The Mendocino Coast Health Care District - an independent health care district - was formed on January 17, 1967 by a vote of the District’s constituents, to contruct and operate the Mendocino Coast District Hospital, located at 700 River Drive, Fort Bragg CA. 

The district's primary service area stretches from Westport, Ca.  to Elk, CA. and eastward to parts of Comptche, Ca. The secondary service area stretches South of Elk, Ca. to Gualala, Ca.

The authorizing California statutes for establishing a health care district are found in the California Health and Safety Code, Division 23, Sections 32000 through 32499.5, known as "The Local Health Care District Law". The District  is a public entity responsible for community health access, asset stewardship, and hospital facility oversight. 

The District Board originally authorized and constructed a Rural Hospital with 45  beds, dedicated on June 26, 1971. The original facility is still in operation today as a Rural, Critical Access, Acute-Care hospital and presently operates 25 acute care beds, as designated under current state law.  

Assembly Bill 3178 (1994) amended California’s Local Hospital District Law by renaming all “hospital districts” to “health care districts” and significantly expanding their authority. The law broadened districts’ roles beyond operating hospitals, allowing them to provide a full range of health services, support clinics and preventive care, fund physician recruitment, and enter into partnerships or leases without directly running a hospital. It reflected a shift toward treating districts as community health stewards—while leaving their boundaries, elected boards, and public agency status unchanged. At that time the district was renamed from the Mendocino Coast Hospital District to the Mendocino Coast Health Care District.

On July 1, 2020 the District Board, with district voter approval, leased the Coast hospital facilities (Plant, property and equipment) to Adventist Health, who now operates the Mendocino Coast Hospital facilities under a Lease Agreement through June 30, 2050. The  lease agreement between the District (Landlord) and Adventist Health (Tenant) define these responsibilities:

• Seismic Compliance (Section 7.2.1): The Landlord is required to prepare a committed plan to achieve seismic compliance for improvements by January 1, 2030, to the reasonable satisfaction of the Tenant.
• Improvement Projects (Section 7.3): The Tenant is granted the authority to perform any improvement projects it deems necessary or appropriate. The Tenant's obligation to the Landlord in this regard is to keep the Landlord "reasonably informed" of the projects being performed, and their associated costs. Tenant now holds the primary authority to deem projects necessary. 

As landlord to the hospital facilities, the District Board's primary responsiblity is to authorize district property-taxpayer funds expenditures for the maintenance and improvements to the Mendocino Coast Hospital facilities. 
The District Board is responsible for ensuring that the Hospital Facilities are licensed to operate by the State of California, Department of Healthcare Access and information (https://hcai.ca.gov/).

The Mendocino Coast Health Care District has 5 Directors, elected by district voters to staggered 4-year terms.

Board Mission Statement

The Mendocino Coast Health Care District provides a hospital (facility) and fosters leaderhship, advocacy and collaboration for our community health and well-being.

Board Priorities

• Develop and expand community partnerships and communication
• Plan wisely for the future while maintaining fiscal integrity
• Maintain and improve the physical plant
• Ensure medical services continue to be available to the community

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Health Care District Enabling Legislation: Ca. Health and Safety Code §32000 et seq.

Powers and Functions of the District : Establish, maintain, and operate, or provide assistance in the operation of, one or more health facilities or health services, including, but not limited to: outpatient programs, services, and facilities; retirement programs, services, and facilities; chemical dependency programs, services, and facilities.