Hello!
I am actually a native of Porterville, although I moved away 20 years ago. I still have family in the area though, and visit a few times annually.
You had a question regarding the local hospitals. There are two that I know of in city limits. One is Sierra View District Hospital which is an acute hospital ( I was born there) and the other my mother worked at for 25 years as manager of two units. It is a developemental center- 'state hospital'. I do know of numerous other hospitals within 30 miles of Porterville, if you are interested in hearing about them.
There has been a lot of developement in the area over the last ten years and I am happy to answer any questions I can about the city and the area in general.