Newly-elected Legislators Join Avalanche of Opposition to Daughters of Charity Sale to Prime Healthcare, Reports SEIU-UHW

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Dec 02, 2014, 01:00 ET

OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Four newly elected members of the California Legislature have added their names to the rush of opposition to the sale of Daughters of Charity Health System to Prime Healthcare.

Previously, three U.S. Representatives, 42 current and former state legislators, mayors, county officials, labor unions and community organizations from across California have expressed deep concerns about the sale. The new Assemblymembers opposing the sale are: Connie Leyva (D-Pacoima), David Chiu (D-San Francisco), Kansen Chu (D-San Jose), and Patrick O'Donnell (D-Long Beach).

It is the largest group of state legislators in history to oppose the sale of private hospitals in California.

Here is a list of the current and former legislators who have raised concerns about the sale:

Last	First	District	Last	First	District	Last	First	District
Cooley	Ken	AD08	Holden	Chris	AD41	Hill	Jerry	SD13
Levine	Marc	AD10	Gatto	Mike	AD43	Beall	Jim	SD15
Frazier	Jim	AD11	Hernandez	Roger	AD48	Monning	William	SD17
Eggman-Talamantes	Susan	AD13	Gomez	Jimmy	AD51	Leyva	Connie	SD20
Bonilla	Susan	AD14	Rodriquez	Freddie	AD52	Hernandez	Ed	SD22
Chiu	David	AD17	Calderon	Ian	AD57	Pavley	Fran	SD27
Bonta	Rob	AD18	Garcia	Cristina	AD58	Lara	Ricardo	SD33
Ting	Philip	AD19	Jones-Sawyer	Reginald	AD59	Skinner	Nancy	AD15
Quirk	Bill	AD20	Rendon	Anthony	AD63	Fox	Steve	AD36
Mullin	Kevin	AD22	O'Donnell	Patrick	AD70	Bocanegra	Raul	AD39
Chu	Kansan	AD25	Atkins	Toni	AD78	Pérez	John	AD53
Campos	Nora	AD27	Gonzalez	Lorena	AD80	Perez	V. Manuel	AD56
Stone	Mark	AD29	Galgianni	Cathleen	SD05	Hall III	Isadore	AD64
Alejo	Luis	AD30	Pan	Richard	SD06	Lowenthal	Bonnie	AD70
Perea	Henry	AD31	Wieckowski	Bob	SD10	Evans	Noreen	SD02
Williams	Das	AD37

Others opposed to the sale are San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, 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 eight labor unions:

California School Employees Association, UFCW Western States Council, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, United Nurses Associations of California (AFSCME), SEIU California, SEIU Local 721, Orange County Employees Association and Scientists & Engineers Local 20. The Chamber of Commerce from Florence-Firestone is also against the sale.

In addition, several elected officials have publicly expressed their concerns about selling the hospitals to Prime Healthcare: U.S. Reps. Janice Hahn (D-San Pedro) and Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles), Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Santa Clara County Supervisors Cindy Chavez, Dave Cortese and Ken Yeager.

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