Harris's Tough Conditions on Prime Healthcare in Daughters of Charity Sale a Victory for Protecting Community Health Needs, says SEIU-UHW

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Healthcare workers said today that California Attorney General Kamala Harris's decision to place strict, unprecedented conditions on the sale of six, non-profit hospitals to Prime Healthcare is a victory for protecting community health.

SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) also called on Daughters of Charity to set a one-week deadline for Prime to either agree to go through with the sale by accepting these conditions or walk away, so other potential buyers can quickly step in.

"If Prime lives up to both the letter and spirit of the conditions placed on this sale, community healthcare and services for low-income families will be protected, but given our history with Prime, that's a big if," said Dave Regan, president of SEIU-UHW.

The conditions on the sale of Daughters of Charity Health System require Prime to:

• Keep the hospitals open for at least 10 years, double what Prime had committed to.
• Maintain all major services including labor and delivery, cancer treatment and orthopedics, which Prime typically cuts when it purchases hospitals.
• Maintain current levels of charity care for 10 years.
• Maintain Medi-Cal managed care contracts for 10 years. Prime wanted these contracts canceled.  
• Maintain full pension coverage for all current and retired Daughters employees, with a clear requirement to fully fund them.
• Bring all of Daughters' facilities up to seismic compliance on a tight time frame, including the main patient tower at Seton Medical Center in Daly City.

Prime, Daughters of Charity and the California Nurses Association all lobbied hard for Harris to approve the sale without these strong patient and community protections, a position the attorney general forcefully rejected.

Regan said the strong conditions are needed more than ever in light of the fact that just yesterday, a Prime hospital was found in contempt of court for needlessly admitting emergency room patients into its Chino Valley Medical Center in violation of the court's order to notify the patients' personal physicians.

If Prime Healthcare cannot live with the conditions and opts out of the sale, alternative buyers are ready to step in and acquire the hospitals.

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.

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SOURCE SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West

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http://www.seiu-uhw.org

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