Watsonville Community Hospital reflects the growing fragility of Santa Cruz County’s health care system, strained by rising costs, workforce shortages and declining reimbursements. Despite real progress since becoming community-owned in 2022, Stephen Gray, the hospital’s CEO, writes that new federal Medicaid cuts are projected to cost the hospital up to $10 million annually, threatening local access to care. Measure N has funded critical facility upgrades, he writes, but state law prevents those dollars from covering staffing or service losses caused by federal cuts. To protect and expand health care services, the Pajaro Valley Health Care District is now actively seeking a strategic operating partner to ensure long-term stability. He insists the hospital will work to preserve local oversight.
Stephen Gray
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Don’t have Medi-Cal? Cutting it will still hurt you – here’s how.
Proposed $700-$900 billion cuts to Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) will strain our local health care system and affect us all – even those of us with private insurance, writes Watsonville Hospital CEO Stephen Gray. Fewer doctors and services may lead to longer emergency room wait times and private insurance costs could rise as providers shift costs to cover lost Medi-Cal funding. He urges community members to contact their congressional representatives.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
El Hospital Comunitario de Watsonville es un lugar de sanación, no de miedo: Enfrentaremos los desafíos desde Washington
El director ejecutivo del Hospital Comunitario de Watsonville, Stephen Gray, afirma que el hospital está reafirmando su compromiso de atender a todos, independientemente de su estatus migratorio, en medio de las nuevas regulaciones de inmigración y otras medidas iniciadas por la administración de Trump. Según Gray, el hospital ya está tomando medidas —algunas de las cuales enumera aquí— para limitar las interrupciones en la atención y está capacitando al personal sobre cómo manejar visitas de funcionarios de inmigración.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Watsonville Community Hospital is a place of healing, not fear: We will meet the challenges from Washington
Watsonville Community Hospital CEO Stephen Gray says the hospital is reaffirming its commitment to serving everyone, regardless of immigration status, amid new immigration and other regulations initiated by the Trump administration. The hospital is already taking steps, he says – some of which he enumerates here – to limit interruptions to care and is educating staff on how to handle visits from immigration officials.