Eighteen Members of Congress Join Massive Opposition to Daughters of Charity Sale to Prime Healthcare, Reports SEIU-UHW

Letter to Attorney General Says Patient Care Would Suffer

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Dec 11, 2014, 06:30 ET

OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Eighteen U.S. Representatives urged California Attorney General Kamala Harris today to block the controversial sale of Daughters of Charity Health System to Prime Healthcare. In their letter, the elected officials said "patient care and healthcare worker rights will suffer at these hospitals" if they are sold to Prime.

Members of Congress signing the letter are: Reps. Mike Honda (D-San Jose), Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose), Sam Farr (D-Carmel), Mark Takano (D-Riverside), Janice Hahn (D-San Pedro), Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Los Angeles), Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles), Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento), Tony Cardenas (D-San Fernando Valley), Jackie Speier (D-Hillsboro), Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), Juan Vargas (D-San Diego) Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), George Miller (D- Martinez), Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) and Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles).

Harris has until Feb. 12, 2015 to make a decision on the proposed sale.

In addition, more than 50 current and former state legislators have opposed the sale, as have San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, County Supervisors from Los Angeles, Santa Clara and San Francisco, Santa Clara County Executive Jeff Smith, the City of Lynwood, the mayors of Bell and Huntington Beach, and city councilmembers from Compton, Commerce, Montebello and Bell Gardens. The San Jose Mercury News is against the sale, as are labor unions representing two million workers.

Daughters of Charity announced Oct. 10 that it chose Prime Healthcare as the lead bidder for the safety-net hospital system and would negotiate with Prime exclusively. Concern lies with Prime Healthcare's dismal record and business practices:

Prime admitted that it is under federal investigation for allegedly overbilling the federal government;
Prime paid $370,000 in federal and state fines after deliberately violating a patient's privacy by sharing her records with journalists and 800 employees;
A group of doctors in San Bernardino County sued Prime Healthcare last year when the company denied them access to their own patients;
The company's Desert Valley Hospital was sanctioned by the California Department of Public Health for improper care resulting in a patient's death; and
Prime's Garden Grove hospital was cited by the State of California after a patient was administered a lethal dose of a powerful sedative.

Daughters of Charity owns Seton Medical Center, Daly City; Seton Coastside, Moss Beach; O'Connor Hospital, San Jose; Saint Louise Regional Hospital, Gilroy; St. Vincent Medical Center, Los Angeles; and St. Francis Medical Center, Lynwood.

SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is the largest hospital and healthcare union in the western United States with more than 150,000 members. We unite every type of healthcare worker with a mission to achieve high-quality healthcare for all. SEIU-UHW is part of the two million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the nation's fastest-growing union. Learn more at www.seiu-uhw.org.

CONTACT: Sean Wherley
(323) 893-6831
[email protected]

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SOURCE SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West