After purchasing its land and facilities last year through a $116 million voter-approved bond, Watsonville Community Hospital now faces up to $8.4 million in annual losses from federal Medicaid cuts. The public hospital is speeding up a search for a health care partner to manage operations and avoid a financial crisis.
Watsonville Community Hospital
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 inHealth & Wellness
At Watsonville Community Hospital, federal Medicaid cuts cast shadow over progress
Watsonville Community Hospital leaders reported improved finances and plans for upgrades and an expansion of the ER paid for by $116 million Measure N funds, while warning of threats from proposed federal Medicaid cuts during their first State of Hospital address.
Posted inLatest News
Watsonville Community Hospital employees report identity theft; no confirmed link to 2024 cyberattack
Several Watsonville Community Hospital employees reported they’ve become victims of identity theft after being notified their tax returns were rejected by the Internal Revenue Service. Hospital officials say identity theft incidents have not been confirmed to be connected to a cyberattack last November.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Watsonville Community Hospital service workers reach tentative agreement, averting strike
Service workers at Watsonville Community Hospital have reached a tentative agreement with hospital administrators over health care benefits and wages, avoiding a three-day strike, according to union representatives.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Watsonville Community Hospital service workers authorize three-day strike as contract negotiations continue
Watsonville Community Hospital technical service workers authorized a three-day strike ahead of a planned bargaining session with administrators Thursday. The workers are pushing for wage increases and opposing what they say are proposed changes to employee health care benefits.
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.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Watsonville Community Hospital appoints Alexandra Friel to board, Allyson Violante as government and community relations director
Watsonville Community Hospital appointed Alexandra Friel as its newest board member. Friel is the daughter-in-law of the late John Friel, who was one of the first board members to help steer the hospital out from bankruptcy in 2022. Allyson Violante, former county supervisor Zach Friend’s previous chief of staff, also joins hospital leadership in a new government and community relations role.
Posted inLatest News
Watsonville Community Hospital welcomes county’s first baby of the year, Ailany Galilea
The first baby born in Santa Cruz County arrived at 12:44 a.m. at Watsonville Community Hospital. Hours later, Dominican Hospital welcomed the new year’s second baby.