Residents and hospital staff urge Blythe and County to replace Palo Verde Healthcare District leadership

Multiple community members and hospital staff used the public‑comment period at the Jan. 9 meeting to press for governance changes at the Palo Verde Healthcare District and to question prior financial decisions.

Dr. Shalobei, speaking during public comment, criticized the Board and administration for what the speaker described as mismanagement and alleged specific spending decisions: "They spent $2 million on a clinic to give their friend Sylvia a job. You can’t give them money with no strings attached." Board President Carmela Garnica, who also spoke at the meeting, thanked Blythe for the opportunity to keep the hospital open and warned that "there needs to be an ongoing funding mechanism, so we do not go through this every 20 years." Several commenters, including Leslie Jessop Watkins, urged that the County take over day‑to‑day operations to preserve emergency services: "If there is not an emergency room in Blythe, people will die." Sandra Hudson, a current District Board member, announced she intends to resign and asked the Board Chair to do the same to allow new governance.

Speakers expressed divergent views about whether the clinic should remain open and whether the Board should accept conditional funding. The comments led Council members to stress that any City loan would carry strings related to County involvement and board changes. The public record at the meeting therefore shows strong public pressure for governance change alongside appeals to preserve hospital services.