WATSONVILLE—After months of fundraising during which organizers scraped together more than $65 million, Watsonville Community Hospital will become a now publicly owned entity as of midnight on Sept. 1.
The Pajaro Valley Health Care District (PVHD) signed the paperwork on Wednesday, making the sale official.
State Sen. John Laird, who was instrumental in the official formation of the new healthcare district when he authored Senate Bill 418, called news of the sale “heartening.”
“Watsonville Hospital is a lifeline for the Pajaro Valley—from the beginning of life to the end, this facility will remain steady in its mission,” he said in a prepared statement.
Laird also praised the community for rallying to make the sale happen.
“Creating and funding an entire healthcare district in less than a year is a complex and difficult task,” he said.
The expected announcement of the sale came two weeks after County Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios—who served on PVHDP—said the group had enough to make the $67 million purchase.
In November, after announcing bankruptcy was imminent, WCH CEO Steven Salyer announced the hospital would have to cease operations unless a buyer immediately stepped forward.
The Pajaro Valley Health Care District Project (PVHDP)—a group made up of nonprofit and healthcare leaders and created to make the purchase—stepped up to do so.
This story will be updated.
