Jakara Movement Executive Director Naindeep Singh delivers the results of a survey of 300 non-English speakers about the closure of Madera Community Hospital. Photo by Alex Scott

A survey conducted by the Jakara Movement and Centro Binacional Para Al Desarrollo Indigena Oaxaqeno (CBDIO) shows the impact the closure of Madera Community Hospital has had on underrepresented members of the community.

Conducted primarily in Spanish, Punjabi and Indigenous languages, the survey of 300 members of the community voiced concerns about how the hospital’s closure has affected them and their families.

Over 90% of those surveyed have been affected by the hospital closure, and 60% of that group has voiced that they will seek treatment at Fresno’s Community Regional Medical Center. Of this group, 15% shared they are unsure of where to go for care moving forward.

The survey also found that 60% of Indigenous farmworkers were not informed about the hospital closure.

Out of the 300 individuals surveyed, roughly two-thirds expressed concern about travel and distance to other hospitals in the area, with the closest being Fresno. With many of the individuals surveyed not having reliable transportation, many worry how this will not only affect their health but their daily lives as well.

In testimony provided by indigenous migrant advocacy group  CBDIO, a community member expressed their concerns, “I was greatly affected by the closure of the hospital as now I have to travel 40 minutes to receive treatment in an emergency room, and also I have to miss a day of work when I have a health emergency.”

Access to emergency services isn’t the only worry. Many of those surveyed expressed concern about where to go for primary care and lab services such as mammograms, x-rays and MRIs.

“I always got my mammograms done at the Madera Community Hospital, now I have no idea where to go or what to do,” according to testimony provided by the Jakara Movement.

In light of these findings, the joint partnership between CBDIO and the Jakara Movement is encouraging not just Madera County residents to support AB/SB 112 — which would create a $150 million loan program for struggling hospitals — but the Central Valley as a whole. They are also asking for community participation with hospital leadership in an effort to ensure that the needs and concerns of the community are addressed.

“It is extremely important that if the state is going to provide the public funds to save the hospital, that the public and especially the most marginalized communities have a seat at the table in the decision making and for the future of the hospital,” said Naindeep Singh, executive director of the Jakara Movement, a Fresno-based, community-building nonprofit led by Punjabi Sikhs.

Singh also suggests that a task force be formed to look into the financial health and consolidation of California hospital industries. According to Singh, even though the primary issue revolves around MediCal reimbrusement, there are many more issues that need to be addressed.

“We’re also calling for the state to actually launch a task force to really look into the deep-rooted causes of some of the rural distress that our hospital systems are facing,” said Singh. “We’re calling for a taskforce to have a deeper conversation and to have a deeper study about what are the issues that are distressing, rural communities that are hospitals throughout California in general.”