John C Fremont Hospital needs help to rebuild and serve Mariposa community

MARIPOSA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Picturesque views paired with delicious food are what you can find in Mariposa.

The John C Fremont Healthcare District is adding preventative health to its list of ways they serve the community.

"I think it's great that we can integrate healthy eating with, you know, the medical side of what takes place," says public relations director Therese Williams.

Now in its fourth week, the Tuesday farmer's market has a growing list of vendors and dining options.

"We're really excited that people attend and they incorporate healthy fruits and vegetables and eggs, meats into their diet," says Williams.

The market also connects the community with a vital resource that's served Mariposa and surrounding areas since 1951 - the John C Fremont Hospital.

The 34-bed facility offers a number of services including an emergency department.

Last year alone, that ED treated 7,100 patients, both residents and tourists visiting Yosemite for everything from heart attacks to rattlesnake bites - when every second counts.

By 2030, the John C Fremont Hospital must either be rebuilt or retrofitted to meet the state's seismic building standards and regulations for hospitals or risk closure.

"And I don't think anybody disagrees with that I think that's a great idea, the problem with it is that the hospitals have to come up with payments, and that makes it very hard on a tiny little hospital like ours," says district hospital board chair Candy O'Donel-Browne.

The Measure N sales tax would have funded the changes, but failed on the 2020 ballot. The next closest hospital is in Merced.

"I just want the community to know that this is their hospital. It's there to keep them safe and we really do need their support because it's really for them," says O'Donel-Browne.

The new Citizens to Save the Hospital Committee is currently gathering signatures to pursue adopting a sales tax to fund building a new hospital.

You can find information on those measures here.