Agency Formed to Reopen Hospital

The Santa Paula City Council has created a public healthcare agency that could work to reopen the only hospital and emergency room in the agricultural Santa Clara Valley.

Saying they must be prepared to step in should efforts to reopen Santa Paula Memorial Hospital fail, City Council members unanimously agreed Monday to form the Santa Paula Community Healthcare Authority, which would develop a reorganization plan for the hospital that shut its doors in December after years of financial struggle.

The move comes amid a sudden flurry of interest by several companies in assuming control of the hospital, which sits on hillside property worth at least $14 million.

It was built 42 years ago solely through donations from residents of Fillmore, Piru and Santa Paula, and is run by a volunteer hospital board that has been harshly criticized for its management.

Although one option considered by the council Monday night was to seek the resignation of the 12-member board, council members rejected the idea as being too divisive.

“Let’s focus on the paths that will get the hospital open, not on laying blame,” said City Councilwoman Mary Ann Krause, who made the motion to form the new agency.

Hospital board Chairman Phil Romney said he believed the City Council made the right decision.

“I think it was a smart thing to do,” he said afterward. “It will give us an opportunity to complete the steps we’ve taken to reopen the hospital. And they have a vehicle by which they could operate a facility if they needed to.”

The City Council vote was taken after representatives from several organizations told the council they could transform the hospital into a going concern. They included a newly created task force comprised of local business leaders, which has volunteered to help the board evaluate its options.

“We don’t know whether those entities we’ve heard today would be able to move forward with a positive outcome for the hospital,” said Mayor Gabino Aguirre, explaining why he supported forming the healthcare agency.

Council members said the new healthcare agency would not stand in the way of ongoing discussions between the current hospital board and county health officials, Kare Healthcare of Pasadena, and the Pinnacle Development Group, an Arizona developer that has offered to buy the hospital property.

County Supervisor Kathy Long told the council that closed-door negotiations to form a partnership were continuing and that there might be an announcement in two weeks.

The Santa Paula Community Healthcare Authority would be a joint powers authority between the city of Santa Paula and its redevelopment agency.

It could develop a business plan to present to U.S. Bankruptcy Court, but because the agency does not have a budget, it would have to come up with a way to raise money to operate the hospital. Its first organizational meeting is scheduled for May 11.