible. “Our message is very clear: No hospital, no parcel tax,” said Smith, who has promised financial support for the foundation’s proposal to take over Palm Drive Hospital. “We’re not going to keep sending $3.6 million a year so you can keep squandering it,” Smith added.
Dawson, the Palm Drive Hospital President, called the move “unfortunate” given that the district board continues to negotiate with the foundation. “That’s too bad. I still think that we have an opportunity to create a new health care model for West County. We’re working with the foundation,” Dawson said.
In 2010, after emerging from its previous bankruptcy, the hospital sold $11 million in bonds to pay off loans and creditors and to underwrite future improvements. The tax also subsidizes operating losses and pays for bonds sold in 2005 for construction and equipment.
Several other hospitals have gone bankrupt in 2014. Click on the articles below to learn more.
Natchez Regional Hospital Files Bankruptcy (southwest Mississippi)
North Adams Hospital Files for Bankruptcy (western Massachusetts)
Gilbert Hospital Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy (Phoenix, Arizona)
Lake Shore Hospital Files for Bankruptcy (Irving, New York)