National Nurses United

NewsBriefs:2 5/29/09 12:19 PM Page 8 RNs Fight to Save San Leandro Hospital CALIFORNIA F or years now, San Leandro Hospital RNs have been leading the charge to rescue their facility, now a campus of Eden Medical Center, from closure by Sutter Health as a full-service, acute-care hospital through doing the tough work of rallying coworker, neighborhood, and business support as well as lobbying their elected officials to keep these needed medical services in the community. The fight has intensified this spring, with RNs, seniors, and health advocates using the approval Sutter needs from the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to rebuild another nearby hospital as leverage to keep the San Leandro campus open. "Sutter has a track record of doing this," said Taqiyyah Shabazz, an ER RN at the San Leandro campus for 12 years. "I don't think we should be closing any hospitals at all. Our hospital is needed in the community. What about swine flu? What about earthquakes? All we need is one really big tragedy to send us over the edge. Where are people going to go in an already stressed healthcare system?" The San Leandro campus includes a 1228 REGISTERED NURSE bed hospital located in the working-class East Bay city of San Leandro, Calif. It serves many elderly residents living nearby, and nurses report that it is also treating increasing numbers of children from young families who are settling in the area. The facility is owned by the Eden Township Healthcare District but operated under a lease that expires on Sept. 30 by Sutter Health, a major not-for-profit hospital chain based in Sacramento, Calif. Sutter also runs nearby Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, but in the case of Eden, also owns the facility. Eden Township gave up local elected control of Eden Medical Center in exchange for Sutter's promise that it would rebuild the facility. But now Sutter's plans are to rebuild Eden Medical Center as a smaller, luxury hospital with 48 fewer beds and all private rooms. CNA/NNOC and local healthcare advocates argue that Sutter is abandoning its community responsibility as a hospital operator by focusing on running hospitals catering to more affluent patients, as it is also trying to do in the case of building the Cathedral Hill complex across the bay in San Francisco. RNs at both San Leandro and Eden say W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G that the loss of the San Leandro campus, whose emergency department sees more than 27,000 patients per year in addition to 20,000 inpatient hospital days, would devastate the health and safety of the community. "If they close the ER, it's going to mean more deaths," said Shabazz, who said that her unit often treats seniors living in nearby nursing homes and assisted living facilities. "With heart attacks, strokes, time is of the essence. They can't last that long to drive over to the next city." Sutter claims that Eden Medical Center can pick up the overflow of emergency patients, but its nurses disagree. "We cannot absorb all the ER patients San Leandro sees," said Bob Auen, an ICU RN at Eden. "Our ER is already overrun and our new hospital will have 48 fewer beds. I cannot imagine the chaos that will ensue if they let the San Leandro ER close." To make matters even more complicated, Alameda County has been in Sutter-imposed confidential discussions leading to negotiations with Eden Township Healthcare District to lease the San Leandro campus and transfer the functions of its acute rehabilitation facility, Fairmont Hospital, to the San Leandro campus. In May, RNs working with labor and community supporters to keep the San Leandro campus open, made progress in their fight by successfully lobbying the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to delay the approval of an environmental impact report (EIR) that Sutter needs to start rebuilding Eden Medical Center. The lobbying included two rallies of more than 100 RNs and supporters. The previous month, they had canvassed the city's local businesses, explaining to shop owners that the hospital was in danger of closure and asking them to post signs in their windows in support of keeping the hospital alive. RNs intend to pressure Sutter to continue operating the San Leandro Hospital campus, or convince the Eden Township Healthcare District board to find another operator. The bottom line, say RNs, is that the hospital must stay open as a full, acutecare hospital with emergency services. The vote on the EIR is now scheduled for June 9, and the Eden Township Healthcare District board is also planning to hold community hearings that month. —staff report M AY 2 0 0 9

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