UC San Diego Health and Escondido, Calif.-based Palomar Health are continuing to move forward with their planned joint powers authority as they await final approval from California’s Office of Health Care Affordability.
In a statement shared Feb. 4 with Becker’s, UCSD Health said the organizations are working toward stabilizing and expanding access to care for residents in San Diego’s North County while regulatory and licensing reviews are underway.
“This week marked a milestone with the first meeting of the six-member, independent, board made up of three community representatives from each system,” the health system said. “Final documents are in the process of being signed, with an anticipated closing date in spring 2026 pending OHCA and licensing approvals.”
As public entities, UCSD Health and Palomar Health said the JPA positions the systems to collaborate in ways that preserve local access to care while enabling growth in specialized services.
Initial plans for the partnership include the buildout of two unfinished floors at Palomar Medical Center Escondido and the creation of a comprehensive cancer center on the campus, along with additional destination care services intended to meet growing patient demand.
The newly formed board overseeing the JPA includes the following members:
- Margarita Baggett, chief clinical officer of UCSD Health
- John Carethers, MD, vice chancellor for health sciences at the University of California San Diego
- Ehtisham Mahmud, MD, division chief of cardiovascular medicine at UCSD Health
- Pauline Gourdie, community representative and Palomar Health Foundation board member
- Edward Prunchunas, former executive vice president, CFO and Treasurer of Cedars-Sinai Health System (Los Angeles)
- Charlene Zettel, former California state assemblymember and UC regent
The board is structured to operate independently and includes three community representatives from each organization.
The update follows a series of approvals and milestones in the partnership’s development. In October, UC Regents and the Palomar Health District board approved the formation of the JPA. Earlier in the year, the organizations entered exclusive talks after UCSD Health provided a $20 million loan to Palomar Health to support continued patient care.
Palomar Health, a two-hospital system, has faced significant financial and operational challenges in recent years, including a credit rating downgrade by Moody’s in 2024 and a cybersecurity incident that disrupted operations for several months.
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