In 2024, a new law will combine the three current Imperial County healthcare districts into one. Before the year is out, an appointed board must figure out how much money it will take to run it, negotiate a merger plan that doesn’t drop the ball for existing patients, and hope that the voters approve some way to fund it. If it’s not done correctly, it could make getting care harder for everyone—particularly Imperial’s most vulnerable.
Small hospitals and healthcare districts are struggling everywhere. El Centro Regional Medical Center (ECRMC) is currently tens of millions of dollars in debt and closed its maternity and pediatric departments to stay afloat. Heffernan Memorial Healthcare District (HMHD) declared bankruptcy 25 years ago and provides no direct care services. Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District (PMHD) has funding via a property tax, but has staffing issues and faces expensive facility updates.
Although the California legislature acted quickly to help, the law they passed (AB 918) is critically flawed and is already negatively disrupting our County’s healthcare.
Among the many problems:
Worse, the appointed healthcare district board is struggling to meet AB 918’s requirements, throwing the effort into chaos.
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As we watched the actions from the beginning of the “merger” of the county’s only two hospitals into a single district, the lack of transparency has been an overriding concern. There is much evidence of this, but let’s focus on the current lack of transparency — from first the new healthcare district and secondly, University
El Centro, CA (October 24, 2024) – The creation of the Imperial Valley Healthcare District (IVHD) under AB918 prioritizes expediency over developing a sustainable and equitable healthcare system. The actions by the IVHD and LAFCO today will irreparably change the healthcare landscape of our county all without a single vote of our citizens and without critical financial
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