RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – Riverside County supervisors next week are slated to review proposed terms of a loan expansion for bankrupt Palo Verde Hospital, following the Executive Office’s decision to make a $3.4 million payment to sustain the facility.
Earlier this week, a “strike team” previously authorized by the board and composed of medical professionals from the Riverside University Health System initiated a reformation intended to stabilize the Blythe hospital’s emergency clinic.
The team’s deployment was appended to a $1 million stabilization loan for the hospital. However, on Tuesday, county Chief Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen signed off on a $3.44 million payment to the California Department of Health Services. That disbursal was made without a formal vote by the Board of Supervisors because the panel was not in session. Executive Office spokeswoman Brooke Federico said the payment covered a Palo Verde Healthcare District obligation to the state’s Voluntary Rate Range Program, or VRRP…