A spokesperson for Sutter Health last week denied that the healthcare system is formally seeking to partner with Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital.
The statement came in response to questions about a Feb. 3 letter from two representatives of Sutter Health to the Hollister hospital’s governing board expressing interest in partnering with HHMH.
“As all health systems do, it is part of our normal course of business to explore opportunities and have conversations with other organizations across our footprint and beyond,” said a Feb. 12 statement from Sutter Health spokesperson Jerome Hubbard. “We have a lot of respect for Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital and for many other health care organizations but are not part of any formal process at this time.”
Sutter Health, a Sacramento-based company that owns numerous hospitals in Northern California, sent the same statement to HHMH, according to a spokesperson for HHMH and the San Benito Health Care District.
The local district on Feb. 5 “received an unsolicited letter” from Cynthia Lee and Elizabeth Vilardo of Sutter Health “expressing interest in exploring a possible partnership with the district,” says a press release from HHMH. In response, the district reached out to Sutter and was notified that the company “wasn’t interested in pursuing further discussions.”
HHMH directors are still negotiating with Michigan-based Insight to sell the Hollister hospital and its assets. The San Benito Health Care District board is working toward “final agreements” with Insight, says the press release from HHMH.
The letter from Lee and Vilardo was dated Feb. 3. Vilardo is identified in the letter as Sutter Health’s Chief Medical Officer, Strategic & Philanthropic Initiative. Lee is identified as the company’s Chief Strategy & Growth Officer.
The letter is addressed to the “Hazel Hawkins Hospital District,” with the individual names of the San Benito Health Care District board members at the bottom of the letter.
“It has come to our attention that prior outreach efforts from the District may not have reached the appropriate individuals within our organization,” says the Feb. 3 letter. “While we are aware the District has begun negotiations with Insight Health and of the authority granted by voters allowing the District to enter into an agreement with any organization, we would like to express our interest in engaging in a parallel process of due diligence and discussions with the Hazel Hawkins Hospital District.”
The SBHCD board has sought to sell HHMH or partner with another organization since the hospital declared a fiscal emergency in 2023. The board in 2024 began negotiating with Insight for a potential sale of HHMH and the district’s assets.
The district board placed Measure X on the Nov. 5 ballot, asking voters to approve a negotiated sale of HHMH. The ballot measure passed with 51.41% of the vote.
The language of Measure X did not limit a sale of the hospital exclusively to Insight, but rather asked if the district should lease and/or sell HHMH and its assets to “nonprofit Insight Health Foundation of California, Inc. (or another qualified buyer)…”
