Madera Community Hospital’s sudden financial collapse and imminent closure has increased pressure on local health care infrastructure in neighboring Fresno County while whittling down care options in rural Madera County to zero.
Now, Reps. John Duarte (R-Modesto) and Jim Costa (D–Fresno), are pressing the Biden administration to step-up support.
The big picture: California Attorney General Rob Bonta conditionally approved the sale of the hospital to Detroit-based Trinity Health (operator of Fresno’s St. Agnes Hospital) with specific conditions. The hospital operator abruptly pulled out of the deal with little information as to why.
Now, Duarte and Costa are hoping to get Federal action to maintain services out of the hospital amid a to-be-filed bankruptcy proeeding.
- The letter called on HHS to declare a ‘public health emergency,’ activate the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the Medical Reserve Corps along with awarding grants to nearby hospitals to ‘improve surge capacity.’
What they’re saying: “The people of Madera are hurting. I have heard from many constituents expressing their concern, both from Madera and the surrounding communities. They are scared about the uncertainty of not having access to healthcare,” Duarte and Costa wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
- “One individual explained that he does not have access to a car and does not know how he is going to get his mother to and from appointments. Another called asking how much wait times are going to increase at her local hospital, which will help service individuals who would have otherwise been directed to MCH.”
