The Boards of Directors of the Southern Mono Healthcare District (SMHD) and Northern Inyo Healthcare District (NIHD) held their second joint meeting of the year in Bishop on September 10, 2026. The gathering aimed to continue building a working relationship between the two healthcare districts, with a focus on how their independent hospitals can collaborate to ensure residents receive more of their care close to home. Both meetings held this year were open to the public.
While the districts serve neighboring Eastern Sierra communities, located about 45 minutes apart, and each operates an independent hospital, their boards are not considering a merger. Instead, the discussions center on practical ways two smaller rural hospitals can combine efforts for community benefit.
During the September meeting, board members and executives from both districts engaged in small group discussions. These groups explored potential collaborations, identified guiding principles, and prioritized possibilities for closer examination. A consistent set of principles emerged from all groups: prioritizing patients, ensuring mutual benefit for both districts, maintaining transparency, communicating before either hospital expands a service, and having all proposals reviewed by legal counsel.
Several ideas garnered significant interest for future exploration. These included strategies for keeping care local, adding specialty services that neither hospital could support individually, shared education and training opportunities for staff and providers, making it easier for providers to work at either hospital, and jointly recruiting providers to the region. Additionally, the groups emphasized the importance of studying the feasibility of each idea together before making any commitments.
Much of this collaborative spirit builds on existing efforts. The two hospitals already share education and training resources for their staff. They worked together on a Regional Women’s Health Services CalRHT grant application, lend each other supplies when shortages occur, and have nurses and providers who currently work at both facilities.
Ryan Wood, a board member for Southern Mono Healthcare District, expressed the strong desire for success in these joint efforts. He noted, "Everyone in the room really wants this to work." David Lent, NIHD board vice chair, also recognized the extent of existing cooperation, stating there is "much more collaboration than many of us realize."
At present, no specific collaborations have been formally decided. Each proposed idea will undergo a thorough review for feasibility and by legal counsel. The executive teams from both districts will begin to address a few of these ideas at a time. Each Board is scheduled to receive a monthly update from its Chief Executive Officer, and the two Boards plan to meet together again in January 2027 to continue their discussions.
