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The future of Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital will be in the hands of San Benito County voters this Nov. 5, as they are being asked to weigh in on two competing measures.
The San Benito Health Care District Board of Directors voted unanimously on July 25 to continue its negotiations with Michigan-based Insight Health Systems, and to place a measure on the Nov. 5 ballot asking voters to approve a five-year lease-to-own deal with Insight’s newly formed California nonprofit.
That decision came two days after the San Benito County Board of Directors voted to place a non-binding advisory measure on the ballot asking whether the County should establish a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) agreement with the hospital district “and other interested jurisdictions” to to operate the hospital.”
The stated goal of the measure is “to keep Hazel Hawkins Hospital public and under local control.”
Insight’s Chief Strategy Officer Atif Bawahab said the company has formed a nonprofit, named Insight Health Foundation of California, Inc., which will be managed by a board of directors drawn from the local community and invite public representation and input.
“This will be an entity that is going to be able to distribute earnings back into the community,” Bawahab told BenitoLink. “It’s also going to have a strong presence from local and community members that are considered not Insight affiliates.”
Insight’s Director of Public Policy and Government Relations Dayne Walling said Insight has several affiliated nonprofit organizations, such as the Insight Research Institute and the Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village in Flint, Michigan and the Chicago-based Insight Hospital and Medical Center.
During the July 25 health care district board meeting, attorney Robert Miller, acting as counsel for the district, briefly discussed the terms negotiated with Insight. They include:
- Continuing to provide all of the services now available at the hospital
- Maintaining a minimum of 90% of the hospital’s current workforce
- Accepting a “first right of refusal” clause that would give the district an opportunity to buy back the hospital’s assets if Insight were to sell
- Keeping the Hazel Hawkins name, or some version of it that includes the Insight brand
- Continuing to offer services to Medicare and Medi-Cal patients
Though the agreement between the health care district and Insight is not finalized, Richard Piel, a consultant to the district, said the definitive agreement would be ready before the election.
“By the time voters go to the polls, all of those transaction documents will have been completed and will have been executed,” Peil told BenitoLink. “It’s not unusual to not have the definitive documents completed at the time you’re putting the language on the ballot.”
According to a study of the hospital’s assets by HealthCare Appraisers, a healthcare valuation and advisory firm, the hospital is worth between $59 million and $65.5 million.
The ballot measure reads: “Without increasing taxes and to continue providing local access to life-saving emergency medical care, surgery, radiology, long-term care, advanced medical technology and treatments, mother/baby, clinic and physician services at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, shall San Benito Health Care District’s measure be adopted to lease with an option to purchase, said hospital facilities and other District assets to nonprofit Insight Health Foundation of California Inc. (or another qualified buyer) for fair market value as determined by an independent appraiser to ensure continued hospital services to the community?”
It will cost the district $50,000 to $65,000 to place the measure on the ballot.
During public comment, seven speakers urged the health care district board to throw out the Insight deal, with several championing the county’s JPA proposal, rejected by the district last month.
The district’s move to find a partner to take over the hospital began with the declaration of a fiscal emergency in November 2022. In May 2023, the board filed for bankruptcy. The California Nurses Association and National Union of Healthcare Workers opposed the bankruptcy application and, after a four-day hearing in December 2023, a San Jose judge denied the application. The board filed an appeal in March, and the appeal was denied.
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