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As
many readers are aware, Sutter Health has taken action to downsize and
take ownership of Sutter Coast Hospital. Today's newsletter by Shellie
Babich, Physician Assistant and Chair of the Del Norte Healthcare
District, informs our community on the steps our elected leaders are
taking to preserve and expand access to hospital care in our region.
Past newsletters are available at www.crescentcityhospital.
I
appreciate all of your feedback, and encourage anyone with ideas on
improving healthcare services in our region to contact me at 707-465-1126 or by email at drgjduncan@yahoo.com
Please forward this newsletter to friends, post on your social media
sites, and send me an email if you are not receiving these free
newsletters but would like to add your name to our list of recipients.
Before we get to Shellie's article, and before you read anything about the hospital, please ask yourself two questions:
(1) Is the information from someone with a financial tie to Sutter?
(2) Did the person giving the information sign a confidentiality agreement for Sutter?
In my case, and for Shellie, the answer to both questions is "no."
Sincerely,
Greg Duncan, M.D.
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Your Healthcare District Takes Action to Save Medical Care for Our Region
by Shellie Babich, Chair, Del Norte Healthcare District
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As
a lifelong resident of Del Norte County, local healthcare provider, and
Chair of the Del Norte Healthcare District Board, I write to inform
readers on the history of Sutter Health in our region, and how your
Healthcare District Board is working to preserve and expand your access
to affordable healthcare.
Twenty eight years
ago, the Del Norte Healthcare District invited Sutter Health to manage
our locally owned hospital. In exchange for a monopoly over hospital
care in our region, Sutter Health promised to manage a locally owned
hospital, governed by a local Board of Directors, with expanded
services. The Healthcare District promised to not compete with Sutter
Coast Hospital. For 26 years, this relationship served our community
well.
Then, on November 3,
2011, the Board of Directors of Sutter Coast Hospital ("SCH") abruptly
and unilaterally chose to end their relationship with this community. Without
engaging the public, notifying hospital medical staff or employees, or
consulting with the Healthcare District, the SCH Board voted to transfer
ownership and governance of Sutter Coast Hospital to a corporation
located in San Francisco and controlled by Sutter Health. The
transfer of ownership was part of a Sutter Health statewide strategy
called "Regionalization." The SCH Board did not read the bylaws of the
corporation which would become owner of Sutter Coast Hospital before
they voted to transfer hospital ownership to that corporation, nor did
they look at any options other than those recommended by Sutter Health
executives and attorneys.
Why is hospital
ownership so important? Because under regional ownership, every future
decision affecting our only hospital will be made by a Board of
Directors in San Francisco. One
such decision, which was actually made by our local Board (at the
recommendation of Sutter Health executives), is their recent choice to
downsize Sutter Coast Hospital by 50% in order to qualify for higher
payments for the care of Medicare patients, under a federally subsidized
program called "Critical Access."
Sutter's decision to downsize the hospital to a Critical Access facility brings several guarantees:
(1) More profits for Sutter Health.
(2) More patients flown out to other hospitals.
(3) A cap on future growth of the hospital.
(4) Fewer local jobs.
When a hospital downsizes, the staff is also downsized, and employees without work will leave our county. Just
this week, Sutter Health announced that local hospital employees will
have their jobs eliminated as part of a statewide Sutter plan known as
"centralization," whereby local jobs are outsourced to Sutter's regional
service centers. Sutter claims all these changes are needed
to stem financial losses. In 2012, Sutter Health reported net profits
of $735 million.
The Healthcare District opposes to Sutter's decision to outsource local healthcare related jobs. In
fact, in our Temporary Restraining Order filed against Sutter, we
successfully blocked Sutter from transferring jobs out of the county, in
order to protect hospital employees while the lawsuit was heard.
If Sutter is permitted
to "regionalize" us, every future decision affecting our healthcare
will be made by a distant Board. This includes whether or not to
continue supporting current hospital service lines (such as Pediatrics,
Obstetrics, and Intensive Care), surgical equipment (for orthopedic and
general surgery, eye surgery, and urology), and diagnostic machines (MRI
and CT scanners, nuclear medicine, and ultrasound). In
addition, patient care policies, employee benefits, staffing levels,
contracts with physicians and employees, and how much to charge for your
care--all will be decided in a Board room in San Francisco, closed to
the public. Many local residents who have received care at
Sutter Coast have expressed concern over Sutter's high charges for care
and aggressive collections practices. If Sutter Health takes ownership
of Sutter Coast, we will have no local recourse to address these
concerns, and no authority over the future of the hospital, forever.
Your elected Del Norte
Healthcare District Board believes both of Sutter's decisions (Critical
Access and Regionalization) were made for the benefit of Sutter Health,
and are not in the best interests of this community. On
January 28, 2014, the Del Norte Healthcare District unanimously
resolved that Sutter Coast Hospital should remain a locally owned acute
care hospital, not a Critical Access hospital owned and governed from
San Francisco. Since it is clear Sutter Health is determined
to enact its corporate plans, and end its longstanding relationship with
our community, the Healthcare District is taking action.
To date, three
healthcare systems other than Sutter Health have expressed an interest
in a closer affiliation with our community. In addition, a Healthcare
District subcommittee initiated discussions this week with a national
healthcare firm which has evaluated our market and stands ready to
assist in any capacity the District requests.
In any challenging
environment, a trustworthy partner is essential. Sutter Health, with
their closed Board meetings, mandatory confidentiality agreements, inconsistent
statements, and refusal to honor county requests to release documents,
is no longer a trusted partner. I understand healthcare is changing,
and our community needs to adapt to those changes. But our primary mission must be to serve our citizens, not a distant corporation.
The Del Norte
Healthcare District, in collaboration with other county and city
leaders, is committed to providing accessible and affordable healthcare
to the 42,000 residents and thousands of yearly visitors to the hospital
service area. We appreciate your input thus far and look forward to
working with you in an open, honest, and transparent manner in the years
to come.
Sincerely,
Shellie Babich
Chair, Del Norte Healthcare District
The United States has one of the costliest healthcare systems in the world. The government has predicted that the annual federal spending on healthcare will be around $4.4 trillion by 2018.Affordable Healthcare Services Providers
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