Mad River cuts 27 jobs as home health program suspended

The board of Mad River Community Hospital voted to accept management’s recommendation to provide for the orderly suspension of home health services effective upon the completion of services to existing patients around April, the hospital announced this week in a news release.

Mad River Home Health Services will begin referring prospective patients to other health providers within Humboldt County.

“The decision to suspend providing home health services was a difficult one, and a decision neither I, our leadership team, nor our board took lightly” Doug Shaw, Mad River’s chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement. “Rural hospitals throughout California are financially struggling in the aftermath of the pandemic, and Mad River is no different. Costs are at an all-time high, while patient volumes have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels and reimbursement rates have failed to keep up with inflation over the last 10 years. Rural hospitals are struggling to survive in this climate, and many are at risk of closing or have closed, as was the case for Madera Community Hospital which closed its doors in December. Other rural hospitals are being forced to close important service lines, including Hazel Hawkins Hospital in Hollister which closed its home health agency in January.”

The move means 27 employees are out of a job, but the hospital “encouraged (them) to apply for vacant positions within the hospital or its outpatient departments upon completion of existing patient treatment plans,” the release stated.

The hospital said it will be offering presentations in the coming months on the plights of rural medicine and partnering with others to overcome the challenges rural hospitals are facing.