The Glenn County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing this week, ahead of the closure of the county's only hospital. There they heard an update on the logistics of its closure, and the future of medical care in the area.
Glenn Medical Center is losing its designation as a "Critical Access Hospital,” which brought in critical Medicare funding. Without it, the hospital will close.
Employees there have already begun leaving for other positions, so the emergency room will be closed next week – far ahead of the initial shutdown date of Oct. 21. Once it's closed, emergency patients will have to be transported to hospitals in neighboring counties many miles away.
"It's going to completely impact all of your residents and all of your visitors here in Glenn County, especially those that normally self-transport to the hospital."- John Poland, Sierra-Sacramento Valley EMS Agency regional executive director
"It's going to completely impact all of your residents and all of your visitors here in Glenn County, especially those that normally self-transport to the hospital," said John Poland, regional executive director of the Sierra-Sacramento Valley EMS Agency.
"We just need to be realistic that it's gonna be a longer transport time to get them to an acute care hospital," Poland said.
He said there’s nothing the agency is going to do to currently change the trajectory of the hospital closure. “With that being said … our focus needs to continue to be on making sure that the other medical services in the county … and the 911 ambulance transport provider, are maintained in a sustainable manner," Poland said.
Since the hospital is closing so suddenly, Poland said he and his team didn't have the time to do a full evaluation of the impact the closure will have on other hospitals in the North State.
Two members of the public voiced frustration that they felt nothing had been done to keep the hospital open. Glenn County Supervisor Monica Rossman said she worked with U.S. Congressman Doug LaMalfa to advocate for the hospital, to no avail. She said LaMalfa and his staff had been working “very, very hard at this.”
"If I didn't think he wasn’t, I would have been riding him like Seabiscuit in order to get it done,” Rossman said.
She said LaMalfa spoke with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz. Neither of them could help restore the hospital's Critical Access Hospital status, or provide funding.
"Am I supposed to tell them it's your fault? Am I supposed to tell them it's LaMalfa's fault? Am I supposed to tell them it's Dr Oz's fault? … What am I supposed to say when we talk about the blood on people's hands?"Jake Hackett, Orland, Calif. resident
“Sometimes whenever you run up against a brick wall, there's nothing you can do,” Rossman said.
Still, supervisors warned the loss of the county’s only hospital could cost lives. Members of the public said they felt failed by the government representatives who are supposed to advocate for their needs, and worry the hospital closure will lead to unnecessary deaths.
"I have a lot of people asking me 'What do we do?' What am I supposed to say?" asked Orland resident Jake Hackett during the hearing. "Am I supposed to tell them it's your fault? Am I supposed to tell them it's LaMalfa's fault? Am I supposed to tell them it's Dr Oz's fault? … What am I supposed to say when we talk about the blood on people's hands?"
