This public letter was contributed by Louk and Sherrie Markham. BenitoLink invites all community members to share their ideas and opinions. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent BenitoLink or other affiliated contributors. 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.
Dear San Benito Health Care District and San Benito County Board of Supervisors,
For over 100 years Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital has existed in one of the smallest, (population about 8,000 in 1910) poorest, rural counties in the state of California. Over 60 years ago, a majority of voters in the county created the current hospital District in support of local health care. The population in our county in the recent decades has only been growing with today’s population at over 38,000 residents. One would think that a growing population will continue to need healthcare near their homes versus seeking that business out of county.
The ongoing debate about the future of the hospital does nothing to resolve the problems. You can choose to look at this as a county liability or an asset and fund it appropriately. We firmly believe that the hospital is an asset to the community and should be given any and all support needed to remain open.
On a recent trip to Michigan, we noticed that many of the regional hospitals and medical facilities had been bought by the Henry Ford Health System. We thought, hey, they might be on to something here. At a family gathering I brought up this observation and learned that while the facilities all have the same name now, our family members were no longer “patients” but “numbers” in the system. Length of time to access appointments increased and the local, more personable feel of the institutions became less personal.
Keep this valuable local public resource open for county residents. The Madera community suffered greatly when their local hospital closed and sold off assets. We know nothing about Insight other than their sales pitch. Ironically, no one we spoke to in Michigan knew of them either. The potential for an out of state company to start selling off the medical equipment rendering HHMH a non-functioning hospital is too great of risk for our county residents.
We believe that there have been too many valuable resources wasted on this topic. It is time for the SBHCD Board to step up and work collaboratively with the Board of Supervisors to make this the county hospital that our small but growing county needs. County residents should not have to travel to another county for a hospital visit when we have one right here in Hollister.
Improve the trajectory of the hospital, while keeping it a locally owned and operated hospital. Disband the current hospital district and have the county absorb it or form a Joint Powers Agreement between the two entities to operate it. Just do something to preserve this valuable county asset. Your constituents deserve no less.
Sincerely,
Louk and Sherrie Markham
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