Explanation: While Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital has faced serious financial challenges in recent years, it has no imminent closure plans.
In late 2022, the hospital declared a fiscal emergency and warned it could close in 2023, but cost-saving measures kept it open.
Following an unsuccessful bankruptcy filing, San Benito County voters approved the sale of the public hospital to private healthcare company Insight Health. However, Insight withdrew its offer in August 2025, citing the uncertainty facing rural hospitals following major federal funding cuts to healthcare enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The hospital says it is seeking new solutions to stabilize its finances.
Over the past decade, the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform estimates 100 rural hospitals have closed. One-third of all rural U.S. hospitals — more than 700 — are at risk of closure due to serious financial problems, according to CHQPR’s August 2025 report.
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