Trustees Sought for Pajaro Valley Health Care District • Leadership Santa Cruz Taps Trudie Ransom

COMMUNITY NEWS

Trustees Sought for Pajaro Valley Health Care District

The County of Santa Cruz is seeking applicants to the board of the newlycreated Pajaro Valley Health Care District to govern activities associated with the delivery of medical care in the Pajaro Valley, and manage the sale of Watsonville Community Hospital.

The Pajaro Valley Health Care District submitted the only bid during the ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize.

Financial reports submitted to the California Department of Health Care show the 106-bed hospital lost $14.3 million in 2019 and $17.9 million in 2020. Court documents show the hospital lost $32 million in 2021.

Watsonville Community Hospital serves an area of lower household income and access to quality housing, transportation, and healthcare, according to the California Healthy Places Index. Revenue comes largely from Medicare or Medi-Cal, the state program for low-income residents, and rates do not cover the cost billed for services.

Despite the financial difficulties, the hospital remains fully operational.

The amount of the bid has not been revealed, but the county contributed $5.5 million, Central California Alliance for Health $3 million, the County of Monterey $3 million, and the city of Watsonvllle $130,000 toward the local effort.

Ten days ago, State Sen. John Laird ( D-Santa Cruz) told Monterey County Weekly the group had raised $18 million. To make the sale possible, he introduced SB 418, which was approved by the Legislature in 19 days and signed by Gov. Newsom on Feb. 4.

A sales hearing was scheduled in bankruptcy court for Feb. 23.

Applicants must be permanent residents of the boundaries of the Health Care District (see the map on application form), a registered voter in Monterey or Santa Cruz counties, and able to complete statements of economic interest.

Ideal candidates are to “reflect the diversity of Pajaro Valley and have experience in healthcare, business, and/or community endeavors,” according to the county.

The five board positions are voluntary. Future terms will be subject to districtbased elections by the voting public.

Applications are due by March 4. To apply, go to https://tinyurl.com/ PVHCDBoard.

The Board of Supervisors will make appointments on March 22. An introductory meeting will take place March 24 followed by a planning meeting March 26. n

Leadership Santa Cruz Taps Trudie Ransom

Leadership Santa Cruz County announces Trudie Ransom as its new executive director. The owner of the SUP Shack at the Santa Cruz Harbor and executive secretary at the Capitola Chamber of Commerce, she was a member of Leadership Santa Cruz County Class 30 six years ago.

Ransom said the experience “gave me the confidence to grow my business.”

She added, “I loved the networking

opportunities and learning more about the Santa Cruz County community.” Her goal is “steering class members to their best experience ever at Leadership Santa Cruz County.” She’ll be shadowing Dave Vincent, interim executive director, as he wraps up Class 35, which graduates in June, and Trudie Ransom welcomes Class 36 in the fall. The nonprofit provides a broad base of community knowledge to class members and creates opportunities to interact with leaders in government, business, health care and other industries.

For example, Class 35 will visit Watsonville on March 4, stopping at Watsonville Airport, the wetlands, and the Water Recycling Plant.

Next comes a focus on agriculture, one of the top two industries in the county along with tourism, with stops at the county fairgrounds and Gizdich Ranch.

Art & Culture Day is scheduled for April 15. n

For information, visit leadershipsanta cruzcounty.org.

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“Jaylen Dang” from page 6

We are sponsored by the Cabrillo Host Lions Club and we serve the local community through beach cleanups, collecting and reusing glasses for the homeless, and more.

I am also the president of the SciComm Club (community of science), which seeks to bring student voices to embark on challenging conversations surrounding race and achievement gaps.

Additionally, I became a Gravity Water’s Youth Initiative Student Ambassador my sophomore year where I organized a campaign to fundraise $2,500 to build a sustainable filtered-water system and provide a year-round supply of soap to a school in Nepal called Bishwa Shiksha Sadan Secondary School.

During my team’s campaign, we addressed the water crisis in Nepal where the problem lies in the water quality -- and not water scarcity. In parts of Nepal, some towns suffer from the lack of technology to sanitize their water even though they receive plentiful rainfall.

What will you do after you graduate?

My plans after I graduate are to attend a 4-year college and major in biology.

I want to pursue the medical field and try to get involved with the Doctors Without Borders in hope to help others especially in developing countries — which I have learned about in my campaign with Gravity Water — that don’t have access to sanitized water or technology to protect them from famine and diseases. n

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