News Release
For Immediate Release: Contact:
November 16, 2004 David Vossbrink,
(408) 277-3515 Mayor’s
Office
Joy Alexiou, (408) 885-4164
Laurel
Anderson, (408) 299-5119
County
of Santa Clara
Study Released on Community Impact from
Closure of San José Medical Center
City-County joint study
finds potential risk to community
health and shows future need
for downtown hospital
San José
---- A study of the likely impacts of closing
San Jose Medical Center has found that there may be greater risk to community
health and forecasts the need for another downtown hospital within sixteen
years.
The $100,000 study,
jointly funded by the City of San Jose and the County of Santa Clara, was
released today by Mayor Ron Gonzales and Pete McHugh, Chair of the County Board
of Supervisors. It was originally prompted by the announcement two years ago by
Hospital Corporation of America that the company intended to close the downtown
hospital by 2007.
In September this year HCA suddenly announced that it would close San Jose Medical Center in just 90 days, shuttering its doors on December 9, 2004, more than two years sooner than first planned.
According to Dr. Henry Zaretsky, who prepared the study, San Jose will need either a downtown 200-bed hospital by 2020 or equivalent capacity in nearby hospitals with accessible transportation for downtown residents to keep up with the anticipated growth in the community.
“There is clearly growing need for medical services and urgent medical care in downtown San Jose and throughout our region, and the abrupt closure of San Jose Medical Center has only put our residents at greater risk,” said Mayor Ron Gonzales.
“The closure of San Jose Medical Center shifts many of the costs of medical care from private to public dollars,” said Supervisor Pete McHugh. “The County will have the immediate responsibility to provide or arrange medical services for many of the nearly 35,000 emergency room patients and 1,900 trauma patients abandoned by San Jose Medical Center.”
The study also looked at the impact of the closure
on serious trauma cases because San Jose Medical Center is one of three
designated trauma centers in Santa Clara County. Its closure will put a greater
demand on the remaining two trauma centers at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center
and Stanford Hospital.
According to the study, most trauma patients arrive by ambulance or car rather than by helicopter. Some of these patients could face significant increases to their travel time to reach the other two trauma centers. The closure of the San José Medical Center could possibly affect the health of patients in the most critical medical emergencies.
“We have developed
contingency plans to meet patient needs associated with the closure of SJMC.
The Board of Supervisors also approved $15 million to add 205 new clinical
positions at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center,” continued McHugh. “We will
continue to plan for the longer term medical needs of our community.”
The study also found that the patients most likely to be affected by the closure of SJMC include elderly residents, people without access to private transportation, and low-income residents.
“I am especially worried that our residents who will pay the greatest price of reduced access to medical care and emergency rooms are those who don’t have any other good options,” said Gonzales.
The closure of San Jose Medical Center may also have an impact on San José police and fire responses to emergency medical situations. The city and county are working together to address these issues.
The study was developed in cooperation with residents in the downtown San Jose area who participated in the technical advisory committee. The TAC provided feedback and information to the study consultant and provided a community addendum to the report.
Other highlights of the closure impact study include:
§ SCVMC should establish a downtown Valley Health Center to provide a full range of primary and urgent care services.
§ The City of San Jose should hold the SJMC site available for hospital development until June 30, 2007 or until Regional Medical Center demonstrates its commitment to expand, including establishing a Level II Trauma Center.
§ Patient groups most affected by the SJMC closure are elderly residents in the downtown area; low-income residents who do not have access to an automobile; and patients of local physicians who will relocate due to the closure.
§ People from downtown San Jose in need of emergency services will face additional travel time to other hospitals and increased waiting times at nearby emergency departments with greater demand, which could result in death or disability
Dr.
Zaretsky will present the study at the January 12, 2005 meeting of the Santa
Clara County Board of Supervisors’ Health and Hospital Committee meeting. Additional meetings for the community also
will be scheduled.
To see the entire
report of the San Jose Medical Center Closure Impact Study, go to www.sjmayor.org
or www.sccgov.org.
Click on the links below to review:
SJ Medical Center TAC Addendum