GREEN VALLEY, Arizona — The Santa Cruz Valley Hospital in Green Valley closed abruptly last week. Some former patients worry About what it means for people who need urgent care.
Lisa Kogan is one of our former patients and knows all too well how important the hospital has been to the community. She recently broke her ankle when she fell during her Madera Canyon hike. Her injuries required surgery and she was bleeding profusely.
Cogan said she couldn’t waste time going to the hospital, even though she asked doctors to take her to Tucson. went. She worries about what she would have been without the hospital.
“We want that care to be nearby, especially when an emergency like that happens,” Kogan said.
The hospital officially stopped services at noon on June 30. Facility website.
We also spoke with Betty Finley, who almost cried over the closure of her hospital. She worries about what the elderly will do.
“For a lot of people it’s a matter of life and death. Especially when it comes to heart attacks and strokes, it’s just awful,” she said.
The 49-bed hospital appears to have closed due to financial difficulties. The move comes on the heels of a long-negotiated takeover by TMC that fell through.
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About 300 employees are currently out of work. On June 27, the hospital issued the federally mandated WARN Act. The law requires 60 days’ notice of impending mass layoffs, according to law employees must be paid by August 20.
Sudden closure not only affects patients, but also first responders who try to get them to treatment right away.
The Tuback Fire District is currently in the process of identifying how the closure will extend response times.
Deputy Fire Chief Ben Guerrero said more than half of normal transportation would go to Santa Cruz Valley Hospital, but the closest option right now is the Northwest Hospital site in Sawarita. , he fears, could significantly increase turnaround time, which averages 90 minutes, and tie up a limited number of units.
“What can we do right? We do everything we can to move patients to the most appropriate facilities. We have to be more efficient,” Guerrero says.
It is unclear what will happen to the building that once housed the hospital, but it is clear that many residents would like another hospital to replace it.
Editor’s Note: Chorus Nylander of KVOA News in Tucson wrote this report.
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