Formerly bankrupt hospital partners with private radiology practice to provide imaging services
A hospital that filed for bankruptcy in 2021 after mismanagement by its previous for-profit owners is now partnering with a local private practice to provide imaging services.
Watsonville Community Hospital in Santa Cruz County, California, is teaming with Radiology Diagnostic Services (also known as RADS Inc.) to service its patients. The move comes after local voters last year approved a $116 million general obligation bond to help the 106-bed, publicly owned facility upgrade its offerings.
Radiologist Keith Kwok, MD—who joined Manteca, California-based RADS Inc. in 2013—will lead the hospital imaging team.
“Radiology plays a vital role in nearly every area of patient care, from emergency medicine to heart disease,” Stephen Gray, CEO of Watsonville Community Hospital, said in a statement. “We are excited to partner with RADS Inc. and to welcome Dr. Kwok as our new medical director. Their expertise will be essential as we expand our imaging capabilities with support from Measure N funding in the year ahead.”
The ballot measure was launched in a bid to save the struggling community hospital. Along with upgrading imaging systems such as X-rays, MRI and CT, it also will fund an expansion of the hospital’s emergency room. Watsonville Community Hospital additionally used the money to purchase the property for $40 million, which it had been renting from Medical Properties Trust, saving itself $3 million per year. Funds also will help modernize the facility and allow WCH to provide additional services without forcing patients to travel elsewhere for care.
Radiology Diagnostic Services was founded in 2002 and employs a team of approximately 17 diagnostic and interventional radiologists, according to its website. The physician-owned practice works with hospitals throughout North California, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported Monday, and prides itself on maintaining a “personal touch” with both patients and radiologists. Partners include HCA, Sutter Health, Tenet, and two other public county hospitals.
“The corporate mega-groups are hobbled by massive overhead, huge debt and many shareholders to please,” its website states. “RADS has no such encumbrance. Our physicians are motivated to do good work because they are compensated fairly and have a say in how the company is run. While the corporate mega groups are retroactively reducing compensation, we have managed to maintain full compensation, even during the pandemic.”
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.