Prime is not only the best choice, it’s the only choice
Published in the December 10-23, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Robert Issai
Robert Issai
Daughters of Charity Health System is financially unsustainable. Our six hospitals are losing $10 million a month and in danger of closing or filing for bankruptcy. Neither of these options allows us to continue serving our communities.
In January 2014, the DCHS board of directors responded to this severe financial distress and launched an exhaustive search for a buyer with the experience and financial wherewithal to nurse the hospitals back to health. While a number of parties came forth, only one presented a viable bid to save our hospitals — Prime Healthcare Services.
Approval for DCHS to sell to Prime Healthcare now sits in the hands of California Attorney General Kamala Harris.
With cash reserves running low, time is of the essence. Rejection of the sale by the Attorney General would accelerate the financial crisis and eventual demise of these facilities. And when hospitals die, so do people.
Since the sale was announced, thousands of signatures have been gathered in support and more are pouring in every day.
The California Nurses Association and SEIU Local 121RN embrace this sale. Hundreds of physicians have expressed support and look forward to partnering with Prime Healthcare to sustain our hospitals as thriving community assets.
Standing alone in opposition is SEIU-UHW and a small group of uninformed politicians who blindly support large labor unions. SEIU, led by Dave Regan, is fully invested in a corporate smear campaign against Prime Healthcare.
SEIU’s opposition has nothing to do with the merits of our sale and is simply an attempt to force Prime Healthcare into unsustainable concessions. Even Mr. Regan knows that Prime Healthcare is the best option for his members and their future.
The truth: Prime Healthcare has a history of rescuing financially distressed hospitals and turning them around while maintaining high-quality care.
Critics hold out a federal investigation of Prime’s billing procedures as proof of its unworthiness.
But it’s not unusual for the federal government to look into the billing procedures of major hospital chains given the complicated nature of today’s healthcare industry. In fact, few hospitals or health systems escape this sort of government scrutiny.
Prime Healthcare is not just the best choice — it is the only choice to keep our hospitals functioning.
If this sale is not approved by the California Attorney General and the doors to our hospitals close, Dave Regan and his followers might believe they won.
But in the end, we all lose.
Robert Issai is the president and CEO of the Daughters of Charity Health System. He wrote this column for Morgan Hill Life.
