Good morning! It’s Monday, June 29, and the Santa Cruz County forecast is a familiar one: morning clouds dissipating into sunshine, with highs from the mid-80s in the mountains to upper 60s at our beaches.
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Hillary Ojeda starts us off, reporting on the impact of changes to Dignity Health Medical Foundation’s physician contracting structure. That’s led to unusually high turnover and disruption in a system already facing staff shortages. “I feel angry and frustrated, that we live in this big community and there’s no doctor to pick up,” said one Dominican Hospital patient who’s scrambling for a new primary care doctor. “How can this be happening, that you’re referred and you can’t see them for a year? That to me is unbelievable.”
Max Chun’s traffic-and-transit-focused Carmageddon column returns, leading with news that Santa Cruz Metro’s governing board is moving to get its own sales tax measure on the November ballot even as a citizens’ initiative also moves forward.
The Monday headlines also include a bold reinvention for Santa Cruz nonprofit arts organization The 418 Project, plus final results from the June 2 primary you might’ve missed Friday afternoon. Away we go.
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‘Abandoned by Dignity’: Medical foundation changes contract structure with Dominican Hospital physicians, leading to more than a dozen departures
Dignity Health Medical Foundation’s decision to change its physician contracting structure has prompted more than a dozen doctors and advanced practice providers to work for other health systems. Patients say they’re concerned about healthcare access, while hospital officials say they’re recruiting new clinicians. Here’s the story from Hillary Ojeda.
Carmageddon: Metro board to hold public hearing for own sales tax measure for November ballot, separate from citizens’ initiative
To pursue as many potential paths to a local funding source as possible, the Santa Cruz Metro board discussed moving to put a half-cent sales tax on the November ballot on its own accord, while Friends of Santa Cruz Metro continues its push to gather enough signatures for a citizens’ initiative ballot measure. If the board does decide to put a sales tax on the November ballot, it will require a two-thirds majority. Max Chun breaks it down.
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Thanks for reading – now get out there and conquer Monday.
Will McCahill