Santa Barbara County sends 84 layoff notices and plans pharmacy closures
Issue
Santa Barbara County issued layoff notices May 10-13, 2026 for 84 positions, effective June 30, including 47 in Public Health, Noozhawk and the Santa Barbara Independent reported. The cuts would close county pharmacies for uninsured patients in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria, sending those prescriptions to local clinics such as SBNC.
The county budget hearing is June 24.
Key points
- The county issued 84 layoff notices May 10-13: 47 in Public Health, 31 in Social Services, 5 in the Sheriff's Office and 1 in Fire.
- The layoffs take effect June 30, 2026, unless the budget changes at the June 24 county hearing.
- Closing the Santa Barbara and Santa Maria Public Health pharmacies would send uninsured prescriptions to SBNC, CHC of the Central Coast and Marian.
- Model uninsured Rx absorption costs; coordinate with CCALAC for emergency state offset
Sources for this story
Noozhawk / Santa Barbara IndependentPart of
- Safety-net workforce and capacity shifts
Layoffs and hiring freezes
- California county safety-net budgets
Southern California and Central Coast
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FQHC Talent. (2026, May 13). Santa Barbara County sends 84 layoff notices and plans pharmacy closures. Source: Noozhawk / Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved November 11, 2026, from https://www.fqhctalent.com/intel/sb-county-84-layoffs-pharmacy-closures-may-2026