A group of medical professionals and nonprofit leaders have begun a campaign to establish a new healthcare district in California's Santa Cruz County to own and operate the Watson Community Hospital there, GoodTimes reported Nov. 2.
The organizers will form the Pajaro Valley Healthcare District Project with the mission "to ensure the communities we serve have the high quality and sustainable healthcare services they need by placing local healthcare resources in the hands of the people."
The organizers have already met with leaders from Watson Community Hospital to discuss the possibility of local governance and ownership. The chair of the board for the healthcare district group said that both organizations share a common goal of high-quality healthcare for the community.
It is unknown whether the current hospital management, Prospect Medical Holdings, will be willing to cede control, but they told GoodTimes that they are open to continuing discussions with the organizers.
To officially form the healthcare district, the group will either have to get the signatures of 12 percent of voters in Santa Cruz County or go through the California state legislative process for bill creation.