Coalition for a Downtown Hospital
San Jose, California (formerly Save San Jose Medical Center)

HOLIDAY POTLUCK Monday, December 8, 2008 6:30 PM

Come share good cheer, good news, good company and good food
at First Presbyterian Church 49 N. Fourth Street, San José, California.

ALSO IMPORTANT!
The CNA challenge to the EIR for SJMC site demolition permit is scheduled for a City Council hearing Tuesday, December 9, 2008 at 1:30 pm.

Hospital Coalition and CNA to challenge HCA's attempt to cut tax liability

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) has recently uncovered a corporate strategy by the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) to skirt its tax responsibility to the community of San Jose and the County of Santa Clara. HCA, which owns both Regional Medical Center and Good Samaritan Hospital, is appealing its property tax assessment claiming that Santa Clara County overvalued HCA's San Jose properties by roughly $40 million. If successful, HCA would receive a tax refund of $497,895 from Santa Clara County.

  • On Thursday, Sept. 4, CNA/NNOC and San Jose’s Coalition for a Downtown Hospital will hold a press conference to call on HCA to withdraw its appeal and request that Santa Clara County deny HCA’s application.
  • San Jose Nurses and Community Advocates call on HCA to be a responsible community member.
  • Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008, at 11:00 a.m.
  • James P. McEntee Senior Plaza, Santa Clara County Adm. Building
    70 W. Hedding St., San Jose, CA 95110

“During these tough economic times, our city, county, and state budgets are in desperate states,” said Malinda Markowitz, CNA nurse president, “we cannot believe that HCA would try to pry even more money from local coffers and limit our local government's ability to provide public health services to our community.”

HCA will be appearing before the Santa Clara County Assessment Appeals Board on Sept. 10, but must decide by Sept. 5 if it is going to pursue the value reduction or cancel its appeal.

"HCA bears a responsibility for creating a void in healthcare access in San Jose, so any tax break HCA receives should be sent straight back to the city to expand services for the downtown community,” said Greg Miller, a member of the Coalition for a Downtown Hospital.

HCA prematurely closed the San Jose Medical Center in 2004, leaving the downtown population without access to urgent care. Currently the City of San Jose is exploring with other healthcare providers ways in which the lack of healthcare needs in thedowntown community can be met.
SJ City Council OKs stakeholder committee members

San Jose City Council approved on April 4 a 20-member Stakeholders Advisory Committee (SAC). The SAC will examine reuse possibilities for the San Jose Medical Center site. Among several city council directives was the set-aside of land for a future hospital and establishing a clinic as soon as possible.

The addition of United Healthcare Workers West and the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce to the committee (as requested by Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez) was approved. The request of Roz Dean during the public comment session to add the California Nurses Association and San Jose State University was not.

Roz Dean announced that the name of Save San Jose Hospital Coalition has been changed to Coalition for a Downtown Hospital. Downtown resident Pete Furman of the St. James Historic District Neighborhood Association and Paula Velsey of the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association also spoke briefly about the need for a full service downtown clinic as soon as possible.

Come to our monthly meeting on Monday, June 12, 2006 at 6:30 pm. at First Presbyterian Church 49 N. Fourth Street, San José, For more information: (408) 923-7001 or 379-7698 info@coalitionforadowntownhospital.org



Jean Suyenaga, at right, greets (from left) Nancy Hickey, Bertha Starks, Bob Leininger, Lisa Jensen, Patti Phillips and Sandy Perry.

Council OKs creation of a Stakeholders Advisory Committee Dec. 6, 2005

 

The Stakeholder Advisory Committee has been meeting, and Henry Zaretsky, the health care needs consultant has begun work. A public presentation of his findings will be scheduled later in the year.


Gathered after the April 4 council session, from left, back row: Councilmember David Cortese (District 8), Roz Dean (NOW, WILPF), Jeff Lake (National Lawyers Guild), Lisa Jensen (University Neighborhoods Association), Bob Leininger, Jeff Furman, Sandy Perry (Community Homeless Alliance MInistry-CHAM) and Jean Suyenaga (United Healthcare Workers West); front row: Bertha Starks (Coalition of Concerned Citizens and Organizations), Nancy Hickey (University Neighborhoods Coalition), Monica Smith Braun (California Nurses Association), Paula Velsey and Patti Phillips (Horace Mann Neighborhood Association).

Stakeholder Committee Members
 (representatives from each to be named to committee)

  • 13th Street NAC
  • University Neighborhoods Coalition
  • Five Wounds Brookwood Terrace NAC
  • Horace Mann Neighborhood Association
  • Naglee Park Campus Community Association
  • Julian St. James Neighborhood Association
  • HCA/Regional Medical Center
  • San Jose Medical Group
  • Santa Clara Valley Health and Hospital Systems
  • Community health care professional
  • San Jose Downtown Association
  • East Santa Clara Business Association
  • Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce
  • Working Partners/South Bay Labor Council
  • Coalition for a Downtown Hospital
  • Santa Clara County Social Services
  • Housing
  • United Healthcare Workers West
  • Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce

We are a coalition of health care workers, labor unions, community groups, health care advocates, the faith-based community and others who came together in the spring of 1999 after Columbia/HCA announced plans to close San Jose Medical Center. The coalition -- now numbering some 80 groups -- is dedicated to maintaining a full-service hospital and trauma center in downtown San Jose, California. For years we have been promoting our goal – the maintenance of a downtown hospital. We have the support of more than 76 community, labor, faith affiliated, neighborhood associations, and service organizations.
Thousands of individuals have signed our petitions, some requesting to be on the mailing list which now numbers in the hundreds. We have marched, picketed, held rallies, met with elected officials from local to national levels, written letters, made phone calls, spoken at or
participated in other organizations' meetings and public events. We've been busy.

e-mail  
P.O. Box 6554
San Jose CA 95150
(408) 923-7001 or
254-3311   
(408) 379-7698 Spanish