Hazel Hawkins Efforts to Shore up Finances Show Progress

HOLLISTER, Calif., March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leadership at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital (HHMH) and the San Benito Health Care District (the District) announced today that their efforts to curb the financial crisis have begun to pay off. The results of cost savings and negotiations with MediCal, Medicare and Anthem have resulted in a better-than-expected cash position leading into the second quarter of 2023.

"The herculean efforts by our team are finally catching up with the crisis," said Mary Casillas, Interim CEO for Hazel Hawkins. "What we are seeing now is the ability to sustain the current operations for the District through September 2023."

For the past several months, District leadership along with their consultants, have been looking for ways to better the cash position of the hospital and the District in an effort to stave off a possible bankruptcy filing. The efforts included receiving or scheduling near term payments from MediCal and Medicare, as well as Anthem, cost savings measures and reductions in staffing costs. Even so, the financial situation is still critical.

"We are not out of the woods yet, but we are in a much better position to complete a partnership agreement or sale by the end of Summer," said Casillas. "Though our cash position has improved dramatically over the past few weeks, we need more help. We hope that the community can see our progress and get behind our efforts to save access to quality healthcare for thousands of San Benito County residents." 

The improved cash situation comes on the heels of the District receiving its first confidential Letter of Interest (LOI) from a prospective partner/buyer, with several more organizations conducting ongoing due diligence activities.

"Our team has begun the process of reviewing the first LOI and we have been alerted that there may be more LOIs submitted in the coming weeks," said Casillas. "The importance of finding the right partner or buyer is crucial for our community as it will pave the way to access to critical healthcare services here in San Benito County."

PR CONTACT: Frankie Gallagher Hazel Hawkins Memorial HospitalPhone: (831) 636-2644Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital