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Hospital Officials Say Deficit Could Close San Pablo Hospital

SAN PABLO (KCBS) - Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo could close within the year if the financially troubled community hospital cannot close a $17 million deficit, officials said Tuesday.

Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia said the hospital has been struggling for more than a decade. Gioia also sits on the board of the West County Healthcare District that runs the hospital.

"It filed for bankruptcy in 2006. We've cut the deficit in half since that time," Gioia said. The supervisor also said further reductions in services or assistance from other hospitals would be necessary to keep Doctors Medical Center open.

Hospital Officials Say Deficit Could Shutter Doctors Medical San Pablo

Because of the deficit and fewer patients, the hospital's administration has been moving to consolidate the medical surgical floor that is not fully occupied, Gioia said.

Nurses at the facility want to stop the hospital board from imposing further cuts that would mean a major loss of critical healthcare services, according to the California Nurses Association.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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