Report: RivCo Hospital On Track With Turnaround Plan

BLYTHE, CA — The ongoing turnaround plan for bankrupt Palo Verde Hospital in Blythe continue Friday to net successes with the help of Riverside County administrators and medical staff, who were dispatched to the financially ailing facility earlier this year under a Board of Supervisors-approved rescue plan.

"Riverside University Health System was brought in at a critical time with a clear objective, and the amount of work accomplished in a short period of time has been extraordinary," Moreno Valley-based RUHS Medical Center CEO Jennifer Cruikshank said. "The hospital's immediate position is more stable today, and many of the foundational processes needed to support safe, reliable care have been rebuilt or strengthened."

On Wednesday evening, a progress report was delivered to the public during the Palo Verde Healthcare District Board of Directors' meeting.

Officials noted a few recent milestones have included reduction of emergency room wait times from an average 42 minutes last winter to 13 minutes currently; the completion of nearly two dozen improvement projects, including a new roof and repairs to the hospital's cooling and backup power systems; and an overhaul in emergency room staffing that, for the first time in more than a decade, has led to the placement of dedicated in-house nursing staff, not travel nurses.

"When we looked department by department, the same needs showed up almost everywhere," RUHS Chief Nursing Officer Leah Patterson said. "Pharmacy, the lab, radiology and respiratory therapy each needed updated policies, reliable equipment and stronger processes. Department leaders and hospital staff have spent the past seven months addressing those needs."

The Board of Supervisors in February signed off on a six-month financial and technical rescue plan to bring the facility back to a sustainable condition. A "strike team" authorized by the board and composed of RUHS medical professionals initiated a reformation on Feb. 23 intended to stabilize the hospital's emergency clinic, which is the only department in operation for patient care at the site.

Under the management services agreement between the county and PVHD, RUHS staff are implementing all necessary processes connected to the strike team support plan, with the goal of maintaining emergency operations. There are 26 contract emergency physicians available to render services 24 hours, seven days a week, according to the county Executive Office.

Those doctors were supplied by Emeryville-based Vituity Healthcare Solutions.

The management services agreement was set to expire in August, but the board extended it to Nov. 21.

The supervisors authorized a $3.44 million allocation from the General Fund as payment to the California Department of Health Services on behalf of the healthcare district. That followed a separate $1 million General Fund disbursal directly benefiting the hospital. The money was the core of a stabilization loan to keep the insolvent hospital afloat.

According to the district, the county's outlays enabled the district to tap into taxpayer-backed credit available under Medi-Cal totaling $9.9 million to bolster hospital operations. Afterward, the district was further awarded a $3 million state grant, which came on the heels of $1.8 million in federal relief.

In September 2025, the PVHD board voted to seek federal Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection while efforts were made to stanch ongoing financial losses. Administrators noted the hospital had been struggling to remain afloat since the start of the current decade, with revenue streams withering while patient loads remained unchanged.

The California Health Facilities Financing Authority extended an $8.5 million infusion from the Distressed Hospital Program in 2023, but that turned into a short-term fix, according to the district. Officials expressed frustration at the time about the inability to recruit a chief financial officer who would stay the course in sorting out possible solutions. Four CFOs came and went in an 18-month span.