The board overseeing Hollister, Calif.-based Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital voted to move negotiations forward with a potential private buyer of the hospital, NBC affiliate KSBW reported June 6.
The San Benito Health Care District is negotiating with Flint, Mich.-based Insight Health System, according to the report. Hazel Hawkins CEO Mary Casillas said the next step for the hospital is "to work with Insight to get to definitive terms, to come up with a plan to make sure that we do what is in the best entrance for the district in the healthcare in San Benito County, and what that looks like for the longevity and stability of healthcare in San Benito County."
If a deal is made, voters will vote on the sale in the November election, according to the report.
Insight is a physician-led organization with six acute care hospitals, six surgery centers and 28 clinics, according to a news release from the organization posted June 6 on Benito Link's website.
In the release, Insight said it is proposed to continue all service lines, create a $50 million capital expenditure budget, develop a community advisory board and upgrade pharmacy services.
"Our experienced team intends to work closely with all internal and community stakeholders to steer Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital toward financial stability to ensure the hospital is sustainable and able to meet the community’s needs both now and in the future," Insight Chief Strategy Officer Atif Bawahab said in the release.
The board's decision was met with opposition from the California Nurses Association. In a June 5 news release, Sonia Duran, RN, said the board "seems unable or unwilling to recognize that Hazel Hawkins is a valuable public asset that belongs to the people of the San Benito Health Care District." Diane Beck, RN, is also quoted in the release saying, "A private hospital would be driven by profit and accountable to shareholders, who historically prioritize money over patients."
San Benito Health Care District voted in May 2023 to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy after declaring a fiscal emergency in November 2022. The California Nurses Association objected to the filing, arguing the hospital was solvent and able to pay bills through the fiscal year's end. A California judge acknowledged the financial challenges Hazel Hawkins had faced but ruled that the hospital failed to satisfy all the statutory requirements to remain in Chapter 9 bankruptcy.