California Attorney General Rob Bonta has approved the waiver of notice and consent requirements for the transfer of control of St. Rose Hospital and Saint Rose Medical Building, Inc. to Alameda Health System (AHS). This decision allows both entities to come under AHS's control. Under California law, transactions involving the sale or transfer of control of a healthcare facility owned by a nonprofit corporation must receive approval or a waiver from the Attorney General.
"At the California Department of Justice, our primary responsibility in reviewing healthcare transactions is to protect the people of California," said Attorney General Bonta. "With today’s waiver, I am confident that AHS will provide continued access to high-quality, affordable healthcare to our most indigent and vulnerable Californians within the Hayward community."
St. Rose Hospital is a general acute care hospital licensed for 171 beds with various services including a 24/7 emergency department, critical care and ICU beds, cardiac services, labor and delivery, medical/surgical services, sub-acute/skilled nursing services, and mammography services. AHS is an integrated public health care system located entirely within Alameda County and organized as a public hospital authority aimed at improving community health service efficiency.
In determining whether to grant this waiver, Attorney General Bonta reviewed factors outlined in Corporations Code section 5923. Given AHS's role as a longstanding healthcare provider for vulnerable populations in Alameda County and commitments made by both AHS and St. Rose Hospital—a financially distressed safety-net hospital—the waiver was granted with provisions to maintain clinical services, retain current employees and medical staff in good standing, continue financial assistance programs including Medi-Cal and Medicare participation, and ensure investment by AHS in St. Rose Hospital.
The Healthcare Rights and Access Section (HRA) within the California Department of Justice works proactively to increase and protect healthcare affordability, accessibility, and quality across the state. HRA attorneys are involved in various aspects of healthcare work undertaken by the Attorney General’s office including nonprofit healthcare transactions; consumer rights; anticompetitive consolidation; drug pricing issues; privacy concerns; civil rights related to reproductive rights and LGBTQ healthcare-related rights; as well as public health matters concerning tobacco products.
A copy of the Attorney General’s waiver approval letter can be found here.