"Located in Lone Pine, a town at the base of Mt. Whitney with just 1,300 residents, Southern Inyo Healthcare District is the only hospital within a nearly 60-mile radius. It's the closest stop for injured hikers and dehydrated tourists visiting Whitney or nearby Death Valley, which regularly receives over 1 million visitors per year. Without it there would be a 136-mile stretch between the next closest hospitals in the eastern Sierra Nevada."
"Sami Gallegos, a spokesperson for the California Health and Human Services agency, said in a statement that the administration is working with Southern Inyo Healthcare District to expedite payments due to the hospital "where possible." "Our top priority is to ensure Californians in all areas of the state have access to quality, equitable health care," Gallegos said. She did not address whether the administration would be able to give the hospital the emergency infusion of cash it has requested."
Hospitals generally have more than 200 days of cash on hand; facilities with fewer than 80 days are considered highly vulnerable to a financial crisis. Southern Inyo Healthcare District, located in Lone Pine at Mt. Whitney's base, serves about 1,300 residents and is the only hospital within nearly 60 miles. The hospital is the closest stop for injured hikers and visitors to Mt. Whitney and Death Valley and prevents a 136-mile gap between hospitals in the eastern Sierra Nevada. Rising labor and supply costs and projected Medicaid revenue cuts have strained rural hospital finances. Local officials say a short-term deficit could be resolved by a one-time state infusion; state officials say they are expediting payments where possible but did not commit to emergency funding.
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