-March 2,2013-
Visalia 2022 crime statistics mixed
Crime statistics from the Visalia Police Department for 2022 show that homicides in 2022 are down from the year before at 9 vs 14. Rapes also were in decline from 87 in 2021 to 77 in 2022. But robberies were up in 2022 at 131 vs 113 in 2021. Car thefts climbed last year to 609 from 460 in 2021. Chart colors shown here are blue for 2021 and green for 2022..
Fewer homes being sold
Higher interest rates are resulting in fewer homes being sold in Visalia according to the Tulare County Realtors Assn MLS. In January 2023 – 70 homes were sold compared to 122 in January 2022. That is a 42.6% drop.
COVID 19 hospitalizations plunge
Last year at this time Covid-19 cases were overwhelming the Tulare County health system with around 1500 patients hospitalized compared to 189 as of February 18,2023.
Fewer patients means lower revenue for local hospital
The good news at Kaweah Health is that fewer patients are requiring hospital care. The bad news is that Kaweah Health is seeing fewer patients. It’s not just due to the drop in Covid-19 patients but a decline in a number of procedures being done at the hospital both inpatient and outpatient. That includes fewer surgeries than Kaweah’s budget predicted,fewer cardiac catheterizations, a lower census overall at 425 patients when the budget number is 500. They are seeing fewer patients visiting the district outpatient facilities like the Urgent Care centers and Rural Health Clinics as well.
The good news is that Kaweah Health, which was impacted by high labor costs in categories like contract-labor nurse numbers needed to care for a huge number of sick people, can now be let go, helping to reduce what has been months of red ink during the pandemic.
The district hopes to get “Back in the Black” as soon as next month. For now January revenue is down almost $5 million from what was budgeted. But there is hope that in March the bottom line savings and increase in patient numbers will turn the corner.
Tulare County mountains get abundant snowpack
Tulare and Fresno Counties mountains have received 20 more inches of precip this season compared to average- well above most areas of California. More is on the way over the next 2 weeks.