San Joaquin County Shifts Funds To Boost Public Hospital Finances
On Tuesday, San Joaquin County supervisors approved a plan to support San Joaquin General Hospital with $32 million that was originally reserved for other projects, the Stockton Record reports.
The funding is expected to keep the hospital out of a deficit through June, but Supervisor Leroy Ornellas said the one-time fix of funds does not provide a solution to remedy the hospital's financial problems.
More than $27 million of the funds will come from health-related construction projects. One of the projects included more than $8 million budgeted for upgrades to the county Public Health Division's laboratory.
Other funds will come from restructuring loans from 1998 that were made by the hospital to other county budget accounts.
Although the supervisors approved the plan, many had reservations, including Supervisor Larry Ruhstaller, who questioned how the county would replace the reserve funds that had been transferred to the hospital.
Supervisor Victor Mow said he was concerned about the loss of county capital funds, adding that data have not been produced showing what aspect of hospital operations is causing the financial problems (Johnson, Stockton Record, 4/23).