Nurses and health care professionals from Santa Paula Hospital (SPH) and Ventura County Medical Center (VCMC) plan to stage a protest on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, opposing a county decision that would eliminate emergency and acute care services at SPH. The action was announced by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU).
The protest is scheduled for 7:45 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. at the Ventura County Government Center, 800 S. Victoria Ave., Ventura, at the corner of Telephone Rd. and Victoria Ave. Participants are calling on county leaders to reverse the Aug. 18, 2026 Board of Supervisors vote that sets a timeline to end emergency and acute services at SPH by 2030 or sooner.
On Aug. 18, 2026, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to convert Santa Paula Hospital into a medical office building and remove the hospital’s emergency and acute care services. According to CNA/NNU, that change means the facility would no longer be equipped to provide emergency services.
Currently, Santa Paula Hospital offers a range of inpatient and acute services, including emergency, medical-surgical care, telemetry, in-patient observation, and operating room services. These services serve residents in Santa Paula and other parts of the Santa Clara River Valley, including Saticoy, Lake Piru, Camarillo, Fillmore, Ojai Valley, and surrounding rural communities.
If emergency and acute care are removed, patients from the Valley will be expected to use Ventura County Medical Center, which the union notes is about 15 miles from Santa Paula Hospital.
Frontline staff and community members have raised objections to the Board’s decision. CNA/NNU says Valley residents already experience worse health outcomes compared with the rest of Ventura County, and that removing local hospital services will make it harder for residents to access life-saving care.
Tiffany Leon, RN, who works at both SPH and VCMC and lives in Santa Paula, is quoted by CNA/NNU arguing the county’s plan “is inappropriate and unjust” and that supervisors have “barely engaged residents and the health care workers who care for them.” She said the decision undermines equal care and access for patients.
Union representatives and local health workers are also calling attention to likely effects on marginalized populations in the Valley, including those who work in agriculture. CNA/NNU has emphasized that nurses and other health professionals are mobilizing to demand that county supervisors and health care administrators ensure continued access to emergency and acute services for all Ventura County residents.
CNA/NNU noted that an Aug. 7, 2026 town hall on the “Future of Santa Paula Hospital,” organized by the Ventura County Health Care Agency, had limited publicity. The union cited that limited outreach as evidence that county engagement with residents and workers may have been insufficient as plans moved forward.
The source material does not provide further details on the county’s rationale for the change, the financial or operational factors behind the Board vote, or any formal replacement services or timelines beyond the 2030 target listed in the supervisors’ decision.
CNA/NNU represents more than 900 health care professionals in Ventura County, including registered nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psych technicians, and licensed vocational nurses who work across two hospitals, ambulatory and specialty clinics, public health departments, and behavioral health clinics. The national organization describes itself as the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in the U.S., with over 100,000 members in California and more than 225,000 RNs nationwide.
The protest will include nurses and other health care professionals who work at SPH and VCMC. Their stated goal is to oppose the elimination of emergency and acute care and to press county leaders for continued local access to hospital-level services.
Nurses are warning that removing emergency and acute care services from Santa Paula Hospital will force Valley residents to travel further for immediate and intensive treatment. CNA/NNU raises particular concern for time-sensitive conditions that rely on close access to emergency and operating room services.
The union also frames the change as a matter of equity, arguing that residents of the Santa Clara River Valley—who the union says have worse health outcomes compared with other parts of Ventura County—deserve the same access to emergency and acute care as others in the county.
The immediate next step described in the source is the planned protest at the Ventura County Government Center on Sept. 8, 2026. CNA/NNU indicated that nurses and health care workers will use the demonstration to urge the Board of Supervisors and county health administrators to maintain full hospital services at SPH.
The source does not report any scheduled follow-up actions by the county, details of any alternative service plans, whether the county has set specific transition milestones before 2030, or responses from county officials to the union’s announcement beyond the vote. Information on any negotiations, legal actions, or formal appeals was not provided in the source material.
Santa Paula Hospital currently serves multiple rural and semi-rural communities in Ventura County. Converting the site to a medical office building would change the level of care available locally, according to CNA/NNU, by removing the capacity to treat emergencies and perform inpatient acute care and operations.
Nurses organizing the protest argue that this shift will disproportionately affect residents who live farther from Ventura County Medical Center or who face barriers to travel. The union is calling for county leaders to reconsider the decision and to engage more meaningfully with residents and frontline health workers about the hospital’s future.
CNA/NNU announced the protest and provided details on the date, time, and location. The source did not include statements from Ventura County officials responding to the protest announcement. Further coverage may report on whether the protest influences county plans or triggers additional public meetings or policy changes.
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