Watsonville Community Hospital is facing a crisis that puts lives at risk.

Due to severe financial strain, the hospital recently lost multiple ICU nurses after a staffing agency pulled its workers—reportedly because the hospital couldn’t make a large up-front payment. Now, patients in critical condition may soon have nowhere nearby to turn.

If the ICU closes or becomes too understaffed to operate safely, this will have devastating consequences for the people of Watsonville and surrounding communities. In emergencies, every second matters—and the next closest ICU could be too far away.

The nurses who sounded the alarm are not just protecting their jobs—they’re protecting us. They’ve asked for transparency and help from hospital leadership, and now the community must do the same.

We’re calling on:

• Santa Cruz County officials,
• The California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI), and
• Governor Gavin Newsom’s office

…to intervene immediately by helping secure emergency funding or staffing support for Watsonville Community Hospital’s ICU. The state and county must work together to ensure that critical care remains accessible in South County.

No one should suffer—or die—because they live too far from a fully staffed hospital.

Watsonville’s nurses and healthcare workers are doing everything they can. Now it's time for the public and our elected officials to back them up.

Sign this petition if you believe access to ICU care is a right—not a luxury—and that Watsonville deserves to keep its hospital services intact.