Nurses at San Benito County's only acute-care hospital demand Hazel Hawkins remain fully open, pointing to robust financial statements

Following a standing-room only town hall to inform the public of how the Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital (Hazel Hawkins) bankruptcy filing is deteriorating patient care, registered nurses are inviting the community to join an informational picket on Monday, July 10, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU). The union RNs are demanding that San Benito County’s only acute-care hospital remain a full-service hospital with no cuts to medical service lines.

“Patient advocacy is a basic tenet of nursing and we have an obligation to speak out when we see patient care is deteriorating,” Sonia Duran, a registered nurse in the medical-surgical unit. “The San Benito Health Care District (the district) filed for bankruptcy in May, and then moved to invalidate union contracts. This month, the district began imposing unilateral changes in compensation and benefits. Due to the uncertainty about the hospital’s future, we are losing staff and unable to recruit new nurses. The lack of staff has now led to the closure of the ICU for more than a month, which puts our patients at risk and can delay care. We demand that the hospital work with the nurses to find a path forward that preserves the highest quality of care for our community.”

• Who: Registered nurses at Hazel Hawkins and community members
• What: Informational picket at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital 
• When: Monday, July 10, noon to 3 p.m.
• Where: Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital 911 Sunset Dr, Hollister, Calif.

Video comment from Hazel Hawkins nurse Ariahnna Sanchez, RN

Hazel Hawkins bankruptcy timeline:

Feb. 24, 2023: Hazel Hawkins’ interim CEO published a column outlining why the district believed a bankruptcy filing would negatively impact the community.

May 23: Contrary to the interim CEO’s published opinion, the district files for bankruptcy. In their filing, the district projects the hospital will have only $8 million by the end of May.

June 13:  District files a motion to dissolve all union contracts.

June 15:  District releases financial statements indicating the hospital had nearly $15 million in cash reserves at the end of May. This is about $7 million more than the district and its consultants had predicted in their bankruptcy filing in a massive underestimate of district cash levels.

June 22: Hazel Hawkins nurses informed the district they had taken a vote of “no confidence,” citing the district’s lack of transparency. CNA has asked the district to explain how it calculates its projections, but as of yet has not received a clear response.

July 1: District begins imposing unilateral changes in compensation despite being at the bargaining table with representative unions.

Nurses recognize that Hazel Hawkins is the largest employer in Hollister, and as such, understand the economy of the entire community is tied to the health of this hospital. Nurses are concerned that the district’s recent threats to invalidate union contracts and cut benefits will have a chilling effect on the economic health of the community.

Nurses understand it is important for the district to find a path to ensure that Hazel Hawkins is financially sound. However, they have seen what happened to Watsonville Community Hospital when for-profit administrators partnered with private equity to take over the facility, leaving the hospital bankrupt.

“Watsonville nurses can tell you from lived experience that the ultimate stakes associated with bankruptcy and for-profit ownership could not be higher for the Hollister and San Benito community,” said Quiche Rubacalva, a registered nurse at Watsonville Community Hospital. “The threat of vital unit closures, loss of medical services, and erosion of all patient care and safety standards are inevitable, and even worse, the complete closure of San Benito County’s only general acute care hospital will have immediate negative effects on the lives and health of your community and create a downward spiral: Doctors don’t move in, hospitals are short-staffed and underfunded. Moreover, potential residents and businesses are discouraged from relocating by the absence of a nearby health center. All of this affects the local economy.”

Over the last five years, Hazel Hawkins has received about $20 million from property taxes collected by San Benito County. Last December, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors agreed to give Hazel Hawkins a tax advance of more than $2 million. In January, the hospital was granted a $3 million loan by the state.

“We want to work with the district, which is why we agreed to delay a negotiated wage increase, but we cannot abide seeing our agency stripped away and our union busted,” said Ariahnna Sanchez, a registered nurse in the emergency department. “We are encouraged by the determination and power of our union siblings who, through a fierce fight and community support, were able to make Watsonville Community Hospital a hospital that once again served its community. We want to see Hazel Hawkins leadership acknowledge that they are directly accountable to the community they serve and follow the community’s lead as they pursue a path forward.”  

CNA represents 120 nurses at Hazel Hawkins.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and nearly 225,000 RNs nationwide.