Cash-strapped Sonoma Valley Hospital in Sonoma, Calif., has plans to discuss a third cost-saving measure: a proposal to close its skilled nursing facility, the Sonoma Index-Tribune reports.
Sonoma Valley Hospital recently approved two other plans to reduce the facility's operating costs. Ownership of Healing at Home, the hospital's home care service, will be transferred for free to Larkspur, Calif.-based Hospice by the Bay, effective Oct. 1, the report states. Patients will not see any disruptions in care, hospital officials said.
"It was a money-losing operation, that was clear to us," Sonoma Valley Hospital Board of Directors Secretary Bill Boerum told the publication. "Reluctantly, I think it was something that had to be dealt with because of the losses. … It's a lost opportunity for the hospital. Home healthcare is a trend in the industry. More and more organizations are providing healthcare."
The board also voted in July to close the hospital's obstetrics department, effective Oct. 31. The move drew the ire of many patients and community members. However, Mr. Boerum said he did not believe cutting either service line meant the hospital was headed for a downfall.
The third cost-saving measure Sonoma Valley Hospital officials said they are considering is the closure of the institution's skilled nursing facility. Officials formed a task force in August to identify ways of improving the skilled nursing facility's financial performance or consider its closure. Officials also hired an outside consultant to help with the assessment.
However, Mr. Boreum told the Sonoma Index-Tribune the hospital's skilled nursing facility is not up for closure.
"[The skilled nursing facility] not on the chopping block. It's under serious review and re-evaluation as to whether the right cost numbers are involved or whether adjustments can be made that would make it profitable," he said.
Hospital officials plan to hold a meeting Sept. 27 to obtain the public's input on the skilled nursing facility's future. The task force is expected to discuss its interim report findings with the board during its meeting Oct. 4.
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