Madera Community Hospital to receive $2 million loan for operation costs

MADERA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Madera Community Hospital is one step closer to reopening its doors after the state announced struggling hospitals are set to get millions in no-interest loans.

The hospital will receive a $2 million loan to cover basic operational costs.

Adventist Health proposed taking over the facility and will need to provide a comprehensive hospital turnaround plan.

Once cleared, Madera Community would be eligible for an additional $50 million loan.

The Kaweah Delta Health Care District in Visalia is getting a loan worth more than $20 million.

The John C. Fremont Healthcare District in Mariposa is set to receive more than $9 million.

The loan program was created after the passage of Assembly Bill 112, which wasproposed by State Senator Anna Caballero and Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria.

It was authored in response to the closures of rural hospitals, including in Madera.

That shutdown left hundreds of thousands of valley residents without access to emergency care in their community - and cut almost 1-thousand jobs.

In order to receive financial assistance, the qualifying hospitals were required to submit funding plans.

The state says loans are repayable over 72 months with an initial 18-month grace period at the beginning of the loan term.

The program ends on December 31, 2031.