by Heather Rock Woods
Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City is asking voters to approve a merger with the largest health care provider in California in order to stay in business. "It's obvious to all of the stand-alone hospitals throughout the state that in order to survive they have to affiliate with a larger organization. I think it's the only way to go," said Brent Britschgi, president of the hospital's board of directors.
The hospital has been losing money for the last three years, Britschgi said, and the board decided unanimously on May 8 to partner with the nonprofit Catholic Healthcare West (CHW). If the voters approve Measure H in the all-absentee ballot election, CHW will pay off Sequoia's $54 million debt and let the hospital retain about $40 million in assets for community health programs and capital projects.
Ballots must be received by Tuesday, Aug. 6.
There are 119,000 registered voters in the hospital district, which includes Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, Woodside, North Fair Oaks and other unincorporated areas.
The election is being decided through the largest mail-in balloting in San Mateo County's history. Ballots were sent to residents beginning July 8. As of July 30, 32 percent of the ballots had been returned.
Measure H has support from all five county supervisors, the Redwood City-San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce, the San Mateo Central Labor Council and 120 Sequoia Hospital doctors.
Palo Alto-based Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, Britschgi and three other people signed the ballot argument in favor of Measure H. There is no organized opposition and no ballot statement against the measure.
If voters give their approval, the hospital will be overseen by a ten-person board with five elected hospital district board members and five members appointed by CHW. CHW would manage the hospital and most of its assets.
The 438-bed hospital housed 220 people a day eight years ago, but only 120 to 140 a day currently because insurance companies encourage shorter visits and because medical technology now allows more out-patient procedures, Britschgi said.
As a larger organization, CHW is in a better position to negotiate for better reimbursement rates from insurance companies and buy supplies more cheaply, he said.
What CHW will not do is provide elective abortions. The hospital did 14 elective abortions in 1995. Sequoia is talking with Planned Parenthood about referring patients to Planned Parenthood clinics for abortions.
"We spent a lot of time with Catholic Healthcare West talking to them about our concerns. We're fairly comfortable with their answers," said Dian Harrison, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Golden Gate region.
The San Mateo Central Labor Council, which represents the hospital's unions, is supporting Measure H. There are about 1,200 union workers at Sequoia.
While labor groups are pleased the hospital board rejected the anti-union Columbia/HCA as a partner, affiliating with CHW is not ideal, said Shelley Kessler, assistant executive officer for the Central Labor Council.
"It's not a perfect situation for us by any means. (CHW) has some bad history that we want to make sure does not happen at Sequoia," Kessler said, referring to eliminating jobs and contracting out work at other CHW hospitals.
"There's a great deal of pride for the kind of services that Sequoia provides . . . that should not be sacrificed for the sake of a profit margin. Catholic Healthcare West needs to be held in check," Kessler said.
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