Oh, well …

We still thought it was worth pursuing – the “free” hospital that Cirrus Health Group wanted to build on Eighth Street. Despite the troubles that arose among Cirrus, the Sonoma Valley Health Care Coalition, and the Sonoma Valley Health Care District Board of Directors, concerning disclosure and confidentiality, $100 million in outside capital would have been nice.
Now we understand that the Cirrus proposals weren’t perfect, and we’re quick to acknowledge that there are always two sides to a disagreement, each believing itself the aggrieved party. But it’s too bad it was our public board that refused further negotiation.
Oh, well ….
What now? We’ve heard it suggested that Sonoma Valley Hospital can do what Cirrus proposed, that is, develop its own surgery center as a profit-making activity. Maybe. But we don’t see that in any of the coalition’s projections or in anything the hospital has released. In fact, CEO Carl Gerlach has said that a community hospital will always require an operating subsidy from taxpayers. And that’s in addition to the $10-million-a-year subsidy, on average, to pay off a $130 million construction bond over 30 years.
What the discussion with Cirrus introduced was a new business model, seeking patients from outside the valley for elective surgery (those patients bring revenue) and letting doctors buy in. That’s just one model, of course, and there must be other private companies running hospitals, but we don’t see anyone pursuing either a new model or a new partner.
Back when we endorsed Measure C, we did so reluctantly. We ranked the continuation of our local hospital and ER higher than even, yes, eminent domain, noting our view that “there is no ready alternative” to the Measure C proposal. Everyone hailed the assembly, mid-campaign, of a new site on Broadway, made up of six adjoining parcels, but now, a year later, purchase options have been secured still on only four of them. The in-town option was judged unacceptable in those days by the hospital’s analysts, as not allowing “an adequate quality of care,” and the Plan B expert panel convened in the aftermath of Measure C felt likewise. But now, different expert – different conclusion.
We’re slowly coming to consider a different conclusion ourselves. Way back when the Romberg site on Arnold Drive was the take-it-or-leave-it option, we had suggested that a bit of modesty might be in order. We had suggested keeping the local operation small – ER, ICU, delivery rooms, a few beds for short stays – and going outside the valley for special surgery and other treatment. Now with the development of private surgery centers, even if not in Sonoma, that option starts to look more attractive than it had. Not that it would ever break even, but as something to be subsidized, maybe it’s a better match to our foreseeable needs.
Hope does truly spring eternal, and the coalition continues to work. We understand that its steering committee held an important meeting Monday afternoon, as to its recommendation to the hospital board. That meeting was closed to the public, so we, too, await the announcement, likely at a public meeting still a week or more away. We hope that it lays the basis for a community consensus in support of something we can and will afford.