Doctor, nurses and members of the public will hold a rally Tuesday morning to let California Attorney General Kamala Harris know that they support the sale of six struggling Catholic hospitals to a for-profit hospital company.
Supporters of the sale are staging a rally at each venue where Harris has scheduled a session at which to receive community feedback on the proposed sale. This morning’s rally will be outside St. Vincent Medical Center at 262 S. Lake St. in Los Angeles.
Prime Healthcare Services of Ontario in San Bernardino County has agreed to buy the six hospitals for about $843 million in cash and assumed liabilities Because it intends to convert the Daughters of Charity Health System hospitals to for-profit status, the sale requires Harris’s approval. Her decision is expected next month.
Robert Issai, chief executive of Daughters of Charity, has said the six Catholic hospitals probably would be forced into bankruptcy if Harris rejects the sale, according to the Los Angeles Times. The rallies are intended to persuade Harris to approve it.
“Supporters want to let the attorney general know that without this sale they could lose their jobs, their pensions and the quality healthcare that their communities so desperately need,” a statement said.
The hospitals up for sale are St. Vincent Medical Center near downtown L.A., St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, Seton Medical Center in Daly City, Seton Coastside Medical Center in Moss Beach, O’Connor Hospital in San Jose and Saint Louise Regional Center in Gilroy.
Harris was at St. Francis Medical Center Monday, when she heard health professionals who oppose the sale complain that Prime Healthcare places too much emphasis on profits, which likely would reduce the services extended to the low-income patients the six hospitals serve.
—City News Service