Hospital's sale worries union
Union concerned by sale of hospital
By Tasha Bartholomew, STAFF WRITER, THE OAKLAND TRIBUNE
Article Last Updated: Monday, August 09, 2004 - 3:38:07 AM PST

SAN LEANDRO -- Members of a health care workers union are raising questions about the long-term impact the recent sale of San Leandro Hospital will have on residents in the future.

Eden Township Healthcare District, which purchased San Leandro Hospital from Texas-based Triad Hospitals Inc. for $35 million early last month, is leasing it to Eden Medical Center, an affiliate of the not-for-profit Sutter Health network.

Both hospitals will operate independently but collaboratively, governed by a single board of directors, hospital officials have said. As part of Eden Medical Center, San Leandro Hospital also will be under the umbrella of Sutter Health.

Employees of San Leandro Hospital have been hired by Eden and are continuing in their same positions. The medical staffs of both hospitals now have a single executive structure, and physicians have been granted privileges to practice at San Leandro Hospital as an extension of Eden.

According to hospital officials, Eden will operate San Leandro Hospital with few changes in acute care and emergency services for at least three years.

However, SEIU Local 250 members wonder what will happen to San Leandro Hospital's acute care and emergency services, among other things, beyond 2007.

Union President Sal Rosselli, who was unaware Friday that San Leandro Hospital had already been sold to Sutter Health, said Sutter has a track record of breaking promises when it comes to keeping hospital services.

Although SEIU Local 250 does not represent health care workers at San Leandro Hospital, the union sent a letter in June to the Eden Township Healthcare District's Board of Directors voicing concerns about the possible elimination or consolidation of health services.

Union representative Fred Seavy said that various services at Summit Medical Center in Oakland and Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley were eliminated or consolidated after Sutter Health began operating both hospitals in 2000, such as cuts to Summit's obstetrics department and its chronic pain clinic.

In addition, the union questioned how the sale would affect prices and choices for consumers. Both Seavy and Rosselli said they have not received a response from the board.

George Bischalaney, president and chief executive officer of Eden Medical Center, oversees both hospitals. He said the union's concerns have been addressed verbally at previous district meetings.

While Eden Township Healthcare District has made a firm commitment not to make any major changes for three years, Bischalaney said only time will tell.

"Give us a chance to work with local care providers to see what changes, if any, need to be made," Bischalaney said.

He said, like Eden, the district will be looking at plans to see how to better San Leandro Hospital. He said the acquisition brings new opportunities to San Leandro that may not have happened before.

"Whatever changes take place, we will work with local (San Leandro) folks on it just as we do with Eden (Medical Center)," Bischalaney said.

According to Cassandra Phelps, Eden Township Healthcare District spokeswoman, the California Department of Health Services issued a new, consolidated license for the hospitals.

The new license is for a capacity of 367 beds and includes the services at Eden Medical Center and San Leandro Hospital.

The license covers all services at both facilities, including general acute care, critical care, obstetrics, nursery, pediatrics, emergency, trauma, psychiatry, acute rehabilitation, skilled nursing and a certified outpatient rehabilitation clinic.