New Parcel Tax Proposed for Doctors Medical Center
November ballot measure would help prevent closure of troubled facility.
For at least a couple of decades, the San Pablo hospital that serves the poorest of West Contra Costa's residents has struggled financially. Formerly Brookside Hospital, the Doctors Medical Center, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2008, again faces closure. This time it is due largely to a massive state budget cut.
The California Medical Assistance Commission, which distributes money to financially struggling medical facilities, cut the annual subsidy for Doctors from $12 million last fiscal year to $1.2 million in the current year.
"That very act put us in 90-day closure," Eric Zell, vice-chair of the West Contra Costa Healthcare District. "We will likely have a public health crisis" if Doctors closes, he said.
So last week the governing board of the public, non-profit hospital agreed to place a parcel tax on a Nov. 15 mail-only ballot in hope of saving it. The tax would apply to residential and commercial properties between El Cerrito and Crockett.
If voters approve the tax, homeowners would pay $47 a year, on top of an existing $52 annual parcel tax approved by voters in 2004, to keep the Doctors emergency room open. Apartment building owners, business owners and industrial property owners would pay from $282 to $940 per parcel per year, depending on parcel size. If voters approve the tax, it would take effect in July, 2012. The tax would expire if Doctors were forced to close.
Without an infusion of money, the only full-service emergency room in the region is likely to shut down in early 2012. Patients then would be taken to the much smaller Kaiser emergency room in Richmond or to facilities in Berkeley, Vallejo or Martinez.
The Doctors emergency room is the most likely destination for most emergency cases in the West County area, regardless of a patient's insurance status.
"If you get in a car accident or if have a heart attack, you will come to Doctors," Zell said. "Even if you are a Kaiser member, you end up in the Doctors emergency room."
Closure of Doctors would at least double Kaiser's daily average of 78 cases per day, according to a consultant's report on emergency care released in July. Doctors averages from 100 to 120 emergency patients per day, said Gisella Hernandez, the hospital's spokesperson.
A closure also would increase waiting time for emergency room patients, Zell said.
Revenue from the tax is expected to be about $5 million a year for the 189-bed hospital, which serves mostly poor and uninsured patients. It's possible that an infusion of money and a stabilization strategy might encourage the state commission to reconsider its assistance level.
The hospital has a long history of fiscal challenges. Only 10 percent of its patients have private health insurance. Another 10 percent pay out of their pockets. The other 80 percent are either on Medi-Cal or Medicare or they have no insurance. For that 80 percent, the hospital is reimbursed for far less than the cost of treatment, hospital authorities say.
Contra Costa County has twice loaned the hospital $10 million, most recently this year, after the first $10 million had been repaid, Hernandez said.
John Muir and Kaiser medical centers provided $5 million in assistance for a three-year period, starting in 2007, helping Doctors to emerge from its bankruptcy.
The new tax wouldn't close an estimated $18 million budget deficit.
"The parcel tax will only be a piece of the puzzle," Zell said.
The hospital is trying to refinance debt at a savings of about $2 million and achieve $6 million in savings by improving efficiencies, Zell said.
The attached consultant's report on regional emergency medical care, released in July, concluded that the hospital's closure would be "catastrophic" to medical services for West County.
Besides emergency treatment, the hospital delivers care for cancer patients and other services.
G.C.
7:13 pm on Monday, August 15, 2011
I'll pay the parcel tax this year, but in the long term, I want to know why Kaiser is not part of this solution. I pay my premiums and now find out I am also relying on this other hospital that is forced to pass around a hat for survival. Why wasn't this part of my Kaiser plan to begin with?
Eric Zell
9:43 pm on Monday, August 15, 2011
While I cannot speak for Kaiser, I can tell you that Kaiser is working very closely with Doctor's Medical Center to help us find a long term solution that works for both DMC and Kaiser patients In West Contra Costa. We cannot solve this problem alone and Kaiser understands that. Eric Zell, Vice Chair, DMC Governing Board
G.C.
7:12 am on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Why am I a Kaiser member if Kaiser cannot help me during my greatest moment of need? We all end up at DMC, so i am also surprised DMC is not receiving more funding from Kaiser if you are treating their patients. What is DMC doing to attract current Kaiser members?
I would be willing to consider dumping Kaiser and switching to another HMO or PPO if the preventative services at DMC are satisfactory.
Perhaps the County should be playing a greater role in this issue. Should this be a county hospital?
Joseph Catindig
5:15 pm on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Giorgio, I'm just curious, was it an emergency situation when you ended up at DMC. As a Kaiser member, you could have driven to both Richmond or Vallejo, if you were not in a life threatening situation. If you were, most likely, you will end up at DMC because it is the closest(given that you were in an ambulance). It is the ambulance's call on where to bring you as safely as possible and uneventful. DMC is not doing anything to attract us Kaiser members...it's nothing but a safety issue. If a Kaiser member is hospitalized in a non-Kaiser facility like DMC, transferring to a kaiser facility is priority(again, if member is stable). This is Kaiser's policy because it will cost them more in the long run.
Kaiser and John Muir, I think has been helping out DMC financially. The last thing both these hospitals would want is for DMC to close down. Both hospitals will get the mostly, uninsured patients-emergency cases from that area..surpassing the quota they are required by the county to take. This scenario is not good for Kaiser members waiting time in emergency cases and would eventually drive up members' premiums.
Sarah Creeley
7:20 am on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
I will definitely support this parcel tax. Doctor's Medical Center helps so many people.
After I had breast cancer removed and needed radiation, Kaiser,(my provider), sent me to the Cancer Center at Doctor's for my radiation treatments. The people there are great! Not having Doctor's Medical Center would create a hardship for many people who need healthcare.
G.C.
10:06 am on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
I say thank you to DMC for taking good care of Sarah.
Then it seems that Kaiser and DMC are a necessary combination, that we (Kaiser members) need both. Then moving forward, let's ensure DMC is always treated as an integral necessity with our local health care services. Currently, the history of funding issues suggests this has not always been the case.
Until this recent request for funding, I knew little-nothing about the role they play in providing health care services to our community.
Susan D.Keeffe
10:17 am on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Doctor's provides critical care for West County. I will support a Parcel Tax. It should be noted Hercules Kaiser patients should go to the large and very excellent ER at Kaiser, Vallejo, a ten minute drive. Kaiser Vallejo also has a large Urgent Care Center.
Toni Leance
11:15 am on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Doctor's hospital is the last place I would want to go for ER care. the residents of Hercules can not afford another cent on any parcel tax. Our home prices are way down, we are underwater and taxing property owners is not the solution. The hospital will have to find another way out of it's financial mess not on the backs of over taxed homeowners.
andrea Lee
2:53 pm on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
I would definitely vote for the tax to keep Doctors hospital open. The medical center has a long history of providing excellent medical care to anyone who comes to them. Imagine what it would be like if any of us were involved in a car accident and had to wait to be airlifted to John Muir. Not only would prescious time be lost but ultimately the cost of medical care would go through the roof due to the need for helicopter transportation. The parcel tax is very small compared to the enormous cost we could all ultimately pay if Doctors is closed. Now is the time for the community to come together and present a united front for a valuable asset that ultimately helps to stabilize property values. Just think of how much your house value would go down even more if there is no hospital serving the community.
John Loudermilk
3:13 pm on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Will the upcoming changes re: Obamacare help or hurt this situation?
G.C.
3:26 pm on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
You bring up a good point, John. We are making decisions for our city-county at a time when the counties, state, and Feds are also making their own big budgetary decisions.
If I say I can afford this parcel tax today and tomorrow the Feds eliminate my house credit, I'm screwed. Or I might be jobless, thus doubly screwed.
Recently, the state couldn't get their act together with respect to the tax extension vote that should have been on the most recent ballot. I do not know how much money I have in my pocket until Sacramento gets its act together.
I would like to ask Mayor Devera, is there currently much dialogue between the mayors-cities and Sacramento? There needs to be if there is not.
With that in mind, let me rephrase my previous promise to state "I will pay such a parcel tax....if I am able."
Ferdinand Comayas
4:19 pm on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Imagine living in an area that's too far from the nearest hospital. If you have kids, elderly parents, people who are unable to care for themselves, in an emergency, where and how can you get immediate care. Now, imagine the arrival of a great disaster, such as the "Big One" that so many have been predicting. Where can people go to or seek help in time of need. I live in San Pablo, and the taxes I pay are enormous, compare to my siblings and relative in other states. But after the earthquake of 1989 and the toll that it put on the city of San Francisco due to the deaths and destruction, common sense tells me that I must live near a well equipped hospital such as Doctors Medical Center. The service is not perfect, but the service is "THERE" and I just can't live in an area that doesn't have a nearby hospital. The value of our homes and properties would hit bottom, even lower than it is now. I am confident that the economy will improve in the future, but as a worker, a father, and a taxpayer, I can't afford to take a chance and live in an area that is lacking a hospital, such as DMC.
FC
Toni Leance
4:51 pm on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
this is a third world hospital. I wouldn't take my cat there let alone someone I cared about. long waits, poor service, understaffed. This isn't the answer to the areas need for quality medical care. Go to Oakland, Walnut Creek anywhere but here!!
Sarah Creeley
5:03 pm on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
I respectfully disagree, Toni. I took a child to emergency there once, and he received excellent care. I know other people who have been seen there, and had good experiences. If the Cancer Center is part of Doctor's Hospital, then I too, got great care there, as I wrote before.
Toni Leance
5:10 pm on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
maybe for typical childhood emergency it will work but the wait is long. I think it is a bad hospital and I would not support a tax or a bail out not from homeowners let the Feds or State bail them out not me. there are plenty of good hospitals around you might need to drive a little longer but so what. Berkeley has several, Martinez, Vallejo. This hospital is in trouble because no one pays to go there. Fix the health care system don't tax us to bail out this mismanaged hospital
Joseph Catindig
5:35 pm on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
If I have to support another parcel tax, it will be for city of Hercules and not for another city's benefit. Honestly, I'm sick and tired of bailing the government out. Let somebody else do it. Let the casino foot some of the bill.
JS
6:09 am on Sunday, August 21, 2011
hmmm. or maybe some of those folks who make more money? a less regressive tax, like, say, income tax?
Kim
11:19 pm on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Giorgio makes a good point. I've heard from staff at DMC the issues arise from patients not paying their bills, so if this is the case it should be a county hospital.
G.C.
6:03 am on Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Some county hospitals (like San Francisco) have doctors who volunteer to work one weekend per month. Does DMC use volunteer doctors?
Susan D.Keeffe
6:42 am on Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Doctors served my father very well as he became frail and had multiple hospitalizations. The ER is sufficiently staffed although the waits for those going there for non urgent reasons because they lack health care clogs the system. If Medicare payments are cut this will have a huge negative impact. The hospital is the only viable ER for West County and if it goes real emergency patients will have to drive longer distances. A larger pool of folks paying into the system via Obama care should help. The hospital has a team of doctors who are highly respected and many local physician groups use this as their hospital for their patients.
Susan D.Keeffe
7:15 am on Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Toni,
The Kaiser Martinez facility closed its ER. Alta Bates has slipped in recent years and waits there are no shorter than anywhere else. In some emergencies even ten minutes can mean the difference between life and death. And Doctors has always had good doctors especially in cardio, burn, cancer, and even rare diseases. They absorbed the fine doctors when the Pinole facility closed. That closing really hurt by the way. The real problem is patients who lack health care use ERs for everything. My daughter is an ER doc back east and she reports the same problems exist there.
Phil Simmons
9:01 am on Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in Martinez offers emergency services.
http://www.cchealth.org/medical_center/24_hour_services.php
Toni Leance
10:37 am on Thursday, August 18, 2011
Not everyone favors keeping the hospital open. A spokesperson for the Contra Costa County Taxpayers Association told ABC7 that while she recognizes the value the hospital brings to the local community, if it can't sustain itself then perhaps it should close and it should be replaced by an urgent care facility, and the most critically ill patients then transferred to the county hospital in Martinez.
Susan D.Keeffe
8:12 pm on Thursday, August 18, 2011
Toni,
The County Hospital in Martinez cannot handle the load. The delays in getting critical patients to the ER will cause deaths. The increased costs of transporting patients via helicopter or ambulance longer distances will add a financial burden to all the local hospitals and ultimately, we pay with our taxes anyway. ERs are very expensive to run and each time one is closed its a huge problem for neighboring hospitals. The physical building of Brookside, ie Doctors, is old and outdated. But the doctors are not. There are good reasons why Kaiser and other hospitals have been chipping in - they need it to be functional. Urgent Care clinics are helpful, especially for those non real ER patients, but for the serious cases, time and expertise are of the essence. In my case, my father wasn't there just once. He had several emergency hospitalizations. The team of doctors involved were excellent. Emergency Medicine is now a specialty and those doctors are hard to find. Doctors has them. They also have some of the finest cardiac specialists in the area. And until they were forced to close it for financial reasons, they had the ultimate burn center for the entire East Bay. Now burn patients have to be air lifted to other sites. Don't judge a book by its cover and because it serves poor people!
RJ
11:22 am on Thursday, August 18, 2011
I agree with Toni, "no more parcel taxes", this never ends......
Susan D.Keeffe
8:14 pm on Thursday, August 18, 2011
Toni,
One final thought. Back east they are putting small clinics in retail outlets such as Walgreens. The clinics are drop-in staffed by doctors or specially trained nurses. The costs are sometimes free. They provide valuable services and ease the pressure off ERs.. They are good for the flu, shots, colds, etc. Very handy.
Toni Leance
9:03 pm on Thursday, August 18, 2011
it is precisely because it treats mostly indigent patients that the hospital is in trouble and the fact that the majority of the rest of the patients are medicare or mediCal and reimbursments are so low that this hospital can't complete and stay open. This problem can't be solved by taxing the homeowners it is a bigger issue I have heard that John Muir or Sutter may take it over and that would be good since those hospitals have much better track records at fund raising and finding revenue sources to attract the better insured to their hospitals. anyone that has a choice isn't choosing to go to Doctors. They go to Sutter, John Muir, Stanford or even UCSF. those are the top hospitals of this area. If you are indeed a trauma patient you would want to go to a level 1 trauma center and doctors isn't it you would be airlifted anyway. I don't get your point on Martinez it isn't that far and at times depending on traffic might be equal time wise.
Susan D.Keeffe
9:14 pm on Thursday, August 18, 2011
Toni,
Indigent? You mean homeless? As far as I know the homeless rarely go anywhere unless they are scooped up. Folks on welfare and MediCal aren't homeless as they have to have an address. My point re Martinez, the facility can't handle adding on all of West County. The distance is too far if you don't have a car and are dependent on public transportation. The funding issue re MediCal and also MediCare isn't a local problem - its a federal problem. The feds have cut back their reimbursements and more cuts may be coming to all hospitals, including cuts to Kaiser Senior Advantage folks (like me). Every time an ER closes, it causes a regional problem. Where do you want folks with limited transportation to go? And if you have a heart attack or stroke are you OK having to be transported another 20 or 30 minutes away and having to wait for that transportation to arrive? Do you think John Muir can handle the load? This is a much larger problem than just a local Parcel Tax issue. Its reflective of the mess our entire health system is in. Leaving all of West County with only one small ER at Kaiser, Richmond, will be a huge problem that will affect literally every other local hospital, and not in a good way.
Susan D.Keeffe
9:18 pm on Thursday, August 18, 2011
Toni,
If you're a Kaiser trauma patient, unless its a burn situation, the ENT's will take you to the closest Kaiser ER. For Hercules, that's Vallejo. Its not an option for Kaiser patients to just decide to drive down the peninsula to Stanford, or to go to UCSF in an emergency. Kaiser has a working agreement with UCSF for some kinds of cases done through their internal system. But that has nothing to do with ER.
Chris Wimmer
8:57 pm on Friday, August 19, 2011
No More Taxes.. We can't tax ourselves out of this... or any of the other pending needs. Sorry... Just can't stomach much more of this... This is a NATIONWIDE problem.. DMC is not the ONLY location with this problem.. what are others doing?
Why should PAYING Kaiser members have to take the brunt of a failing system? The members PAY for their services... AND pay their taxes....
If I make a car payment.... should I have to turn over my car to someone else to use... just because they don't have one.... GET A LIFE... This is totally unfair and unjust for the paying members of Kaiser...
Now, don't think I don't have a soft spot for those less fortunate... but burdening a private business just because you think you can is inappropriate... It's one of the reasons this country is failing...
Lets find out what others are doing...
Susan D.Keeffe
9:52 pm on Friday, August 19, 2011
Chris, I think your point is right on. This is not a local problem, its a national problem. And its going to be worse with more Medicare payment cuts to hospitals and doctors from the recent so called compromise! I'm told this will affect Kaiser's Senior Advantage program. Will our rates go up to pick up the slack!