Santa Clara County leaders have approved a $315 million effort to acquire and integrate Regional Medical Center into California’s second largest public hospital system — and restore the lifesaving care a for-profit corporation systematically cut from East San Jose.
While the county is still finalizing the agreement with HCA Healthcare , the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to appropriate the money in its health department budget — with $175 million going toward acquiring the hospital.
Officials allocated up to $30 million to purchase independently-owned medical office buildings nearby, and another $10 million for broker fees and inspections. Up to $20 million will be used to buy and implement electronic health record software. Another $80 million will fund the first few months of operating Regional Medical Center, as the county incurs costs of services while waiting to get reimbursed by commercial insurance, Medi-Cal and Medicare.
The county plans to restore the trauma, stroke, and heart attack services HCA cut from Regional in August as soon as the purchase is complete. County leaders hope to achieve that — and transition Regional’s workforce to county employment — early next year. Obstetrics, labor and delivery and newborn care services cut in prior years will also be restored, but that timeline has to be determined post-acquisition.