Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital announced it received a $3 million loan from the California Health Facilities Financing Authority (CHFFA).
Interim CEO Mary Casillas said the loan and “other operational savings endeavors” extend the date in which the hospital is estimated to run out of funds to operate from Feb. 18 to mid-March.
“Part of our long term plan moving forward is to continue to search for additional funding and strategic partnership opportunities along with evaluating our daily operations to identify and implement cost saving measures to continue to extend that date,” Casillas said.
According to the news release “additional funding is needed to further extend the date to at least September 2023 to provide sufficient time for its marketing process and to close a deal with a strategic partner.”
The hospital has said it needed to come up with an additional $25 million to avoid bankruptcy. The $3-million loan is the first portion of additional funding the hospital has announced in its efforts to save the hospital from bankruptcy.
On Nov. 4, the San Benito Health Care District, Hazel Hawkins’ governing board, declared a fiscal emergency, allowing the district to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. In that meeting, Chief Finance Officer Mark Robinson told its board of directors Nov. 4 that several factors led the hospital to need the option of filing for bankruptcy. Those factors which included an obligation to return over $12 million to the state this fiscal year, an Anthem Blue Cross reimbursement dispute and a delay in supplemental payments totaling $13 million due to the hospital from the state.
The hospital asked the county for a $10 million loan. On Dec. 15, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors approved a $2.24 million advancement to the hospital in property tax revenues but the hospital was due 50% of that amount by the end of the month regardless of the supervisor’s vote.
On Dec. 19, the hospital sent notices to its employees of possible mass layoffs and possible closure. The notice stated that the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act can be extended or retracted if Hazel Hawkins is successful in finding funding.
On Dec. 28, the hospital announced a new agreement with Anthem Blue Cross though it did not respond to BenitoLink’s request for comment on details of the agreement and how it impacts its financial status.
Hazel Hawkins scheduled a public forum for Jan. 23 at 5:30 p.m. at the Veteran’s Memorial Building in downtown Hollister. The hospital said its officials will provide updates about their financial status and what actions are being taken care to preserve hospital services. Questions can be submitted for the public forum at wecare@hazelhawkins.com.
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