Block sale of hospital
I work at Saint Louise Hospital and I know the facility is in bad shape financially. Its owner, Daughters of Charity Health System, is losing $10 million a month and that’s been the case for a year.
But how does an organization losing $10 million a month take almost a year to choose a buyer? And then pick a company, Prime Health Care, which has a bad record and the most opposition?
Daughters’ decision may have had something to do with money promised to executives. According to the purchase agreement with Prime, Daughters of Charity executives will be paid millions of dollars when the sale is completed. That’s on top of the $3 million in compensation the CEO of Daughter’s received in 2012. That’s crazy.
But that’s what we’ve come to expect from the Daughters of Charity.
The fear Daughters is spreading needs to stop. They say the hospital must be sold to Prime or it will close. They’re wrong. This is not a choice between Prime and closing. It’s a choice between Prime and a better bid from a company called Blue Wolf Capital.
The fear and intimidation has got to end. I urge Attorney General Kamala Harris to block this sale to Prime Health Care.
Gregory Gaboni, Surgical Technician
Support sale to Prime
The members of the Medical Executive Committee, the leadership of the medical staff of Saint Louise Regional Hospital, formally endorse and support the sale of the Daughters of Charity Healthcare System to Prime Healthcare.
Members of this committee have been caring for patients in the Gilroy-Morgan Hill and surrounding areas for up to 40 years.
While we have both hospital based physicians and physicians in private practice, most members of our active medical staff live locally. We are active members of this community.
Our physicians in private practice are employers providing jobs for members of our community. Many are property owners and all are taxpayers and voters.
As the leadership of Saint Louise Regional Hospital, we are charged with insuring the quality care at this hospital for our community. We understand the importance of having quality facilities to which we can refer our patients, friends and families.
Many of us have witnessed the sale of our facility to for-profit and nonprofit owners in the past, and understand patients, staff and doctors are the constants when these transactions occur.
We cannot recall a time in the past jobs of hospital employees, their livelihoods and their pensions have been threatened by a union’s opposition or political motivation.
The issue of losing the safety net for the poor in the South County that the Santa Clara County executive raised is actually covered by EMTLA, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act passed by Congress in 1986, which requires hospitals that accept payments from Medicare to provide emergency healthcare treatment to anyone needing it regardless of citizenship, legal status or the ability to pay.
We urge you to support and approve the sale of the Daughters of Charity Healthcare System and specifically Saint Louise Regional Hospital so that we may continue to provide care for years to come.
Medical Executive Committee, Saint Louise: Jack E. Fisher, DPM, Faith Protsman, MD, Mark Ahn, MD, James Watson, MD, Edward Omron, MD, Scott Benninghoven, MD, Pamela Stuart, MD, Diane Sanchez, MD, Kyle Yu, MD
Live up to ‘Tree City’
Once again I see that two healthy live oak trees have been cut in Country Estates. This time it is on lot 50 on Banyan Street, where someone is likely planning to build a new house.
The Gilroy Planning Department does its best to preserve the big oak trees, but has no legal basis for denying permits that impact the trees. These trees were doubtless cut with a city permit, which means that the destruction of these irreplaceable public assets was perfectly legal. These trees are part of the public heritage of the City of Gilroy and should be protected. Lot surveys should be done to ensure adequate space for construction without cutting trees. Realtors should be required to inform buyers when lots contain heritage trees. People involved in illegally cutting such trees should be penalized.
It’s time Gilroy, which claims the title “Tree City USA,” lives up to the responsibility to protect heritage oak trees with a strong ordinance.
David Lima, Gilroy
