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Hospitals along Riverside County’s I-215 South Corridor enjoy solid support and customer satisfaction, with the exception of the Hemet Valley Medical Center, according to the latest public opinion poll conducted by the I-215 South Corridor Economic Development Summit.
In its fourth year, the producers of the Summit are emphasizing health care, and more specifically, the health of the hospitals in the 30-mile corridor connecting Riverside to Temecula.
This year the topic will have its own panel, given the proposed construction of two hospitals in the corridor, the expansion of one in Riverside and the sale of Valley Health System’s hospital in Moreno Valley to the Kaiser Foundation.
More than 800 residents from throughout the corridor were polled by Probolsky Research, an independent research firm in Laguna Hills. In previous years, the Summit has focused on traffic, education and economic development but overlooked hospitals and health care as a topic.
“Last year’s poll touched on the importance of health care to the region. Response was so strong that the topic warrants its own panel and an emphasis at this year’s Summit,” said Andrew Serafini, director of the I-215 South Economic Development Summit.
Overall, 53 percent of residents in the corridor who had an opinion gave the quality of health care a favorable rating with the highest ratings coming from Riverside/Moreno Valley and Temecula/Murrieta. Residents in the Hemet-San Jacinto and unincorporated areas gave the lowest ratings.
Only 40 percent of respondents from the San Jacinto Valley who had an opinion of their hospital gave it a favorable rating. When pressed to give a reason why the low opinion, most said the bankruptcy of the Valley Health System affected their opinion of the quality of their hospital and their trust in the service provided by Hemet Valley Medical Center.
Inland Valley Regional posted a strong 83 percent favorability rating while its sister hospital, Rancho Springs Medical Center scored a high 75 percent favorability rating from the residents who had an opinion of those hospitals and lived in the Temecula and Murrieta area.
Residents in the Unincorporated County areas of Menifee and Sun City who had an opinion of the Menifee Valley Medical Center gave it a strong 73 percent favorability rating. Of the respondents throughout the corridor that had an opinion of Riverside Regional Medical Center, more than three out of four gave the county hospital in Moreno Valley a favorable rating.
Riverside Community Hospital, which recently announced a major expansion, scored an impressive 86 percent favorability rating among residents in Riverside and Moreno Valley who had an opinion of the hospital. Respondents in the same communities who had an opinion of the recently sold Moreno Valley Community Hospital gave it a 66 percent favorability rating.
The survey found:
- Nearly 74 percent of those polled believe California has a health care crisis.
- Respondents said rising health care costs, an increased number of uninsured individuals and families and the affects of immigration are top concerns.
- For those who rated their hospital “fair” or “poor,” most cited long emergency room wait times and a need for more hospital beds.
- There is strong demand for more hospital capacity/beds in the Temecula/ Murrieta area, residents said.
- Results were split when residents were asked who was responsible for paying for health care costs. About a quarter believed families should pay, a quarter thought employers should be responsible, 10 percent thought the state should cover the costs, while 20 percent thought it should be paid by the federal government.
- Given a choice between going to a hospital in bankruptcy or going elsewhere, a majority of those who had an opinion said they’d choose going to a financially solvent hospital.
- Nearly two out of three respondents from the Hemet area said they don’t trust their hospital. Seven out of 10 would not trust Hemet for their patient care.
- Two-thirds of residents prefer that any new hospital be built with private funds rather than with tax dollars or increased taxes.
For more information about the public opinion poll, please call Adam Eventov at 888-697-5808.
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