The San Jose (Calif.) Planning Commission has recommended rejecting Good Samaritan Hospital's proposed expansion, largely due to concerns about its for-profit owner, HCA Healthcare, according to the San Jose Spotlight.
In a 7-1 vote, the commission recommended the city council deny the 1 million-square-foot project, which would include two new hospital wings and a medical office building. The city council will make a final decision at a later date.
Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA owns Good Samaritan and is selling Regional Medical Center, also in San Jose, to Santa Clara County for $175 million.
Community and local officials have pushed back against HCA's expansion plans for Good Samaritan because of its checkered history in the area, according to the San Jose Spotlight. HCA closed San Jose Medical Center — the city's only downtown hospital — in 2004 and recently cut several services at Regional Medical, including trauma, stroke, heart attack and maternity care. The health system also cut Good Samaritan's neonatal intensive care unit and acute care psychiatrist services in 2023.
"When you divest because you're no longer profitable, you provide significant harm to communities that have become dependent on your service," San Jose Planning Commissioner Chuck Cantrell said. "You are a for-profit organization that puts a profit motivation on people's health, even to the point where you hurt them."
Jerry Gonzalez, COO of Good Samaritan, argued that the hospital is meeting basic services mandated by state agencies and maximizing care quality with increased room space, according to the report.
"We are disappointed by the planning commission's decision to place their personal views about one organization above the safety and care of Good Samaritan's 55,405 patients. It's curious that the commissioners would defy their staff's recommendations, deny the state's seismic retrofit mandate and deprive the citizens of San Jose enhancements to their community hospital," a spokesperson for Good Samaritan said in a statement shared with Becker's. "We anticipate the San Jose City Council will take a more thoughtful approach that carefully considers the health and wellbeing of our patients and the community."