UCSD HEALTH MAY TAKE OVER FACILITY

El Centro medical center, struggling financially, may get change in leadership

Bleeding cash, El Centro Regional Medical Center may be headed for an immediate leadership change.

Released Friday afternoon, the agenda for a special meeting of hospital trustees includes a “letter of intent” between the city-owned facility and UC San Diego Health which would have a management team appointed by the university health system assume day-to-day management “effective March 1.”

It is a drastic change but one that, if approved, UCSD would not enter cold. The San Diego health system has been collaborating with El Centro Regional for seven years now, even helping the facility choose its last chief executive and having its own medical group staff the community hospital’s emergency department.

The Imperial County facility has recently fallen on hard financial times, with reimbursement from a high proportion of patients with Medi-cal coverage not covering costs. A budget projection released Friday shows that the hospital will run out of unrestricted cash in September unless revenue and expenses can be made to match.

Patricia “Patty” Maysent, chief executive officer of UC San Diego Health and a board member of the elected body that runs El Centro Regional, said Friday afternoon that she believes the financial realities facing the 161-bed medical center can be turned around through experienced management and greater collaboration with other medical facilities in the valley.

She noted that other smaller hospitals across the state are in similar financial positions with Madera Community Hospital in the Central Valley filing for bankruptcy in 2022 and closing its doors on Jan. 3.

“It’s the same reason why at least 30 hospitals across the state are in the same position,” Maysent said. “If you’re a single-hospital system, if you have a heavily Medicaid-oriented payer mix ... it’s almost an impossible position to be in.”

The El Centro City Council and mayor oversee El Centro Regional, and no officials could be reached for comment Friday evening. Maysent said she intends to recuse herself from voting on the management agreement because the decision involves a pact with her own organization.

She said she believes that it is important to keep El Centro from failing because it is a vital community asset.

“The idea of that entire commu

nity of 170,000 people losing access to hospital care, that’s a big deal,” Maysent said.

What can UCSD do that isn’t already being done to improve El Centro’s financial picture?

“With respect to support for things like revenue cycle, procurement, payer contracts, the University of California has a certain amount of weight in those areas, and

I think we can bring some benefit there,” Maysent said.

The letter indicates that Preston Hollow Community Capital may provide “shortterm funding” to help the new management effort stay afloat as organizational changes occur. Maysent said that Preston, a Dallas-based company, holds a construction bond used to build and repair El Centro Regional facilities. The company was not available to discuss the situation Friday evening.

paul.sisson@sduniontribune.com