By Jondi Gumz
From the outside, Watsonville Community Hospital doesn’t look at that different since the community took ownership two years ago but the new local management reported multiple positive trends:
From a 2021 bankruptcy, a $30 million loss in 2022 under out-of-town owners shrank in 2023 to $13 million, and last year shrank again to $800,000.
Stephen Gray, CEO of Watsonville Community Hospital, speaking at the first State of the Hospital event on April 18, said, “We’re proud of the progress we’ve made — and we’re just getting started.”
Watsonville Community Hospital Board Chairman Tony Nuñez thanked voters for passing Measure N, a $116 million bond measure that provided $40 million to buy the hospital property in October 2024.
This saves $3 million a year in lease payments, which can be put toward new services.
Already, the hospital is expanding radiology, digital mammography and CT scans for cancer care.
The hospital added its first primary care provider in January, will add another in June.
Soon: A cardiac catheterization lab to treat heart conditions without open-heart surgery — “a huge undertaking,” according to Phyllis Stark, chief nursing officer, and this quarter, launching palliative care, for relieving stress from a serious illness.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Santa Cruz County.
A year ago, a free food pantry opened at the hospital, a partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County, to support new moms and babies where they are.
A partnership with Central California Alliance for Health supports high-risk patients by connecting them to services that help meet their social needs, which can improve health.
Support from the Watsonville Community Hospital Foundation has gone into anesthesia and ultrasound machines and supplies for the cardiac catheterization lab, Executive Director June Ponce said.
More key partners: Kaiser Permanente, Vituity emergency medicine physicians, and Stanford pediatric hospitalists.
The emergency department is very busy with 34,896 visits.
A year of planning will go into an initiative to double the size of the emergency department, currently 12 beds.
Hospitals across the country are facing increasing financial pressures, with rising costs, low reimbursement rates, and uncertainty around future federal funding, including potential cuts to Medicare and Medi-Cal.
Santa Cruz County Public Health Officer Dr. Lisa Hernandez sees the improvements.
Saving Watsonville Community Hospital means “Not having patients travel for urgent care,” she said.
With federal government looking for ways to cut spending and trim the $1.8 trillion deficit, Gray will focus on building up cash reserves as a hedge against uncertainty.
Gray also unveiled a new logo designed by Paul Vandenberg , a stylized heart that could be seen as a couple embracing.
“This new look reflects who we are today: a hospital rooted in community, here for you and your family, now and always,” said Gray.
TOP PHOTO: Stephen Gray, Watsonville Community Hospital CEO, speaks at the inaugural State of the Hospital event. • Photo Credit: Jondi Gumz