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On Nov. 5, San Benito County voters will decide on an initiative that will determine the future of the county’s only hospital. If passed, Measure X would allow the San Benito Health Care District to lease and potentially sell Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital. In recent months, the big money in the Measure X campaign has come from the company that wants to buy the hospital and the largest nurses union in the nation, which opposes the measure.
As of Nov. 4, the Yes on Measure X campaign, run by the Committee to Save Hazel Hawkins, has more donations than its opponents. They have received $80,000, of which $75,000 came from Insight Management and Consulting Services Inc, a division of Insight Healthcare Group.
Insight is the Michigan-based health care provider that wants to buy the hospital and its assets. Although the agreement is not yet final, if voters approve Measure X, the health care district may proceed with its proposal to lease the hospital for five years and give Insight the option to purchase it at the expiration of the lease term.
The “No” campaign, run by Keep Hazel Public, wants to stop the sale of the hospital. It has the support of the California Nurses Association, the nation’s largest nurses union with 250,000 members. The union has reported to San Benito County’s Election Department that it’s spent more than $140,000 to oppose Measure X. More than $119,000 has been spent on video ads, $9,450 on billboards, nearly $9,000 on postcards, and $3,700 on email and text ads.
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