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To provide temporary housing for traveling physicians, the San Benito Health Care District approved on June 22 the purchase of a triplex property for $1.149 million near Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital.
“Many of our physicians live out of the area and practice here on a rotating basis and are in a clinic and/or are on call for several days at a time,” Hazel Hawkins Marketing and Public Relations Manager Erika Yanez said. “For several years, the hospital has relied on (continuously) renting hotel rooms and apartments to meet this need.”
The health care district governs the hospital.
According to the San Benito County Recorder’s records, the deed was recorded June 30.
According to Homes.com, the triplex building has seven bedrooms and three baths.
The purchase was approved in a 3-0 vote during a special closed session meeting. Directors Bill Johnson and Dr. Nick Gabriel were absent.
Gabriel was ousted out from the board three days later for repeated meeting absences, including special meetings. Johnson himself has missed two consecutive board meetings.
The directors did not comment or discuss the purchase after District Counsel Heidi Quinn announced the vote in public session.
The property was purchased from the Cullumber, Denis & Elizabeth Family Trust, according to the recorder’s records.
Yanez said about 120 physicians work at the hospital, and an estimated 75% of them live outside the area.
Hazel Hawkins is not the only hospital in the region looking to provide temporary housing for employees.
Neighboring healthcare system Montage Health purchased two apartment buildings in Monterey in 2017 for use as transitional housing for its clinicians, according to the Monterey Herald.
Journal of Healthcare Management editor Eric Ford wrote in 2025 that the national housing shortage has led to the healthcare workforce living farther away from their place of employment. Ford reported that healthcare systems often lack the infrastructure or housing to accommodate staff, ultimately affecting recruitment and retention.
“Urban systems face affordability crises, while rural systems grapple with availability,” he wrote. “In both cases, housing programs are critical to maintaining a stable and effective healthcare workforce.”
While it didn’t involve housing, the last real estate venture taken on by the health care district resulted in a financial loss.
In 2022, the district purchased the former Oasis Fitness building on Maple Street in Hollister for $1.9 million, intending to demolish the existing structure and build a new one to house outpatient physical rehabilitation services. However, the district sold the property to the city of Hollister the following year for $1.62 million.
Now, that building has been among Hollister City Council’s closed session items under property negotiations. The city has not announced any sale and county records show the property was last bought by the city.
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