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County seeks short-term loan and management authority to keep Palo Verde emergency room open
Summary
Riverside County staff presented a plan to loan $1 million and negotiate a management agreement to stabilize the Palo Verde Hospital emergency department for roughly 180 days while a multi‑stakeholder strike force assesses longer‑term operations; the hospital district and Blythe officials praised county involvement.
Riverside County formalized a short‑term effort on Jan. 21 to preserve emergency care in the Palo Verde Valley after the local healthcare district said it could not keep the Palo Verde Hospital fully operational.
Jeff Van Wagonen, the county executive officer, told the Board the hospital district lacked sufficient funds to continue operations and had only about a week of operating cash at one point. The county negotiated a $1,000,000 loan intended to provide roughly three weeks of bridge funding so a county‑led strike force can take steps to stabilize the emergency department and negotiate a management services agreement. "We will be, in essence, managing the emergency department for the next 180 days, give or take," Van Wagonen said, adding the county team will assess operations and recommend next steps.
Van Wagonen said the county had previously advanced property tax revenue and supplied operational assistance, and that the City of Blythe had provided a $330,000 one‑time loan to keep the emergency department open. The county also worked with plan providers such as Inland Empire Health Plan to accelerate payments. Van Wagonen said the state rejected a district payment of roughly $3.5 million that was intended to draw down nearly $9.9 million in state funds; terms on a loan the district obtained were rejected by the state, leaving the district short.
Joanna Gonzales, clerk of the Palo Verde Healthcare District board, thanked the county for the loan and technical assistance, saying the measure "provides breathing room" for the community while partners pursue longer‑term solutions. Gonzales said the loan and county engagement have been critical to preventing a full closure of emergency services for roughly 20,000 residents who rely on the hospital; Van Wagonen noted the nearest alternatives could be 70–100 miles away by road.
The board discussion acknowledged federal and state representatives had been contacted on the issue, and supervisors praised staff for expedited negotiations. The Jan. 21 agenda included ratification of the negotiated loan agreement and a request for delegated authority to continue negotiations on a management services agreement; the transcript does not record a final board vote on the ratification during the presentation and public comment period.
