Post by Okwes on Jul 24, 2007 10:17:28 GMT -5
Tribe Offers To Save Santa Rosa Sutter Hospital
County Administrator: Not Enough Money Offered
(BCN) SANTA ROSA The Indian tribe that wants to build a hotel and casino near Rohnert Park has offered to donate money to keep the Sutter Medical Center open and provide a management team with the help of other hospitals in Sonoma County.
Greg Sarris, chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, said Tuesday morning the tribe will "do whatever is necessary to keep Community Hospital afloat."
Sutter Medical Center, formerly known as Community Hospital, is expected to close by early 2008, but the closure must be approved by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa has a health care access agreement with the county that expires in 2016.
Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital would treat indigent patients formerly treated at the Sutter Medical Center's Chanate Road facility, under a proposal. Memorial Hospital also plans to double its emergency room capacity and add 80 more beds.
Sarris said the tribe wants to keep the hospital open "in the short run" with the help of smaller hospitals in Healdsburg, Sebastopol and Sonoma.
Tribe members who are treated at the Sonoma County Indian Health Clinic in Santa Rosa would have to be taken by bus to San Francisco General Hospital if Sutter's hospital closes, Sarris said.
"There is a health care crisis and the tribe is stepping up to the plate," Sarris said.
The tribe's environmental impact report must still be approved, it must have the land for the casino placed in trust and a compact must be reached with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger before it can build the casino.
Sarris said the tribe has received no response to its proposal from the county, but he said he believes the community is enthused with the offer.
Sonoma County Administrator Bob Deis said the offer includes conditions that make it "problematic."
"Whoever wrote it doesn't understand the magnitude of the issues and how they might help," Deis said. "It's no silver bullet, no panacea. It creates more questions than it answers."
The tribe offered to contribute $50 million for a seismic retrofit of the Sutter Medical Center, an amount that "doesn't come close to the actual cost," Deis said. Sutter Medical Center said that cost, estimated to be at least $250 million, is one reason it needs to close the hospital.
Sarris said the tribe can't make that $50 million commitment now and that it is seven or eight years down the road.
Deis also said the proposal mentions including the tribe's contribution to keep the hospital open in its discussions with the governor's office regarding the compact. Deis said the tribe should make its offer to Sutter medical center of Santa Rosa.
Sutter's CEO Mike Cohill did not immediately respond to comment on the tribe's proposal.
Rita Scardaci, director of the county's Health Services Department, plans on meeting with the tribe's representatives, Deis said.
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has scheduled another meeting for early April 17 about the proposed agreement between Memorial Hospital and Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa.
County Administrator: Not Enough Money Offered
(BCN) SANTA ROSA The Indian tribe that wants to build a hotel and casino near Rohnert Park has offered to donate money to keep the Sutter Medical Center open and provide a management team with the help of other hospitals in Sonoma County.
Greg Sarris, chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, said Tuesday morning the tribe will "do whatever is necessary to keep Community Hospital afloat."
Sutter Medical Center, formerly known as Community Hospital, is expected to close by early 2008, but the closure must be approved by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa has a health care access agreement with the county that expires in 2016.
Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital would treat indigent patients formerly treated at the Sutter Medical Center's Chanate Road facility, under a proposal. Memorial Hospital also plans to double its emergency room capacity and add 80 more beds.
Sarris said the tribe wants to keep the hospital open "in the short run" with the help of smaller hospitals in Healdsburg, Sebastopol and Sonoma.
Tribe members who are treated at the Sonoma County Indian Health Clinic in Santa Rosa would have to be taken by bus to San Francisco General Hospital if Sutter's hospital closes, Sarris said.
"There is a health care crisis and the tribe is stepping up to the plate," Sarris said.
The tribe's environmental impact report must still be approved, it must have the land for the casino placed in trust and a compact must be reached with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger before it can build the casino.
Sarris said the tribe has received no response to its proposal from the county, but he said he believes the community is enthused with the offer.
Sonoma County Administrator Bob Deis said the offer includes conditions that make it "problematic."
"Whoever wrote it doesn't understand the magnitude of the issues and how they might help," Deis said. "It's no silver bullet, no panacea. It creates more questions than it answers."
The tribe offered to contribute $50 million for a seismic retrofit of the Sutter Medical Center, an amount that "doesn't come close to the actual cost," Deis said. Sutter Medical Center said that cost, estimated to be at least $250 million, is one reason it needs to close the hospital.
Sarris said the tribe can't make that $50 million commitment now and that it is seven or eight years down the road.
Deis also said the proposal mentions including the tribe's contribution to keep the hospital open in its discussions with the governor's office regarding the compact. Deis said the tribe should make its offer to Sutter medical center of Santa Rosa.
Sutter's CEO Mike Cohill did not immediately respond to comment on the tribe's proposal.
Rita Scardaci, director of the county's Health Services Department, plans on meeting with the tribe's representatives, Deis said.
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has scheduled another meeting for early April 17 about the proposed agreement between Memorial Hospital and Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa.