IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Apple Valley has responded to the potential loss of Providence St. Mary Medical Center, the 213-bed facility that has served the High Desert town since 1956.
Last week, Providence Southern California announced it has partnered with Kaiser Permanente and will move the facility at 18300 Highway 18 to a hospital Kaiser Permanente plans to build in Victorville.
California has passed laws that require hospitals to make major upgrades to better withstand earthquakes, regulations scheduled to go into effect in 2030. Retrofitting the medical center would be too expensive, according to Providence Southern California, which owns and operates the medical center.
Apple Valley has spent years raising money for the medical center so that it could grow and remain open, Mayor Curt Emick said.
“This news is extremely disappointing,” Emick said in a statement posted on the town’s website. “Apple Valle is asking Providence to recognize the commitment of the people who pursued the original fundraising to bring St. Mary Medical Center to fruition, and the fundraising of so many supporters over the years, to keep the hospital open or replace it with one in Apple Valley.”
Losing St. Mary Medical Center “will leave the community significantly further from any emergency room and critical care services,” according to the statement.
This is devastating news for the town of Apple Valley.
It seems as though everything is closing down in Apple Valley and staying closed no major businesses are taking over the ones that closed there is many places here it is not reopened this town is it going to become a ghost town soon. And what are ones that live here are supposed to do in an emergency I have to go all the way to another town it’s just sad that they can’t do something with this hospital to keep it open it’s such a waste so much money has went into it!
It just seems such a waste I fear a lot of people are going to be leaving this town just like they are the state of California it’s all falling apart this is so sad to see happen.