SACRAMENTO -- In an effort to keep struggling community hospitals open, California will provide close to $300 million in loans to 17 hospitals in the state, including some in the Bay Area, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday.
Exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals around the country and across California have been facing severe financial distress, forcing some to close and others to get to the brink of closure. Many of these hospitals are located in rural areas of the state and serve lower-income people and communities of color.
The Distressed Hospital Loan Program, which was created by Assembly Bill 122, aims to guarantee access to these necessary health services by providing zero-interest loans to public and nonprofit community hospitals."We have more work to do, but I'm proud to have led this effort, and am grateful the Legislature and Governor moved quickly to ensure vulnerable communities across California have health care access when they need it most," said Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria, D-Merced.
While the program received 30 applications, the California Health Facilities Financing Authority and the California Department of Health Care Access and Information, which jointly administer the program, prioritized hospitals with the greatest financial distress, highest risk of closing and well-founded plans to remain open and provide care to communities.
Chinese Hospital in San Francisco, St. Rose Hospital in Hayward Sonoma Valley Hospital in Sonoma and Bay Area Community Health in Fremont are among the hospitals receiving loans, with the local loans ranging between $3 million and $33 million.The program is set to end on Dec. 31, 2031.