As a Desert Healthcare District board member since 2016, I believe the current lease purchase proposal from Tenet, the current operator, offers the district the best opportunity to use both the funds derived from leasing district-owned Desert Regional Medical Center as well as future property taxes due to the district from Riverside County to improve the health of all district residents. An approved ballot measure will allow the district the ability to address the profound health inequities that exist in every city in our valley – paying special attention to the medically underserved.
As I’ve said many times, I believe that the district funds can have the greatest impact on people’s health by helping them (directly and through various local nonprofit outpatient clinics and organizations) access preventive and early care for conditions best treated before hospitalization is required. Neither Desert Regional Medical Center, Eisenhower nor JFK Memorial hospitals need district resources to deliver acute hospital care services. They get adequate income from private and government insurance, private pay patients and philanthropy (EMC only).
There are, however, too many people who do need help accessing preventive and other outpatient care for treatable conditions. And by the way, the district will continue to provide some resources through special programs at each hospital to patients who need help with transportation and other social needs related to services they receive at Desert Regional, Eisenhower and JFK.
I believe the latest proposal is the best way forward. If approved by the voters in November, Tenet will provide the district with over $650 million in payments over 30 years to significantly improve the health care of the residents of the Coachella Valley – focusing those efforts on those many residents who are medically underserved. Tenet will pay for the state-mandated seismic requirements due by 2030 – saving district taxpayers over $220 million. Tenet will also invest over $60 million to improve the facility and expand the ER at JFK Memorial hospital in Indio – the closest hospital to many in the eastern Coachella Valley.
And if the lease proposal is not approved, Tenet provided notice that they will leave the Coachella Valley entirely when the Desert Regional Medical Center lease ends in May 2027 – requiring the district to raise over $200 million to take over the hospital while we find another operator, as well as another $220 million to fund the state-mandated seismic upgrades due by 2030. Who will take over Tenet’s other two nearby hospitals – JFK Memorial and Hi Desert hospital in Joshua Tree? All three facilities will be at risk.
At the Aug. 1 special district board meeting, one of my colleagues stated, “No government entity in their right mind would allow a for-profit corporation that has no real public oversight to dictate how and where our district can invest.”
Firstly, all the proposed lease agreement states is that the district will not give money to an acute care hospital that competes with the district’s hospital, which the district (the taxpayers) will own until 2057. The fair market value Tenet is paying the district to lease the hospital for 30 years is based upon projected earnings during the lease. If we compete with our own public hospital, its value to the district and Tenet is less. It is a standard practice when a hospital (public or private) is leased and operated by another company to have such basic protections (a non-compete clause).
Secondly, expanding even further my colleague’s comment, “No government entity in their right mind would …”
- Deny district residents over $650 million from Tenet that can be used to improve health care in the district, especially for the medically underserved.
- Turn down Tenet’s offer to pay over $220 million for required seismic upgrades (saving district taxpayers from that bill).
- Reject Tenet’s promise (by contract) to invest over $60 million in JFK Memorial Hospital (the closest hospital for many east valley residents).
- Cause the demise of the successful Desert Care Network – risking the jobs of providers, union nurses and other personnel at Desert Regional, JFK and Hi-Desert hospitals.
- Risk all of the above in order to be able to give a small amount of money to a wealthy, private hospital who has never provided its fair share of services to the lower-income residents of the Coachella Valley.
The current proposal, although not perfect, is the best way forward to improve the health of all district residents. The residents of the district deserve the right to vote on this critically important matter, and I strongly recommend they approve it on the Nov. 5 ballot.
Les Zendle, M.D. is a retired Kaiser Permanente internal medicine and geriatric physician. He has been a volunteer physician at Coachella Valley Volunteers in Medicine since 2011. He can be reached at lzendle@me.com.