Sequoia Healthcare District Overcomes Special Interest Public Lobbying to Dissolve it and Wins an Endorsement From the San Mateo County, California, Grand Jury (2004)

SITUATION ANALYSIS
There are some 77 healthcare districts in the State of California. These entities were formed over the years by local communities seeking parcel tax support to build and/or provide ongoing public funding needed to build hospitals in suburban, rural and remote areas. The Sequoia Healthcare District encompasses parts of San Mateo County and was formed in 1946 to fund the building of Sequoia Hospital. After Sequoia Hospital was built, the District continued to provide annual funding to help sustain this facility. In 1997, the District also started allocating its financial resources to help fulfill the unmet healthcare needs of low income residents through a community grants program. Today, more than 30 non-profit groups benefit from grants received from this District. This funding support has reduced reliance on hospital emergency rooms for those with non-urgent or critical healthcare concerns and has resulted in a highly available and decentralized healthcare safety net for residents throughout the county.

Given that the original mission (building Sequoia Hospital) of the Sequoia Healthcare District was completed many years ago, some members of the community have been calling for the elimination of the special parcel tax and the dissolution of the District saying that it has outlived its usefulness and has gone beyond its original charter. Factions within the District continuously seek to place candidates sympathetic to their views on the District’s board through local elections and by lobbying county government with appeals to do away with the parcel tax established to fund it.