San Andreas, CA…Last night the Mark Twain Healthcare held the first of three planned public meetings to inform the public and get public feedback and guidance on the best path forward for Mark Twain Healthcare District and the future of healthcare in Calaveras County. Mark Twain Healthcare District Executive Director Daymon Doss led the presentation and it covered the last 60 plus years of the district’s history and it’s very successful and almost 30 year partnership with what is now Dignity Health. The district actually owns the hospital and leases it to Dignity Health. There are revenue sharing agreements and other layers of complexity and the lease ends in 2019. The regulations that govern special districts the lease cannot just be extended but new lease has to worked out and resigned. While there is expectation that the lease process will go smoothly there is a bit of unspoken pressure on the process to move quickly as it makes physician recruitment and other parts of long term planning harder with uncertainty. The complete meeting video is below…

Mark Twain Healthcare District History

About Us
Mark Twain St. Joseph Emergency Entrance

Association of California Healthcare Districts (ACHD)
Healthcare Districts are public entities that provide community-based health care services to residents throughout the state.

They respond to the needs in their District by providing a range of services, which may include a hospital, clinic, skilled nursing facility or emergency medical services; as well as education and wellness programs.

Each of California’s Healthcare Districts is governed by a locally elected Board of Trustees who are directly accountable to the communities they serve.

History of Mark Twain Health Care District
The Mark Twain Hospital District, a public agency, was formed by a vote of the people of Calaveras County in a special election held August 27th, 1946.

The vote of the people was 1,702 in favor of formation and 111 voting against its formation.

The political boundaries of the Mark Twain Hospital District comprised the entire County of Calaveras.

Hospital Districts were a product of the Health and Safety Code 32000, the “Local Hospital District Law.”

In 1994 the State Legislature broadened the scope of activity of a Hospital District and renamed the statute to its current reference, Health Care District Law.

The focus of today’s health care district is to provide direct support and education for the health care needs of the communities served by the district.

The Mark Twain Health Care District, as a public agency, is subject to the Brown Act and the Public Records Act.

In August 1951 The Mark Twain District hospital located in San Andreas was dedicated.

Mark Twain Medical Center
Discussions with the St Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton began in February 1986.

An Affiliation Study Summary was developed in August 1986.

The Sierra St. Joseph’s HealthCare Corporation Board of Trustees was formed and the first meeting was on March 11, 1987.

The above name was changed to Mark Twain St. Joseph’s HealthCare Corporation and the first Articles of Incorporation were filed on March 18, 1987.

The Mark Twain Health Care District leases the land and buildings to the Mark Twin St. Joseph’s HealthCare Corporation. This lease was effective January 1, 1990.

The Mark Twain St. Joseph’s HealthCare Corporation entered into a Management Agreement with Catholic Healthcare West effective September 20, 2001.

Catholic Healthcare West changed its corporate name to Dignity Health in 2012. This management agreement expires December 31, 2019.

Mark Twain St Joseph’s Hospital Corporation changed its name to Mark Twain Medical Center in January 2013.