San Jose hospital reverses course on trauma center closure
Santa Clara Regional Medical Center wont close after all
Regional Medical Center wont close after all. But community leaders say theyre still not taking a victory lap over this latest development. Santa Clara County officials maintain, under a new proposal to stay open, care would still be downgraded.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - In an about-face, a hospital in the South Bay now says it will not close its trauma center after all. When the closure plans at Regional Medical Center were announced back in March, it prompted months of protests. But on Friday, community leaders say they’re still not taking a "victory lap" over the latest announcement.
Regional Medical Center is one of three trauma centers in Santa Clara County currently operating with what is called a "level 2" capability. In March, the hospital announced it would be completely closing the trauma center later this summer. On Friday, the hospital announced the trauma center will, in fact, remain open but at a downgraded "level 3" capacity.
"I don’t think this community’s needs are met by level 3. This is a big downgrade, a big downgrade. This should not happen," said Dr. Raj Gupta, a neurologist who practices at Regional Medical Center.
In a statement, Regional Medical Center said: "These modifications underscore Regional Medical Center’s continued commitment to providing a comprehensive range of healthcare services for San Jose’s East Side, including more than 20 specialties onsite." The hospital said the level 3 designation for the trauma center will still provide "prompt assessment, resuscitation, surgery, intensive care and stabilization of injured patients and emergency operations," the statement said.
"I think one of the challenges we are having is better understanding. They haven’t actually applied. Are they really moving forward with this, and for how long? Are we going to be back on their lawn when they say ‘we could not make level 3 work?'" said Cindy Chavez, the Santa Clara County Supervisor who represents the area.
One of the biggest concerns about the full closure was that critically injured patients would have to travel a greater distance to get care at a time when minutes matter. The other trauma centers in the county are at Valley Medical Center in San Jose and Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto. Those concerns have not changed.
"It is clear that even with this new proposal, Regional would still be downgrading trauma, stroke, and STEMI services, which would have a very negative and permanent impact on healthcare access in our most vulnerable communities," said James Williams, a Santa Clara County executive.
"Why are they continuing to divest any money, any resources from East San Jose while moving resources to other parts of the city while expanding hospitals in other locations around the state and around the country?" said Darcie Green, with Latinas Contra Cancer, which has been fighting against the full closure of the trauma center.
Maria Noel Fernandez, with Working Partnerships USA, said: "I cannot help but question if this approach, this potential lower level of care, would be what we would be seeing if we were not in the heart of the east side, where communities of color live, play and work," Fernandez said.
Regional Medical Center did say in its statement it will continue its previously announced plans to expand its emergency department from 43 to 63 beds.
A town-hall meeting, where community leaders are expected to demand answers from the medical center is being held Friday evening at Educational Park Library in San Jose.
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