A legislative lifeline for St. Rose Hospital
Ortega/Wahab bill to erase St. Rose's state loans avoids suspense file. If successful, bill could hasten the sale of the Hayward safety net hospital to Alameda Health System
COUNTY NEWS
HEALTH CARE
—UNCLEAR PROGNOSIS—A bill that would forgive nearly $40 million in state loans to St. Rose Hospital, the struggling safety net facility in Hayward, escaped the Legislature’s suspense file on Friday.
—Assembly Bill 2271, co-authored by Assemblymember Liz Ortega and state Sen. Aisha Wahab, now faces a Friday deadline for legislation to pass out of its house of origin.
—However, with the state’s mounting deficit, debt retirement may not rank high on the Legislature’s radar.
—St. Rose Hospital’s future has been in question for more than a decade. But its ability to remain in operation have grown increasingly dire over the past few years.
—A group that includes local jurisdictions, Kaiser Permanente, and the St. Rose Hospital Board of Directors had been seeking a health care provider willing to take over the hospital.
—Those efforts appear to have been unsuccessful, leaving St. Rose to rely on its back-up, Alameda Health System, to potentially purchase the hospital.
—AB 2271 would require the California Department of Health Care Access (DHLP) to forgive the following insured loans:
$19.3 million loan insured by the Cal-Mortgage Program
$10 million line of credit with City National Bank
$17.7 million loan from DHLP made in December 2023.
—St. Rose and Alameda Health System, the safety net health care provider overseen by the county, entered into exclusive negotiations on April 15. The parties hope a deal can be reached within 90 days.
—According to a legislative analysis, absent a new operator, St. Rose Hospital may have only six months before closure is imminent.
—St. Rose Hospital is not able to repay its capital debt, the analysis goes on. “The retirement of that debt would be required for a successful acquisition of the hospital and integration of St. Rose Hospital into Alameda Health System.”
—SUSPENSEFUL—Here’s some notable bills from the Alameda County legislative caucus that failed to escape the Appropriation Committee’s massive culling of bills on Friday:
Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (2) — AB 3204 would have required AI-trained data models sold in California to register with the state and pay fees.
Mia Bonta (3) — AB 2354 would have allowed survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking to petition the courts to vacate or dismiss convictions associated with their victimization. Similarly, AB 3505, would have given free state I.D. cards to victims of human trafficking.
Alex Lee (7) — AB 2881, legislation that would have created a social housing model for the state to increase mixed-rate housing units, was a big swing and a miss. A bill prohibiting the sale of anti-aging cosmetics to children under 13-years-old, syphilis testing, and providing information about labor laws to nail salon workers, did not move forward.
Liz Ortega (4) — AB 2321 would have prohibited the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from enforcing a rule that employees must be clean-shaven. The bill was supported by Sikhs.
Buffy Wicks (1) — AB 2808, legislation to prohibit exclusive ticket sale deals, one of the session’s high-profile bills, was laid to wayside.
Steve Glazer (4) — SB 1365 would have allowed pharmacies with just one pharmacist to have up to four technicians on duty.
Nancy Skinner (2) — SB 903 would have banned sales of products intentionally containing PFAS, the forever chemical that is difficult to remove from the environment. SB 1306 would have required a report in 2027 by the Department of Resources and Recycling on the state’s stockpiling of precious metals and minerals.
Aisha Wahab (2) — SB 1355 would have made Medi-Cal recipients on fixed-income continuously enrolled in in-home health care services for at least three years.
CITY NEWS
SAN LEANDRO
—SEEING CRIMSON—San Leandro Councilmember Xouhoa Bowen was accepted for a $17,000 senior leadership training program at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Mass.
—But since Bowen has nearly exhausted her allocated $10,000 budget for travel and training expenses, she is asking the city council on Monday night to allocate additional funding to pay for the program.
—The allocation for Bowen could provide some spark of criticisms from her colleagues, especially Councilmember Victor Aguilar, Jr., who last month was uncommonly critical of Bowen at a weekend priorities work session.
—Aguilar, Jr. also accepted a fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy program. It’s unclear whether the city is allocated any new money toward his academic effort.
PODCAST
—EPISODE 88—Co-host Dan Mendoza is out on assignment. Really?!! Tavares! Really?!! Capt. Wilson.
—In this episode:
How does Alameda County DA Pamela Price avoid a recall this fall? We break down how the recall campaign may go down.
Homelessness is down a bit in Alameda County. Which cities are doing better than others?
Hayward is begrudgingly moving to district-based elections, plus who will be the next BART Board member? Really?!!
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