Palm Drive Hospital committee to review new proposals

A Palm Drive Hospital board committee will meet Friday to begin reviewing proposals to continue operation of the Sebastopol facility, scheduled to close on April 28.

Proposals are due at noon Friday, and at least one is expected from a group led by Dr. Jim Gude and former hospital board member Dan Smith, who said last week the plan would be accompanied by a contribution of $700,000.

The cash-strapped hospital, crippled by a low patient count, has filed for bankruptcy and on Tuesday secured a $450,000 loan from the county to cover costs of winding down its operations.

Another proposal may come from a group headed by Dr. Michael Bollinger, an orthopedic surgeon.

Hospital CEO Tom Harlan said Thursday he did not know what to expect today.

The board issued a formal request for proposals on April 11.

The committee — comprised of board members Sandra Bodley and Jim Maresca and citizens John Moise and Jim Horn — will meet at 1 p.m. Friday in the hospital's conference room and will undertake an initial review of any proposals at that time.

The committee will break into smaller groups and continue its work over the weekend, with another public meeting on Monday or Tuesday, board president Chris Dawson said.

The full five-member hospital board has tentatively scheduled a meeting at noon Wednesday.

Dawson said he couldn't predict the outcome of next week's meetings, nor whether the board would act on an operating proposal prior to the April 28 shutdown.

"This is a complicated process," he said.

The state Department of Health must approve any conversion of the taxpayer-supported district hospital to a new mode of operation, Dawson said.