The City Council unanimously endorsed a bond measure Monday,
which, if passed, will raise more than $31 million to expand Hazel
Hawkins Hospital.
Hollister – The City Council unanimously endorsed a bond measure Monday, which, if passed, will raise more than $31 million to expand Hazel Hawkins Hospital.
Measure L, which will be arriving in voters’ mailboxes this week, would add about $84 to annual property taxes for average-priced homes, which breaks down to $14.95 for every $100,000 of assessed property value. The bond would garner $31.5 million over a 20-year period, according to a hospital commissioned study.
“We think it’s important that the service level increases to accommodate the population we have,” Mayor Pauline Valdivia said. “They need to increase the emergency room and other areas of the hospital to care for the community.”
If passed, Measure L would pay for renovations, new facilities and upgraded technology that officials at the hospital say it needs to meet the service demand of an ever-increasing population. The hospital has plans for a new emergency room, obstetrics unit and a host of technological upgrades, such as state of the art cancer detection equipment and emergency services.
The hospital could have a new emergency room by 2007 if voters pass the bond, which would make money for expansion, renovations and upgrades available immediately.
“Our community had times of growth, especially in the late 90s, our health care facility needs to grow with it,” County Supervisor Anthony Botelho said. “This tax is necessary for service to be maintained at an adequate level.”
The county’s rapid population growth in the 90s severely strained the hospital’s ability to provide medical care, said Frankie Valent, director of public relations for Hazel Hawkins.
“The hospital was built in the early 60s for 11,000 (people). Now we have over 50,000, but the hospital hasn’t been expanded,” she said.
The hospital now serves five times the people that it was originally intended to, she said.
“That’s like building a house for two people, and now we have 11 living there,” said Ken Underwood, CEO of the hospital.
Valdivia said the City Council is confident that Measure L will be approved by voters.
“We got a lot of positive reaction, and no negative reaction,” she said.
But, she said, if the bond measure is not passed, “The hospital will have to go back to the drawing board and find a new plan for alternative funding. I hope the hospital doesn’t have to go back to the drawing board. We need it (funding) desperately.”
Luke Roney is a covers education for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at lr****@fr***********.com
