Healthcare
Valley Lawmakers Secure $5 Million to Keep Madera Hospital Open
A bipartisan effort by two Valley lawmakers has landed $5 million to keep financially struggling Madera Community Hospital open.
“I am pleased that Assemblyman (Frank) Bigelow and I were able to secure the funding necessary to allow uninterrupted care to continue.” — State Sen. Anna Caballero
With the CVOID-19 pandemic pushing the hospital to the brink of insolvency, state Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Merced) and Assemblyman Frank Bigelow (R-O’Neals) secured the funding in the state budget.
“Madera Community Hospital provides critical medical care to a rural region in my district,” Caballero said in a news release on Wednesday. “Without its services, residents would have few or no healthcare options. I am pleased that Assemblyman Bigelow and I were able to secure the funding necessary to allow uninterrupted care to continue.”
Said Bigelow: “I’m grateful that we were able to work together to provide support in a time of need.”
More than 80% of the hospital’s revenue is from Medi-Cal and Medicare patients. Without the state’s intervention, people needing medical attention would have had to travel more than 20 miles for services.
The nonprofit hospital, which opened in 1971, has 106 inpatient beds.
Potential Affiliation Between Madera Hospital, Saint Agnes
In February of this year, officials from Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno and Madera Community Hospital said that they were exploring a potential affiliation, The Fresno Bee reported.
According to a joint statement from the two lawmakers, the $5 million “will help guarantee that the facility stays open until a merger with Trinity Health, Saint Agnes Medical Center, and Saint Agnes Health is concluded.”
