Local Leaders Seek to Drum Up Support for St. Rose Hospital Initiative

Local leaders are hoping to rally public support around a to keep San Leandro Hospital’s emergency room open.

State Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett, Mayor Stephen Cassidy and hospital labor representatives are holding a town hall meeting Tuesday night to discuss a proposed union between and Hayward’s St. Rose Hospital.

Under the plan, the Eden Township Healthcare District would maintain ownership of San Leandro Hospital, which is currently operated by Sutter Health, and add St. Rose to the district. St. Rose and San Leandro hospitals would then be operated under a joint administration, sans Sutter. 

"We have shown we can do this in a profitable, sustainable manner," St. Rose president Michael Mahoney said of the proposal at a special meeting of the healthcare district in April.

Nevertheless, a rather large glitch is Sutter Health, which says it’s not interested in the deal. Sutter signed a contract with the healthcare district in 2008, which included the option to purchase San Leandro Hospital. The following year, Sutter signed an agreement with the Alameda County Medical Center to lease out the hospital for county rehabilitation services and close its emergency room.

A legal battle ensued over ownership of the hospital, which has yet to be fully resolved.

In an emailed statement, Sutter representatives said the company “has no interest in relinquishing our agreement with [Eden Township Healthcare District] regarding San Leandro Hospital or in pursuing joint governance of San Leandro Hospital.”

Company representatives further stated that they were “not in a position to entertain any proposal that would interfere” with its agreement with the healthcare district, and that they expect the district “to honor its obligations under the terms of that agreement as well.”

Nevertheless, proponents of keeping the hospital’s emergency room open hope they can drum up enough public support for the St. Rose initiative to force Sutter to back down.

“As long as it has a possibility of success, we’ll pursue it,” said Dev Mahadevan, CEO of the Eden Township Healthcare District.

“And at some point we’re hoping that enough public sentiment in favor would sway Sutter,” he added.

The County Board of Supervisors recently backed the initial St. Rose plan. In a letter written on behalf of the board last month, Supervisor Wilma Chan, whose district includes San Leandro, told the Alameda County Medical Center that the board did not support the 2009 agreement to convert San Leandro into a rehab hospital.

“I’ve always thought that wasn’t the best use for San Leandro Hospital,” Chan said in an interview. The rehab agreement was approved before Chan came into office.

The county needs to find a substitute rehab facility since its current rehabilitation center, Fairmont Hospital, is slated to close in 2020 because of seismic instability. St. Rose could potentially fulfill this role, Chan said. The hospital has a floor with 50 beds that could be used for rehabilitation, Chan said.

Despite the optimism expressed by Chan and other local officials, the superintendent conceded that the St. Rose initiative, which is still in a very preliminary stage, could be hard to pull off.

“It’s going to take a lot of work,” Chan said. “The most important thing is that Sutter comes to the table.”

If Sutter prevails in its legal battle with Eden Township Healthcare District, it will be “up to them if they want to negotiate,” Chan said.

The healthcare district has an appeal pending before Alameda County Superior Court in its countersuit against Sutter over ownership of San Leandro Hospital. The court is expected to rule on the appeal either late this year or early next year, CEO Mahadevan said.  

The Town Hall meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the San Leandro Senior Center, 13909 E. 14th St.