Local News

Help Save Watsonville Community Hospital

Not only is it the place most babies are born, but it provides invaluable emergency services countywide.

BY TONY NUÑEZ

When news broke late last year that Watsonville Community Hospital was facing imminent closure there was a panic among people that understood what the loss of the 106-bed acute care facility would mean for local health care. Quickly, a coalition of public entities and nonprofits—now known as the Pajaro Valley Healthcare District Project—formed to purchase the hospital and stave off what would have been a catastrophe for the Central Coast.

The hospital employs 620 people and has a medical staff of over two hundred physicians. It provides a range of services to roughly 70,000 residents in the Pajaro Valley, including an emergency room, OB-GYN, pediatrics, medical-surgical care, wound care, gastroenterology, orthopedics and cardiovascular care. And it provides these services to some of the most vulnerable populations: Around 80% of its patients are on MediCal and Medicare—this includes older adults living on fixed income, and bluecollar workers and their families that are the foundation of our service and agriculture industries.

In addition, Watsonville Community Hospital delivers more babies than any other hospital in the county.

Leadership from the County of Santa Cruz, City of Watsonville, Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley and Salud Para La Gente have raised roughly 75% of the $63 million needed to complete the purchase of the hospital by a fastapproaching Aug. 31 deadline.

Jurisdictions such as Santa Cruz ($5.5 million) and Monterey ($3M) counties have already chipped in. So, too, have health care organizations: Kaiser Permanente ($3M), the Central California Alliance for Health ($3M), Stanford Children’s Hospital ($1M), Blue Shield of California ($1M), and Dominican Hospital ($300,000) have all contributed. And, not to be outdone, the Pajaro Valley community—and the greater Santa Cruz County—has also pitched in. Driscoll’s berry company ($1.75M), Dobler & Sons ($100K), the hospital’s medical staff ($55K), the Chinese Community of Watsonville ($50K), Rowland and Pat Rebele ($50K), and the Simpkins family ($50K) have all made significant donations.

Along with these monetary investments, our state representatives have pulled off Herculean tasks to get us to this point. This includes State Senators John Laird and Anna Caballero, and Assemblymembers Robert Rivas and Mark Stone.

In all, around 300 donors, advocates and contributors—big and small— have realized that losing Watsonville Community Hospital would be devastating for our region.

Three months ago I was appointed by the County’s Board of Supervisors to the Pajaro Valley Health Care District (PVHCD), the new public agency tasked with providing oversight of the hospital once the purchase is completed. I serve alongside John Friel, former CEO of Watsonville Community Hospital who has overseen multiple California health care district hospitals; Jasmine Nájera, licensed clinical social worker with 20 years of experience working for the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency; Dr. Katie Gabriel-Cox, OB/ GYN Chief of Watsonville Community Hospital and with Salud Para La Gente; and Marcus Pimentel, fiscal expert and a former Board member of Salud Para La Gente currently serving as Budget Manager for Santa Cruz County.

Together, we have worked tirelessly with a stellar group of consultants to complete the purchase of the hospital. Importantly, we believe we have a clear, strong, and achievable roadmap to not only buy the hospital but turn it around after more than two decades of jarring administrative turnover and ensure that Pajaro Valley residents have access to the health care that they deserve.

Some of the initiatives we plan to implement to increase revenue include strengthening billing procedures, resulting in reduced denials of payments; adjusting the hospital’s billed charges to better align with insurance reimbursement; and renegotiating commercial insurance contracts.

Initiatives relating to decreasing expenses include improving in cost of supplies; aligning physician payments to market rates; and more efficient staff scheduling. Other initiatives include subletting of vacant non-hospital space; using excess space for skilled nursing, rehabilitative services, or behavioral health care; and building volume through physician recruitment and health care partnerships.

The hospital has undergone 21 administrative turnovers in as many years. This volatility has made it all but impossible to adequately serve the community and run a sustainable operation. Our new not-for-profit model will give us access to funding sources that were previously unavailable to the hospital, and it will give the community oversight of the direction of the hospital. Perhaps most importantly, it will also guarantee that all of the profits will be reinvested back into the facility and the community.

If you have not yet donated, I urge you to do so. Don’t think of your contribution as charity. Rather, think of it as an investment into a promising startup that will provide a sustainable service. Because of our hard-working, nose-to-the-grindstone mentality, we Pajaro Valley residents don’t often ask for help. But this situation is the exception. We need help to accomplish this feat. I’m asking everyone in Santa Cruz County—and the greater Central Coast and Bay Area—to help us complete the purchase of Watsonville Community Hospital. The health of your neighbors, coworkers, employees, friends, and family depend on it.

 Tony Nuñez is a member of the Board of Directors for the Pajaro Valley Health Care District, regional newspaper editor and lifelong resident of Watsonville. Contact Nuñez at tony. nunez@pvhcd.org. For information on the health care district, visit PVHCD. org. To donate to the Project, visit PVHDP.org.

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From parenting to local events to monthly guides and everything in between. 5 Easy Steps to Prepare For Wildfires

BY SUSAN TATSUI-D’ARCY

Children, and adults, are anxious about the negative effects of wildfires and climate-related disasters. The uncertainty of when they will strike and the restrictions it puts on after-school activities, family vacations, and even onsite classes are taking its toll on all of us.

I recently hosted the North Rodeo Gulch Firewise event to encourage residents to take action to mitigate wildfires. With over 17 expert speakers from Supervisor Manu Koenig to Central Fire’s top brass to SC County Sheriff to ARES (ham radio), they addressed concerns and offered excellent tips on how to navigate the upcoming fire season.

My daughter, Dr. Nicole D’Arcy, ER physician at Valley Medical Center in San Jose, spoke about how to treat burns and injuries when emergency aid is not available. Sean Gomez, my 9th-grade student, spoke about his cyber deck project that can give us vital information when we are cut off from all forms of communication.

You can watch the entire presentation at NRGfirewise.com/events.

Here are the 5 steps you can take now to prepare for the inevitable wildfires – and to ease your stress knowing that you are proactive in protecting your family and home.

PACK GO-BAG

Besides food, water, meds, toiletries and clothing, add these vital items: butterfly bandages, duct tape, ACE wrap, headlamp, tweezers, gauze, antibiotics ointment/medi-honey, goggles, respirator N95 masks, the list of all your medications, and all your essential prescriptions (inhalers, EpiPens, heart medications). Keep these in your bag so you’re always prepared.

SIGN UP FOR CODERED

This reverse 9-1-1 system will alert you about emergency evacuations, severe weather, missing persons, and more. You’ll be notified by cell phone or landline. Go to scr911.org to sign up.

PURCHASE A MURS RADIO

When your power goes off and/or you lose cell phone reception, you will be able to communicate with neighbors using the MURS radio system to get emergency updates from the OR3, fire department, sheriff/police, etc. We recommend the Dakota Alert or the BaoFeng UV-82C radios. You don’t need a license to use these radios and you can talk to ham radio operators to relay your emergencies.

CLEAR ALL COMBUSTIBLE MATERIALS 5 FEET AROUND YOUR HOUSE

Remove all wood, plastic, or anything that is flammable that touches your house and work your way outward 5 feet. That means your patio set, stacks of firewood, planter boxes, and any vegetation. I just cut 100-feet of gorgeous wisteria that completely wrapped around my house. The fire inspector told me the vines would act like a wick to ignite my house; that’s all I needed to hear before I pulled out my shears. REDUCE FIRE RISK BY LIMBING UP TREES AND CLEARING ROADWAYS

Think about what you can do to keep wildfires from igniting on your property. Limb up tree branches to 6-10 feet from the ground. Thin trees so their canopies don’t touch each other. Weed whack brush to 2”-4” tall. Clear trees and overhanging branches so a fire apparatus can safely drive up your roads. The road should be cleared at least 26 feet wide and at least 13 feet 6 inches tall. Fire fighters will not drive up roads that are unsafe for their teams. Work with your neighbors to clear your roads and maintain them.

Create a plan that gives you several months to complete your fire prevention preparation. Lay it out in your planner or calendar; having it written will help ensure that you get it done. Continue to make plans into the future so you can take steps that work within your budget and free time.

Check out NRGfirewise.com for resources and more tips.

 Susan Tatsui-D’Arcy is the founder of Merit Academy (one-on-one classes) and Merit Educational Consultants (college and educational advisory). She is the leader of the North Rodeo Gulch Firewise community. She has written books on projects, free child care, education, and parenting. Susan hosts TEDxMeritAcademy for students to present their innovative projects and solutions. In 2019, she was California Mother of the Year. meritworld.com