Board set to take further action to assist bankrupt Blythe hospital

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) - Riverside County supervisors next week are slated to approve a management services agreement to keep bankrupt Palo Verde Hospital's emergency department in operation, as well as to consider an additional $3.4 million loan to sustain the facility, and make several appointments to the Palo Verde Healthcare District Board of Directors, where vacancies have hampered the governing body's business.   

Earlier this week, a "strike team" previously authorized by the board and composed of medical professionals from the Riverside University Health System initiated a reformation intended to stabilize the Blythe hospital's emergency clinic.

The team's deployment was appended to a $1 million stabilization loan\ for the hospital. However, since then, the county Executive Office has determined the original funds were not adequate and is nowseeking the board's approval to loan an additional $3.44 million for the benefit of the insolvent medical facility, according to documents posted to the board's agenda.   

The modified loan agreement will be the subject of further discussion during Tuesday's supervisors' meeting, likely with elaborations from county Chief Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen. The exact terms -- including potential repayment obligations -- of the proposed expanded loan would be ironed out later.

The original $1 million is already available to the hospital. All of the money will be drawn from the county's General Fund.   

Along with funding arrangements, the supervisors have been requested to fill two vacancies on the Palo Verde District Board of Directors. The vacant seats have hamstrung the district's ability to convene a quorum to vote on pending actions, according to PVHD President Carmela Garnica.

"In the interest of restoring a fully functioning five-member board, I respectfully request that the county ... complete the appointment process for the two vacant seats,'' she said in a letter to Supervisor Manuel Perez, whose Fourth District encompasses Blythe. ``This approach offers the most practical path forward under the current constraints.''  

Under the management services agreement, RUHS staff can implement all necessary processes connected to the county's 180-day support plan, with the long-term goal of maintaining emergency operations at the cash-strapped hospital.

``We aren't just here to manage a transition; we are here to support the incredible frontline staff and ensure that every resident has access to the high-quality, stable care they deserve,'' RUHS CEO Jennifer Cruikshank said last week.

In January, Palo Verde Healthcare District Clerk Joanna Gonzalez acknowledged the county loan ``does not solve every challenge the district faces, but it provides us breathing room to work on long-term solutions."

Without emergency services at the Blythe facility, the area's roughly 20,000 residents would lose access to ``timely treatment for life-threatening conditions where minutes matter,'' according to a county statement in January.   

Outside of the hospital, the nearest option for emergency healthcare is more than 70 miles away.  

The monetary agreement specifies the county will have ``first priority'' status among the healthcare district's creditors and will under no circumstances be liable for any of its debts. The loan structure calls for a roughly nine-month grace period, during which no payments on the loan are required. However, starting in October, initial payment on loan principal will be necessary. A 3% annual interest rate will be assessed beginning January 2027, and the $1 million will have to be fully amortized by October 2031.

In a statement on Jan. 15, the Executive Office highlighted the likelihood of the loss of emergency medicine at the hospital after the California Department of Healthcare Services nixed a planned ``voluntary rate range intergovernmental transfer'' that would've extended $9.9 million in credit for remaining operations.   

The Blythe City Council also approved a $330,000 bridge loan to help sustain emergency room operations.   

At the end of September, the PVHD board voted to seek federal Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection while efforts were made to stanch ongoing financial losses.

Administrators noted the hospital had been struggling to remain afloat since the start of the current decade, with revenue streams withering while patient loads remained unchanged.  

The California Health Facilities Financing Authority extended an $8.5 million infusion from the Distressed Hospital Program in 2023, but that turned into a short-term fix, according to the district. Administrators expressedfrustration at the time about the inability to recruit a chief financial officer who would stay the course in sorting out possible solutions. Four CFOs came and went in an 18-month span.  

Only the emergency room remains open. All other hospital operations have been shut down.

The county loan will pay for staff salaries and benefits, pharmaceuticals, equipment purchases, utilities, billing operations and some legal expenses associated with Chapter 9 proceedings.

The possibility of a wholesale county takeover of the hospital's emergency department has not been ruled out publicly, though that prospect may later surface as a long-term solution.