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Thursday, October 16-October 22, 2025
VOL. 9, 11,
NO. 245
Officials seek plan to prevent Blythe hospital's closure
Tribal commission forms to help manage Chuckwalla monument
By Joe Taglieri
joet@beaconmedianews.com
By Joe Taglieri
joet@beaconmedianews.com
B
lythe and county officials are developing a plan to keep Palo Verde Hospital from shutting down after a local commission voted last month to dissolve the Palo Verde Healthcare District Board, which oversees hospital operations. The hospital is scheduled to close in November following the board's approval of filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. As part of its decision, the Riverside County Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO requested a dissolution plan that includes establishing a successor agency and securing at least one year of operational funding to stabilize and restore medical services. Blythe officials said Riverside County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez led the move by LAFCO. The district started the process of closing the hospital Sept. 24, according to the California Employment Department. The next-nearest health care facility for area residents is in the Coachella Valley, over 90 miles away from Palo Verde Hospital. The county and city have formed a joint working group tasked with developing the succession plan that aims to ensure continued access to health care for Blythe residents. “The City’s top priority is ensuring that emergency room services remain available to our residents and that hospital employees
| Photo by ABBPhoto/Envato
remain informed throughout this process,” Vice Mayor Johnny Rodriguez said in a statement Oct. 6. “We will continue working closely with our elected officials at the local, county, state, and federal levels to secure the funding necessary to keep the hospital open and sustainable.” Rodriguez thanked LAFCO commissioners, Perez, county CEO Jeff VanWagenen and county staff for their support. “They understand the critical role Palo Verde Hospital plays in our city, and their partnership gives us real hope for a sustainable path forward,” the vice mayor added. LAFCO's next meeting is set for Thursday, Oct. 16. The meeting's agenda includes an item on beginning the Palo Verde Healthcare District dissolution process. Blythe Mayor Joseph DeConinck formed an ad hoc committee on the troubled hospital that includes Rodriguez and Councilman Sam Burton.
“The people of Blythe deserve access to reliable, high-quality emergency medical care,” DeConinck said in a statement July 30. “Our City is fully committed to doing everything in our power to protect that access, working hand-in-hand with our partners at the County, State and Federal levels.” Earlier this year the city requested LAFCO do a "municipal service review," which the commission presented at its Sept. 25 meeting. City officials said the county has organized "multiple working groups to support hospital operations, displaced staff and the broader community." The county Housing and Workforce Solutions staff hosted a "rapid response event" and is working closely with the district to assist hospital employees facing layoffs or work stoppages. U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, recently announced the allocation of
federal funding to support financially at-risk hospital districts, including Palo Verde. The funding, which is connected to the reinstatement of withheld Medi-Cal and Medicare payments, will help the district’s immediate cash flow. Long-term recovery, however, requires steady investment and strategic support, according to the city. The city has asked for $4 million in emergency state funding from Gov. Gavin Newsom's office. "While this request is under consideration, state budget limitations mean the timing and availability of funds remain uncertain," according to a city statement. The Palo Verde Hospital and Health Care District's financial problems were the result of several factors — COVID-19 pandemicrelated expenses, a cyberattack that delayed billing and collections, a reduction in Medicare funding, Provi-
See Blythe hospital Page 23
The Chuckwalla National Monument is a prime location for stargazing. | Photo courtesy of Colin Barrows/CactusToCloud Institute
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group of Southern California tribes on Monday announced the formation of a commission to work with the federal government to manage the Chuckwalla National Monument. The coalition of tribal governments based in Riverside and Imperial counties include the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe, Cahuilla Band of Indians and Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, along with the Colorado River Indian Tribes based in Arizona. The new Chuckwalla National Monument Intertribal Commission reflects the connection of numerous Indigenous cultures to the local landscape and their commitment to ensure that "tribal values, expertise, cultural heritage, and traditional ecological knowledge" factor into monument management. “The Chuckwalla National Monument is more than a habitat filled with trees, plants, and wildlife; for the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, it embodies life itself, and we are intrinsically linked to it, committed to safeguarding it," Joseph Mirelez, chairman of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, said in a statement. “It is our inherent role to be the stewards and guardians of these lands, and in this moment of federal government dysfunction, all the more important that we reassume it formally.” Chuckwalla's monument status was established by an executive order at the end of the Biden administration, See Chuckwalla Page 23