As Los Altos Hills, Calif.-based Daughters of Charity Health System hospitals continue to lose money, DCHS President and CEO Robert Issai has urged those opposed to the sale of the system to Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare to reconsider, according to a DCHS press release.
Should the sale of DCHS to Prime be rejected, the impact on DCHS's hospitals and the communities they serve would be "catastrophic," according to Mr. Issai. He asserts that, if the sale fell through, hospitals could be forced to close, countless jobs would be lost and thousands of pensions would be placed at risk.
Not everyone is opposed to the sale, according to Mr. Issai, who has pointed out thousands of patients, staff, local citizens and members of the California Nurses Association have signed petitions or otherwise declared their support.
The Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers stands alone it is opposition to the sale, according to Mr. Issai, who has warned elected leaders not to embrace SEIU-UHW's position.
"Prime is not just the best choice — it is the only choice to keep these hospitals functioning," wrote Mr. Issai. "For the good of your constituents and the good of our communities, I urge you in the strongest terms possible to reconsider your uninformed position and avoid the dire consequences of seeing our hospitals close."
DCHS submitted an application to the California Attorney General requesting consent to transfer control of its hospitals to Prime Healthcare Services in October.