Although Tulare (Calif.) Regional Medical Center's board members and Healthcare Conglomerate Associates, the hospital's parent operator, said they would close the hospital if the Tulare Local Health Care District's Measure I failed, TRMC will remain open, according to the Visalia Times-Delta.
Measure I, a $55 million bond measure to complete the stalled construction of a hospital tower, only received 33.23 percent of the public's votes. A two-thirds vote was needed to pass the measure.
"Nobody wants to close a hospital," said Benny Benzeevi, CEO of HCCA, according to the report. "And we know that both the Tulare Local Health Care District and Tulare County as a whole need this hospital. Obviously we are going to do all we can to find a creative way to overcome this tremendous obstacle."
Mr. Benzeevi said his team failed to clearly communicate the importance of the measure to the community.
"We should have done a better job to emphasize more clearly the tremendous potential that exists within our own community," he added, according to the report. "The positive that came out of this — and I believe there is always a positive — is the opportunity we got to talk to so many people and to get an in-depth detailed understanding of where the community is and what their most important priorities are."
Now, HCCA and TRMC are evaluating other options, including proposing another bond.