The shuttered Madera Community Hospital is seen in this March 2023 photo by Ben Hensley

Health care in the Central Valley was headlined by the closure of Madera Community Hospital, sending ripples through not just the Valley, but even making national headlines as the lone hospital in Madera County was forced to close due to financial issues last December.

A year later, a glimmer of hope may have shone through onto the empty structure which, just a year ago, served as Madera County’s only adult-focused hospital. Madera County is also home to Valley Children’s Hospital, which was forced to open its doors to some of the general public this year.

The hospital was one of three California hospitals to declare bankruptcy this year.

Heading into 2024 however, Madera Community Hospital, which has seen two other offers fall through since its closure, may finally be back on the road to reopening.

“We don’t want to just reopen, we want to be sustainable,” said Karen Paolinelli, CEO of Madera Community Hospital in an interview with CalMatters earlier this year. “We don’t want to be back here in a couple of years.”

Recently, a unanimous vote by the hospital’s board approved a new potential owner – American Advanced Management, Inc. Previous deals with Adventist Health and Trinity Health, which operates Fresno’s Saint Agnes Hospital, fell through.

Earlier this year, American Advanced Management, Inc. was accused of an attempted bribe to Paolinelli, in which she claimed to have received an “unsolicited” job offer, as well as a check made payable to her, during the bidding process between potential financial partners.

Paolinelli declined the offer.

In the earlier proposal, American Advanced Management, Inc. intended to retain Paolinelli, as well as provide a $150,000 “signing bonus,” chief strategy officer Matthew Beehler told the Fresno Bee in September.

Now, however, the hospital hopes its reopening is back on track, with negotiations being narrowed down to two finalists this fall – Praise Healthcare, LLC. and American Advanced Management, Inc.

American Advanced Management, Inc. operates seven hospital systems in Northern California, including Coalinga Medical Center, which the company revived in 2021 following its closure three years prior. The group continues to operate the hospital.

The reopening of Madera Community Hospital, while on the horizon, will still require several hurdles to be overcome; the hospital must first be approved through bankruptcy court prior to American Advanced Management being able to begin the reopening process.

 

Other health care updates

 

This year, Kaiser Permanente Fresno saw both highs and lows, ranging from striking employees to expansion of facilities.

Kaiser Permanente workers across the country staged walkouts, voicing discontent about low wages, understaffing and a number of other concerns.

The strike, which represented the largest health care employee strike on record, spanned multiple states as well as the District of Columbia, and saw workers out of the hospital for three days in early October.

The employees threatened a week-long strike in November prior to an agreement being reached.

Kaiser Permanente also broke ground on its new Orchard Plaza Medical Office in Fresno, located near the campus of Kaiser Permanente Fresno’s main regional facility.

The project, a four-story, 146,000 square-foot medical office will provide additional space for a number of practices, as well as medical offices and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified solar panels and low-emitting materials focused on improving air quality.

“With this new facility we’re going to expand our space for our physicians, and our staff and also our patients,” said Shahzad Jahromi, physician in chief and chief medical officer at Kaiser Permanente Fresno at the groundbreaking this year. “We’re also going to expand our services and add additional services with this new building.”

The complex will offer 138 exam rooms served by 116 providers, and hopes to open in 2025.