Pivotal East Bay safety net hospital is again teetering on the edge

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COUNTY NEWS

HEALTH CARE

—FLATLINING—We’ve been at this point several times with St. Rose Hospital, a safety net facility in Hayward that is pivotal to the overall health care services in Southern Alameda County.

—St. Rose officials told the Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that without $5-7 million infusion of county emergency funding the hospital’s future is in doubt.

—Fueling fears of a collapse at St. Rose is that Alecto Healthcare Services, the entity operating the hospital, recently filed bankruptcy in Delaware. Alecto’s out-of-state bankruptcy has no connection to St. Rose’s finances, said Michael Cobb, CEO of the St. Rose Hospital Foundation.

—When asked about his “comfort level” in relation to a bankruptcy also befalling St. Rose Hospital, Cobb told the Board of Supervisors, “The odds of the hospital closing will be much better if you don’t supply us the funding, and that’s obvious.”

—Turmoil also exists within Alecto’s executive ranks. Its Chief Executive Officer resigned last year and its Chief Financial Officer quit two months ago. Lex Reddy, who previously served as CEO of St. Rose has resumed his duties at the hospital.

—Alameda County supervisors expressed reticence about spending more taxpayers money on St. Rose, despite its importance for serving indigent patients in South County. The loss of St. Rose would add significant stress to Fremont’s Washington Township Hospital, the region’s other main safety net facility.

—Alecto officials have come hat-in-hand to county supervisors several times in the past. In 2017, for instance, St. Rose faced push back from some supervisors skeptical about Alecto’s plans for future financial sustainability. They ultimately relented, giving St. Rose $8 million. Similar asks to the county have occurred periodically since 2011.

—Over the past decade, the county has allocated to St. Rose nearly $60 million, later doubled by federal matching funds, said Colleen Chawla, the director of Alameda County Health Care Services Agency.

—Yet, St. Rose has continued to stumble, like many other stand-alone health care providers who suffer from a payer mix predicated on low-income patients, the uninsured, and those on Medi-Cal.

—In a sign the situation at St. Rose is more dire than ever before, a steering committee composed of officials from local health care providers and jurisdiction, such as Kaiser Permanente; the Eden Healthcare District; Alameda Health System; and Chawla, representing the county; are tasked with assessing St. Rose’s situation and prescribing a plan for bring the hospital back to financial health.

—“It’s crystal clear they’re going to have to take note and direction,” Supervisor Elisa Marquez said of St. Rose leadership.

—Reddy, the returning St. Rose CEO, unequivocally told the Board of Supervisors that the hospital will implement any course of actions offered by the committee. However, any recommendations will not be made for another 4-6 months. It’s a timeframe that only puts more onus on the county approving emergency funding in the short-term.