National Nurses United

4 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G J U N E 2 0 1 4 CALIFORNIA T he imminent closure of Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo, Calif. is a perfect example of what happens when the market is allowed to determine who gets healthcare. Earlier this year, the more than 50-year- old hospital, which is the only public facility in its area and treats more than 40,000 emergency department patients annually, announced it would be closing as early as July because it was no longer financially possible to run the hospital. The facility bleeds about $18 million a year, largely because its patients are poor, and rely on Medi-Cal, Medicare, or are uninsured. A last-ditch effort in May to pass a parcel tax to save the hospital failed. Now, registered nurses at the facility, who are represented by the California Nurses Association, community residents, and healthcare advocates are lobbying the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors to step up to the plate and take over opera- tion of Doctors. The Board of Supervisors voted to commission a poll on the viability of an increase in the county sales tax, which both nurses and the public acknowledge is a step in the right direction towards securing permanent funding. West County residents and RNs are also calling on both Chevron, which operates a nearby refinery and has been the cause of emergencies that send workers and residents to Doctors' ER, and Kaiser Permanente, which operates the area's only other ER, to provide regular financial assistance. The poll will ask the voters to specify which health and safety issues they are most concerned about in Contra Costa County and if they would support either a one-quar- ter or half-cent increase, which would raise $40 million and $80 million, respectively. CNA sponsored three town hall meetings in June to hear from residents about how the closure of Doctors would dramatically reduce their access to hospital care. In addi- tion to potential refinery disasters, RNs are particularly concerned that victims of auto accidents, heart attacks, and other emergen- cies will die or suffer unnecessarily without quick access to an emergency room. The next-closest non-Kaiser hospital is Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley, some 11 miles away through some of the most congested roadways in the San Fran- cisco Bay Area. "Health and safety needs throughout Contra Costa County justify a small increase in the sales tax," said Seung Choo, a DMC RN, who attended a June 3 Board of Super- visors meeting. "Doctors Medical Center is a critical part of emergency preparedness and response for the county that must remain open to assure everyone in our community is healthy and safe." Closure of Doctors Medical Center would have a huge ripple effect on area hospitals. "We already know what will happen if DMC closes," said Deborah Oehrlein, an RN who works in labor and delivery at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center (CCRMC). "When DMC stopped providing labor and delivery services, the impact on our maternity unit was huge. Recently, Sutter's Summit Alta Bates stopped accepting all but the most critical maternity patients from West Coun- ty, and once again CCRMC experienced a big influx of patients. A closure of DMC will have a tremendous impact on every nursing unit, especially intensive care beds where we have only eight beds while DMC has 23." RNs note that DMC provides 60 percent of the emergency care in the region, some 40,000 patients a year, and has 79 percent of the hospital beds. CNA also cites a recent report of a 6.5 percent uptick in Contra Costa County finances, and the added need for patient care as a result of enrollments under the Affordable Care Act as further indications that the county should intervene to keep the hospital open. Additionally, the nurses have noted that the hospital serves many indigent patients and a closure would have a disparate and disproportionate impact on the health of African Americans and senior citizens, in violation of their civil rights. CNA/NNU has filed charges and is awaiting response from the U.S. Depart- ment of Health and Human Service's Office of Civil Rights for a charge alleging unlawful discrimination by Contra Costa County and the West Contra Costa Healthcare District by the planned closure of the hospital. The complaint seeks injunctive relief from the federal government to prevent the closure of DMC. —Staff report Nurses rally to save Doctors San Pablo NEWS BRIEFS

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