With the ink barely dry on a vote in the state Senate, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed S.B. 418, according to a release from the office of State Sen. John Laird, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported. S.B. 418, authored by Laird, creates the Pajaro Valley Health Care District. The district is first in line to purchase the financially troubled Watsonville Community Hospital. Three weeks ago, Laird “gut and amended” Senate Bill 418 to add language that would create the Pajaro Valley Healthcare District. In a matter of weeks, Laird moved this legislation through the full legislative process. Assemblymembers Robert Rivas and Mark Stone, as well as Sen. Anna Caballero also co-authored S.B. 418. In response to the current owners of the Watsonville Community Hospital filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy, issuing WARN Act notices to employees, and announcing the hospital’s January closure, Laird authored legislation to ensure the hospital doors remain open. In late November, Watsonville Community Hospital CEO Steven Salyer announced that the hospital would be sold or shuttered by March. Pajaro Valley Healthcare District Project leader and former Santa Cruz County health official Mimi Hall is working with the county, Watsonville and others to build financial backing for the acquisition and future operation of the hospital as it goes through chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. In late January, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved $5 million toward the purchase and the operation of the hospital. Those funds are contingent on the district’s successful bid for the hospital. All total, the county has earmarked $5.5 million, according to a county release.
