Looking Up in SoHum: Representative Huffman Tours a Rural Hospital Project

Congressman Jared Huffman, center, flanked by his representative John Driscoll and new KMUD news director April Louis, listens during a Sunday tour of SoHum Health’s construction and expansion projects in Garberville. [Photo by Kym Kemp]

So when Congressman Jared Huffman stood Sunday with local healthcare officials overlooking plans for a new hospital campus in Garberville, he acknowledged the contrast.

“I’ve had a lot of meetings in Garberville over the years and it’s been tough to find any forward progress,” Huffman said. But, he was encouraged to see a project like this moving ahead.

The occasion was a tour of SoHum Health’s expanding healthcare projects, attended by Huffman; his district representative John Driscoll; representatives from KMUD and Redheaded Blackbelt; SoHum Health Chief Executive Officer Matt Rees; Board President Kevin Church; Southern Humboldt Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Yvonne Hendrix; Foundation Director and Outreach Representative Chelsea Brown; and Chief Operations Officer Kent Scown.

At the center of the effort is a planned replacement hospital campus on Sprowel Creek Road near Highway 101 — a project intended to work alongside the aging Jerold Phelps Community Hospital (which will continue to be used for expanded skilled nursing services) before California’s seismic compliance deadlines arrive.

According to project materials distributed during the tour, final construction documents are currently under review by California’s Department of Health Care Access and Information. Building permits are expected in fall 2026. If financing is secured, the district hopes to put the project out to bid in 2027, with the new hospital projected to open before the end of 2029.

The numbers attached to the effort are daunting for a rural district serving a relatively isolated population. Current construction costs are estimated at more than $86 million. SoHum Health says it has already invested roughly $12 million into architect fees, engineering work and surveys while also receiving pre-approval for a USDA Rural Development loan of up to nearly $100 million.

Hospital leaders say they are also pursuing grants, fundraising campaigns, possible local funding measures and New Market Tax Credits — a federal program that helps finance projects in low-income communities.

Yet even amid the optimism, the challenges facing rural healthcare remain substantial.

Across California, rural hospitals have struggled under rising costs, staffing shortages, stagnant Medi-Cal reimbursements and expensive seismic mandates that many healthcare leaders argue were designed with large urban hospital systems in mind. Several rural hospitals in the state have closed in recent years, while others are headed towards bankruptcy.

Southern Humboldt faces additional pressure from the collapse of the cannabis economy, which for years fueled much of the region’s informal and formal economy. As cannabis prices fell and regulation tightened, businesses closed, families moved away and local institutions were forced to adapt to a dramatically altered financial landscape.

Rees said SoHum Health has managed to avoid some of the worst outcomes affecting similar facilities.

He noted that Medi-Cal reimbursement rates have not increased in 13 years, even as inflation and operating costs have climbed sharply. In some cases, he said, reimbursements can take as long as two and a half years after expenditures are made before funds are finally received.

Rees said reimbursement levels have also declined relative to actual costs. Two years ago, he said, Medi-Cal reimbursements covered roughly 18% of expenses. Today, he said, they cover closer to 15%.

For small rural hospitals that rely heavily on government insurance programs, even relatively small percentage shifts can create major financial pressure over time, particularly in isolated communities where providers often serve older, lower-income and medically vulnerable populations.

Despite that lag before reimbursement, Rees said the district remains financially stable and “in the black,” something increasingly uncommon among small rural hospitals.

At the same time, he said, SoHum Health is already investing heavily in expansion projects beyond the future hospital itself.

Rees said approximately $6.5 million has recently been invested into remodeling portions of the existing hospital campus, including work aimed at expanding the skilled nursing facility.

Foundation Director and Outreach Representative Chelsea Brown described additional plans to broaden the district’s pharmacy operations into something closer to a traditional community drug store, with expanded over-the-counter products alongside prescription services.

Construction is currently underway on an optometry building off the main street of Garberville. Future redevelopment plans also include multiple storefronts on Redwood Drive that SoHum Health hopes to convert into expanded healthcare services including physical therapy, pharmacy operations and potentially an endoscopy surgery center.

The district is also closely monitoring Assembly Bill 2355, introduced by Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez, which would require California officials developing a statewide hospital funding strategy to specifically consider the needs of rural hospitals, critical access hospitals and public hospitals.

For communities like Southern Humboldt, where residents often travel long distances for specialized care, those policy decisions can have large consequences.

SoHum Health officials said a recent community survey showed strong public support for the district and its future direction. Rees described the responders as “very positive”.

Whether the district can ultimately complete the massive hospital replacement project remains dependent on financing, regulatory approvals and the uncertain economics of rural healthcare.

But on Sunday, standing amid construction updates, architectural renderings and plans for expanded services, local leaders projected something that has become increasingly difficult to sustain in much of the Emerald Triangle: the belief that at least one major institution in Southern Humboldt is still trying to build for the future rather than merely survive the present.

For transparency: SoHum Health Board President Kevin Church is married to Redheaded Blackbelt publisher Kym Kemp. In a small rural community like Southern Humboldt, it is not always possible to have reporters cover stories with no personal or community ties to the people or institutions involved, so we believe it’s important to disclose those connections to readers.

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