Mercury News Op Ed revised 4-6-06, printed April 11. 2006

New Vision for 10th Largest City Must Include a Downtown Hospital

By Rosylin Dean

San Jose Medical Center (SJMC) closed fifteen months ago. Many of the surrounding doctors' offices and services have since closed, much to the detriment of downtown residents, workers and visitors. On April 4, 2006, based on a staff report, the San José City Council approved the guidelines for appointing members to a Healthcare Land Use Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC). The SAC will now begin to consider the future plans for the SJMC site which includes medical services for the downtown area.

Coalition for a Downtown Hospital (formerly Save San Jose Medical Center Coalition) was formed in 1999 to bring attention to the critical problems associated with losing our downtown hospital. As this process goes forward we're glad to see the staff guidelines for the SAC to be an open process with community input in all phases of the study and active participation in the development of final recommendations. With that in mind, as the process begins, we make two recommendations:

A medical clinic, with 24/7 operation, is needed now and should be opened on the SJMC site. The Council should accelerate the feasibility and implementation process, including the possibility of using existing buildings. Because of immediate need and the fact that the study could take up to a year, this should be seriously considered even ahead of the overall reuse study. HCA's recent plea to demolish the buildings should not be considered until the city council has acted upon the final recommendations of the SAC.

A minimum of 5 acres should be set aside on the SJMC property and placed under public ownership for future medical facilities. It is important to refocus on the $100,000 City/County funded Closure Impact Study by Henry Zaretsky and Associates. The final report, by almost everyone's account, was comprehensive and well documented. It showed the present need for a clinic and projected a need for 200 more hospital beds by 2015-2020, even with the Regional Medical Center expansion and other hospital construction programs. The report emphasized action now to avert a crisis in the future. Today, the report might even understate the problems given the recent growth trends downtown and the impacts of the proposed North First Street Intensification Plan. The closure study's findings and projections should be the foundation for the Stakeholder Advisory Committee's reuse evaluation of the SJMC site.

Setting aside land (land banking) for a future hospital on the SJMC site is a crucial concern for the Coalition and the entire downtown community. The City Council's direction to the staff included, if necessary, identifying alternative sites within the downtown area. We are not supportive of other sites. City efforts in this regard should be considered an absolute last resort. Any alternative site must meet with neighborhood approval, be located downtown, and be accessible 24 hours via public transportation. These criteria are met by the SJMC site.

The Coalition applauds the City Council actions to date in acknowledging the importance of this site for medical services. Past failures to act in a timely manner often resulted in key elements of the city's economic base leaving the downtown area. Previous land banking actions allowed the city to take advantage of numerous development needs and opportunities downtown. Preserving a portion of the SJMC site would be a courageous step forward, helping to ensure that the City and County are prepared to meet obligations to their citizens' future medical needs.

The coalition urges the SAC to embrace these recommendations. As our community grapples with current and future needed downtown medical services it's clear that a solution requires strong leadership, vision and commitment.

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