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Madera County approves $55,000 hospital readiness tent after questions about rental alternative
Summary
The Madera County Board of Supervisors voted 3–1 to buy a $55,000 rapid-deploy tent for Madera Community Hospital using Hospital Preparedness Program grant funds after staff said ownership allows immediate on-site surge capacity and regional reimbursement options.
Madera County supervisors on Tuesday approved the purchase of a $55,000 emergency tent for Madera Community Hospital, a decision staff said is funded entirely by a federal Hospital Preparedness Program grant and will not affect the county general fund.
Sarah Boss, Madera County director of public health, told the board the tent is designed to be erected quickly to expand a hospital’s medical-surgical capacity in a disaster or surge and that public health will store and inventory the unit so it can be deployed rapidly and made available to partners when needed. “The purpose of that funding source is to make sure that our hospitals are prepared for emergencies,” Boss said.
Several supervisors pressed for alternatives, asking whether the county could rent space or a building instead of buying equipment that might sit in storage. One supervisor questioned the $55,000 price tag and suggested the county consider renting the fairgrounds or community centers as was done during COVID-19. Boss responded that rentals can take time to arrange and deliver, which could impede patient care during a med-surg surge, and said on-site tents allow medical staff to centralize pharmacy and anesthesia support.
Board discussion also asked whether the Office of Emergency Services and the sheriff’s office had been consulted about resource sharing and potential state reimbursement; Boss said the purchase was vetted with coalition partners and the tent is intended to be used with FEMA and other reimbursements when deployed in a disaster.
The board pulled item 7(f) from the consent calendar for separate consideration and approved the purchase in a separate roll-call vote, 3–1. The motion passed after supervisors discussed storage, shared use, and coordination with regional emergency partners.
Next steps: the tent will be purchased using the grant, inventoried by public health, and made available for deployment to meet surge needs or other emergency responses.
