A bankrupt California hospital will receive a $10 million loan from a new state program to aid troubled providers, Bloomberg News reported. The loan would throw a lifeline to the San Benito Health Care District, which operates Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister. San Benito filed for a rare Chapter 9 bankruptcy in May as it faced waning cash and unfunded pension obligations. Hazel Hawkins is one of 17 facilities to receive a loan through the program, a state press release outlined on Thursday. The community hospitals will be award a combined total of close to $300 million of assistance. “Across the country, community hospitals are experiencing financial stress like never before. These hospitals are often the only acute health care access point in their area,” said Governor Gavin Newsom said in the statement. “In partnership with the legislature, we are working to keep the doors open so Californians can access critical care close to home.” Like hundreds of other ailing rural hospitals, Hazel Hawkins caters to poorer patients lacking private insurance, or any insurance at all. Meanwhile, US hospitals still contend with higher labor costs and staffing shortages exacerbated by the pandemic. Hazel Hawkins said it would exhaust its cash next year and needed to restructure its outstanding obligations as it sought a buyer or partner, according to court papers. Read more.
The financially troubled healthcare sector will be the focus of the ABI Healthcare Program, September 18-19, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. For more information and to register, click here.
