No one at the packed San Jose City Council meeting wanted the West Valley hospital to close or miss its seismic retrofit deadline, but numerous residents wanted city officials to hear their concerns about the company that owns the hospital. The San Jose City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve the environmental impact report and rezoning of Good Samaritan Hospital’s 21-acre, $1.2 billion expansion.
Part of the deal includes an agreement where parent company HCA Healthcare contributes $3 million in commercial linkage fees toward housing and homelessness in the city. This came after an hour of public comments and Mayor Matt Mahan making it clear the hospital vote was strictly about the environmental report and needed infrastructure upgrades to ensure the hospital will be earthquake-safe by 2030 — and not in jeopardy of closing. Councilmember Pam Foley, whose district is home to Good Samaritan, said she understood residents’ concerns over HCA, especially since the company closed an 18-bed inpatient psychiatric facility at Mission Oaks and significantly reduced services at Regional Medical Center in East San Jose.
But she said the community can’t lose Good Samaritan. “In good conscience, I must do everything in my power to ensure that Good Sam stays open,” Foley said at the meeting. “If Good Sam closes because it cannot meet the (seismic) timeline, we lose access to critical health care resources.
How can I say to my constituents and the community at lar.
