This community opinion was contributed by San Benito County Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent BenitoLink or other affiliated contributors. BenitoLink invites all community members to share their ideas and opinions. By registering as a BenitoLink user in the top right corner of our home page and agreeing to follow our Terms of Use, you can write counter opinions or share your insights on current issues. Lea este artículo en español aquí.

There is no more important issue for San Benito County residents than keeping Hazel Hawkins Hospital public with local control. 

Our community cannot afford the massive, unnecessary risk proposed by the San Benito Healthcare District ‒ on the November ballot ‒ to eventually sell Hazel Hawkins to a private company in Flint, Mich. We have no reason to hit the panic button, especially because the hospital is in a good financial position. 

Hospital leaders pursued bankruptcy in 2023 but were rejected due to the district’s financial standing. We have since learned the district reported a fiscal year-end surplus of $15.5 million, cash flow of $18.6 million and 92.6 days of operating cash on hand. This financial performance ranks in the top quarter of all California hospitals.

So why sell our community cornerstone to a private entity motivated by profit? Why give up local control of our hospital?

There’s no logical explanation despite hospital administrators’ argument that the long-term fiscal outlook ‒ which there is time to address ‒ is concerning. If the hospital was in dire straits, why did the district board in January ‒ claiming to need bankruptcy for short-term survival ‒ give CEO Mary Casillas a 50% raise that took her salary to $450,000 while adding a $450,000 severance if she is terminated?

Casillas, a former San Benito Healthcare District board member, resigned from that elected post in 2022. The board then appointed her as CEO without Casillas having CEO experience or basic qualifications to run a hospital. Casillas has led this bankruptcy maneuver and sale pursuit, and elected board members (her former colleagues) have rubber stamped her decisions.

We can’t trust this leadership group anymore with so much at stake. Along with community organizers who rightfully call out this board’s dismissiveness toward the public they represent, I am fighting to keep the hospital public.

In response to false political rhetoric already spreading: The county is not proposing to take over the hospital, take on immense liability or increase taxes. Recognizing the issue’s critical importance, the county hired an internationally renowned healthcare consultant to help the district develop a business plan and restructured governance model to address concerns.

That plan focuses on the following: 

  • Develop a much-needed physicians group
  • Invest in capital upgrades with gradually growing profits
  • Improve care and the hospital reputation through these investments
  • Explore clinical partnerships with organizations like Stanford Healthcare
  • Form a Joint Powers Authority (partnership) between the healthcare district and local agencies
  • Develop an operating board comprised of professionals, including healthcare and business experts, to oversee hospital administration

Running a hospital is a complicated business. Electing board members without specific qualifications is the root cause of this hospital’s troubles. Board members who may not know what they’re doing often run unopposed, and we’re stuck with them to make critical decisions ‒ like whether to sell our hospital or hire a CEO without adequate experience. 

Voters must do their homework. With already present scare tactics from hospital sale proponents that a JPA would lead to more taxes, consider the following: There are no bonds or taxes forecasted. If by chance there’s a need for massive capital upgrades way down the road ‒ due to state-required seismic upgrades ‒ do you think a private company from Michigan would pay that bill? You would have to be extraordinarily naive to believe a company looking to profit off an undervalued asset would write that check, and the proposed JPA couldn’t issue public debt because it wouldn’t own hospital assets necessary for it. 

If you’re still uncertain, consider who has rallied against the district’s misguided direction, aside from a diverse group of reputable community members: Hospital nurses are united against the sale option, and Hazel Hawkins’ physicians voted 49-2 in favor of keeping the hospital public.

There is far too much at stake to take such an ill-advised risk. Vote against the eventual sale of the hospital. Keep Hazel Hawkins public.

Kollin Kosmicki is District 2 Supervisor in San Benito County.