The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved this week a resolution granting Dignity Health Medical Foundation a contract to provide urgent care services in Half Moon Bay.
The contract comes after Seton Medical Center temporarily closed its coastside emergency room in Moss Beach, leaving residents in the coastal area without nearby emergency medical services.
San Mateo County will grant Dignity Health Medical Foundation $480,879 in funding to expand its existing Half Moon Bay clinic to provide urgent care services to coastal residents. The pilot program will run from July 1 to March 31, 2025.
Although Dignity Health is not yet opening another emergency room, urgent care provides much-needed services for coastal residents, said District 3 Supervisor Ray Mueller.
“With the sole emergency room on the coast temporarily closed, we moved to swiftly address the healthcare void left by Seton Coastside,” said Mueller, who represents the coastal areas of San Mateo County. “We are seizing the opportunity to expand much-needed medical care on the coastside, ensuring our community continues to have access to urgent medical care.”
Mueller was upset over Seton’s decision to close the emergency room for renovations until this December. But Seton explained the closure was necessary after the property sustained damage from a felled tree and mudslides during last year’s storms.
Coastal residents will have to travel to the city of San Mateo or Daly City, about 20 to 30 minutes away, for emergency medical care.
Dignity Health is a nonprofit health care system based in San Francisco and operates over 130 clinics across California.