PATTERSON — Local officials, first responders and health care providers gathered Sept. 9, at the future site of Patterson’s planned health care campus to urge Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign AB 2282, a bill they say would finally bring emergency stabilization services to the Westside.
Assemblymember Juan Alanis, R‑Modesto, joined Del Puerto Health Care District leaders, Patterson District Ambulance staff and city officials at the corner of Ninth and E streets, where architectural renderings of the proposed hospital framed the press conference. Speakers said the legislation would allow the district to operate a Rural Emergency Stabilization Care Unit, or RESCU, while a permanent hospital is planned, permitted and built.
AB 2282 would authorize the California Department of Public Health to issue a special waiver allowing Del Puerto Health Care District to run the RESCU facility 24 hours a day with board‑certified emergency physicians, hospital‑level nurse‑to‑patient ratios, on‑site lab and radiology services and full compliance with federal emergency care rules. Patients needing surgery, trauma care or inpatient admission would still be transported to hospitals under protocols set with local EMS officials.
Patterson, one of California’s fastest‑growing cities, has more than 25,000 residents and no local emergency department, which is true for the rest of the Westside. Ambulance crews face a 25‑ to 30‑minute transport to the nearest hospital.
“Patterson is a health care desert,” Alanis said. “Since 1998, this community has had to drive roughly 30 minutes to not only reach a hospital, but any form of emergency stabilization care. AB 2282 changes that.”
Dr. Jose Rodriguez, medical director of the Del Puerto Health Center, said the bill would give families access to care close to home. “When a mom wakes up to a fussy baby with a high fever in the middle of the night, she will no longer have to make the decision to drive 30 minutes to the closest hospital,” he said.
Patterson Mayor Mike Clauzel said the lack of nearby emergency care has strained families and first responders for decades. “This care gap has cost lives, stretched our first responders thin, and has left our community underserved,” he said.
Paul Willette, director of ambulance operations for Patterson District Ambulance, said crews responded to 2,200 calls requiring transport last year — all of them taken out of the area. “AB 2282 is a vital step to provide a local resource for our community and for our first responders,” he said.
Del Puerto Health Care District Board Member Reyna Gomez said the district’s growing population cannot wait for construction to finish. “AB 2282 would help bring emergency care to Patterson now,” she said.
Supporters noted the bill includes strict limits: the RESCU waiver can be renewed for no more than 10 years and ends once a hospital opens within five miles. The measure has passed the Legislature with bipartisan support and awaits Newsom’s decision.
