The first-ever mail ballot election for a bond measure intended
to raise more than $30 million over the next 20 years to upgrade
Hazel Hawkins Hospital will pop up in residents’ mailboxes next
week.
Hollister – The first-ever mail ballot election for a bond measure intended to raise more than $30 million over the next 20 years to upgrade Hazel Hawkins Hospital will pop up in residents’ mailboxes next week.
The bond measure, called Measure L, will help pay for a $56 million expansion at the county’s only hospital over the next two decades. If approved, the bond will help finance additional staff, advanced medical technology and a new emergency room that would service about three times the number of patients the current one does, said hospital CEO Ken Underwood. Hospital officials hope to begin work on the emergency room first to open the doors by 2007, but must persuade two-thirds of the county’s 25,541 registered voters to support the tax increase.
The hospital’s emergency room is about 3,000 square feet with six beds, Underwood said. Approximately 50 patients visit the ER every day, with each patient averaging a three-hour visit. That equals 150 hours of bed time in a 24-hour day, forcing staff to place people in the hallways because of the lack of space, he said.
“Especially on weekends, we have people waiting in the ER,” Underwood said. “It’s not unusual to have all six beds full and three to four people waiting. It’s why people go elsewhere to be seen.”
If the bond passes, two physicians would be on duty in the ER instead of one, there would be triple the number of beds and all new equipment, he said.
Additional staff would also be hired on all levels – from clerical to obstetrics to housekeeping to keep up the extra 50,000 square-feet of hospital the bond money would help finance, Underwood said.
If passed, the bond would add $14.95 in property taxes annually to every $100,000 of assessed property value. The average home price in Hollister is $560,000 with a property tax of 1.25 percent, which means someone owning an average-priced home pays approximately $7,000 in property taxes a year, according to the county assessor. If the hospital’s bond initiative passes, it would add about $84 to the average home.
Hollister City Councilman Robert Scattini said he’s in favor of the bond initiative and is on the campaign committee to help raise awareness and support for the measure, he said. Several hospitals in the surrounding area have closed, and Scattini said that while Hollister is in dire need of an updated hospital he has talked to some people against the initiative.
“Some citizens feel that if it’s going to be done everybody should pay for it, not just homeowners,” he said. “One landlord told me that that all he’s going to do is raise the rent in his (rentals) and push it on to the people that are renting.”
The mail-in ballots should begin to arrive in mailboxes around April 6 and registered voters will have until May 3 to return them.
To inform residents of the measure, about 60 volunteers in a hospital campaign committee have called approximately 5,000 county residents and have sent out flyers in the hopes of garnering as much support as possible, said volunteer Mary Anne Hughes. Between private and commercial donations, the committee has raised nearly $50,000 to finance its campaign, she said. Several more flyers will be sent to residents just before the ballots are sent out and in the weeks following, she said.
“It’s going very well. We have about 77 percent ‘yes,’ 20 percent ‘undecided,’ and 3 percent ‘no,'” she said. “All in all it looks like it’s a pretty positive thing.”
All registered voters in the hospital’s district, which includes all of San Benito County except for 688 voters in Erie, Bitterwater Tully and Aromas, will be eligible to vote.
Besides a new emergency room, the money would pay for:
Five new buildings interspersed around the current 44-year-old facility on Sunset Drive
A new obstetrics and rehabilitation unit
New technology and furnishings to treat 30,000 patients annually in a timely manner, while the current 3,500 square-foot space can only treat 14,000 patients a year
An upgraded laboratory and diagnostic imaging services
Numerous pieces of advanced medical equipment to detect cancer and treat heart problems
If the bond measure passes, the hospital hopes to raise the remaining $26 million for the improvements by increasing impact fees on new houses built in the next couple years. However, hospital officials have yet to begin work on the impact fee part of their plan and could run into opposition from city and county officials who believe impact fees in the area are already too high, according to Supervisor Don Marcus. Both the Hollister and San Juan Bautista city councils, along with the county Board of Supervisors would have to approve raising impact fees.
Former Hollister Mayor Leonard Poletti said he’s also heard some opposition to the bond measure, but said it’s expected whenever a new tax is mentioned.
“Yes it will raise rents, yes it will raise taxes, but it is surely needed. It’s a necessity, it’s not a luxury,” Poletti said. “I’ve talked to more people who are in favor or it than are against it.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com
