Letters to the Editor 12-31-15

Reality always wins
EDITOR: So let’s see, the Palm Drive Health Care District Board has loaned the hospital facility, equipment and license to the Sonoma West Medical Center, a non-profit corporation, at no charge.  The Palm Drive Health Care District needs to repay 23 million dollars of debt, in the form of bonds with interest, secured by our property taxes resulting from its 2007 bankruptcy and huge annual operating losses since then.  It also has a current bankruptcy debt of 10 million dollars that has not been settled.  Of the nearly 4 million in property tax dollars they collect from West County taxpayers; approximately 3 million is committed to repaying this past debt.  Now they have offered to give the Sonoma West Medical Center up to 1 million of our tax dollars annually to help offset the cost of operating the hospital.  I say keep the 1 million and pay off some of the debt early to save the taxpayers the huge interest payments.  I also say, charge the Sonoma West Medical Center rent and use that money to pay off more of the debt which will save even more of the taxpayers money.  Same hospital, same location, same number of patients or less, same people, different structure. What’s the end result?  When best intentions and reality collide, reality always wins.
Dan Northern
Forestville
Amazed
EDITOR: I remain amazed how anyone could be pleased with what is going on at the hospital. By their numbers, they are seeing an average of a little over 32 patients a day including the emergency department (ED), which cannot turn away uninsured patients. If you back out the ED visits that translate to a little over 16 patients a day and I would bet that includes outpatient procedures. Clearly, short of a major health disaster, there is no reason to think that the facility can or will even double its numbers. Therefore, watch it go down the drain again and the taxpayers will be left holding part of the bag. What a shame that the dollars being wasted could have been used for other necessary projects, like an urgent care facility. Oh, that would cut local doctors out of the cash flow. I can’t wait to see what 2016 will bring.
David Warburg
Sebastopol