EDITORIAL: Making sense of hospital shuffle EDITORIAL: Making sense of hospital shuffle (December 31, 2003)

The decision of San Mateo County officials to examine what could be competing proposals to build new hospitals along the Bayshore Freeway is a welcome move that we hope will take a hard look at the impact these plans will have on delivery of health care to South County residents in the years to come.

With Sequoia Hospital planning to vacate its Alameda de las Pulgas campus to build a new facility in Redwood City near the Bayshore Freeway, and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation recently announcing plans to build a 100-bed hospital and outpatient clinic less than 2 miles away in San Carlos, Supervisor Jerry Hill and other county officials are understandably concerned about the long-term viability of competing hospitals being built so close to each other. It is an area that has been served only by Sequoia and Kaiser hospitals; Kaiser also has announced it is expanding its Redwood City facility on Veterans Boulevard.

But the surprise announcement of Sutter-owned Palo Alto Medical Foundation's proposal, and the recent disclosure that nearly four acres of Sequoia's favored 13.5-acre Redwood City site, the former Excite@Home campus, had been sold, raise concerns that the hospital's relocation process has stalled and might be called off.

All of those fears could be alleviated early next month, when Palo Alto Medical Foundation officials have agreed to sit down with their Sequoia counterparts and discuss their plans. This would be a welcome step, and might go a long way toward easing any concerns at the county level and among Sequoia's doctors and other employees.

Funding does not seem to be an issue for either proposal. Sequoia has said the district might be able to arrange nearly $200 million with approval from residents of the Sequoia Healthcare District, and with Sutter's financial clout, it is unlikely that Palo Alto Medical Foundation would have a problem. Sequoia also got a boost recently when CHW, the Catholic agency that operates the hospital, announced it would contribute up to $150 million toward construction of a new hospital.

But even with this financing muscle, Sequoia's likely longer lead time to design and build a new campus could put it at a disadvantage. Already, some members of Sequoia's prestigious cardiac team signed a letter of intent to join Palo Alto Medical if and when its new San Carlos hospital opens. That would be a severe blow to Sequoia, although Sequoia officials were quick to point out that such documents are non-binding.

Clearly either hospital will have to win the confidence and support of local doctors, who will affiliate with one or both facilities and bring their patients with them. By employing its own doctors in its large outpatient clinic, the medical foundation may have an edge unless it extends privileges to all area doctors. Who could practice where is just one of the questions that need to be answered before either hospital plan should be allowed to advance.

In public discussions so far, officials at both hospitals have been concerned with site selection and how a new facility would fit into building and traffic patterns of a new location. Now, with the county's interest, all proposals can be examined with an eye to what is best for the delivery of health care and hospital stays for residents of the Midpeninsula. That is the big picture everyone needs to see as the process goes forward.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.