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SARAH BOHANNON, ANCHOR:
Feather River Hospital in Paradise cannot and will not reopen. That was confirmed by hospital executives at a community meeting last night (Monday, July 24.) Its emergency room will remain closed as well. NSPR’s Jamie Jiang has the story.
JAMIE JIANG, REPORTER:
Adventist Health closed Feather River Hospital after the 2018 Camp Fire.
That’s the medical group that owned the facility.
Four years and millions of dollars in settlement money later, the company announced the hospital would remain permanently closed.
At Monday night’s meeting, CEO and President Kerry Heinrich said he regretted the way the company handled the closure.
KERRY HEINRICH: “I wish we would have been here multiple years ago to talk to you to have this kind of conversation. And so for that failure on our part, on Adventist Health’s part, I apologize.”
Executives said rural hospitals in general just aren’t profitable enough to make it.
Right now, they said a hospital in Paradise would not make enough to justify the cost of rebuilding.
Richard Faulkner is a Paradise resident and longtime Adventist Health patient.
RICHARD FAULKNER: “I didn't expect them to be rebuilding, what was going on from what I saw, but I wanted to hear what they had to say.”
He said he understood where the executives were coming from and didn’t blame them for their decision to close the hospital.
Magalia resident Lori Auteri was more critical.
LORI AUTERI: “I appreciate the fact that they're trying to be open and honest with us. However, that doesn't take care of our problem here.”
Auteri is disabled, and so is her daughter.
She said disabled and senior residents on the ridge need a place to seek immediate medical attention.
When Auteri’s nine-year-old granddaughter broke her arm, Auteri said neither Adventist Health’s Rapid Care Center in Paradise nor Chico’s Enloe Medical Center could book her for an x-ray until the following day.
LORI AUTERI: “She had to spend the night with a broken arm before they did the x-ray to get the cast on the arm.”
Executives said reopening the old hospital’s emergency room was prohibited by state and federal regulations, but Adventist Health would send more doctors and services to the town’s rapid care center.
For NSPR News, I’m Jamie Jiang.
