San Jose Planning Commission says no to hospital expansion

The San Jose Planning Commission recommended denying plans to expand Good Samaritan Hospital based on its controversial owner — a stunning decision for a hospital that has been part of the community for decades.

Commissioners voted 7-1 recommending against the hospital’s more than 1 million-square-foot expansion to the San Jose City Council. The final decision will be made by the city council at a later date. Commissioner Pierluigi Oliverio was the sole no vote and Commissioner Melissa Bickford was absent.

Representatives for the hospital said they need to demolish a portion of the structure for two new hospital wings, parking structures and a medical office totaling 21 acres to meet California earthquake mandates. But critics of the hospital’s parent company, HCA Healthcare, urged city officials to pause the proposed expansion until they study the impact of the health service downgrades at Regional Medical Center on the East Side.

HCA Healthcare owns Good Samaritan and is selling Regional Medical Center in East San Jose to the county.  The corporation has a history of shuttering facilities and services that have been deemed not profitable. It shuttered San Jose Medical Center, the city’s only downtown hospital, in 2004. It eliminated Regional’s maternity ward in 2020 and Good Samaritan’s neonatal intensive care unit and acute care psychiatrist services in 2023. It also cut trauma, stroke and heart attack services at Regional in August, which prompted the county to purchase it.

Commissioner Charles Cantrell accused HCA of divesting from hospitals the moment they lose profitability. He and Commissioner Michael Young led the charge against the hospital’s proposed expansion during Wednesday’s meeting. Plans submitted to the city indicate the expansion would span three phases over six years. The first phase would include construction of a 7-story hospital wing and 6-story parking garage.

In their decision to recommend against the expansion, commissioners cited the Envision San Jose 2040 General Plan goals of treating health care as a regional issue and ensuring existing facilities meet the needs of all residents.

“When you divest because you’re no longer profitable, you provide significant harm to communities that have become dependent on your service,” Cantrell said. “You are a for-profit organization that puts a profit motivation on people’s health, even to the point where you hurt them.”

Oliverio said the general community is supportive of the hospital system and the planning commission should not be litigating the character of HCA Healthcare.

“I know a lot of members of the community came out that are very passionate about health care, but ultimately, this is a land use decision. (We’re) not the regulatory body,” Oliverio said. “If you want to tell the city council to become a regulatory body, and I think you could do that in a couple weeks, but as far as the planning commission — we’re very narrow in our purpose here.”

Good Samaritan Hospital Chief Operating Officer Jerry Gonzalez defended the proposed expansion, asserting the hospital is meeting basic services mandated by state agencies and maximizing the quality of care with increased room space. He said he wasn’t prepared to speak about non-land use related issues and suggested commissioners revisit the subject at a later date.

“What we want to do is provide the best services, and the services that we can provide, we want to keep those open,” he said.

Resident Karen Deloumi said Santa Clara County declared a mental health crisis and about a year later Good Samaritan closed its psychiatric acute care facility at Mission Oaks.

“I think it’s good that they want to redo the hospital, but we need those beds back,” she said. “Unless it’s profitable, it’s based on mediocracy and they decide to close it.”

Latinas Contra Cancer Executive Director Darcie Green called on planning commissioners to reject Good Samaritan’s proposal because she said HCA divested from underserved areas of San Jose, closing critical services such as maternity care and mental health services at Regional Medical Center.

“HCA actions have destabilized our health care system, burdening neighboring hospitals — leaving residents with fewer health care options,” she said.
HCA was ranked last year as the 66th largest U.S. company by total revenue among Fortune 500 companies, with its total revenue at about $65 billion as of December 2023, according to year-end filings.

Si Se Puede Collective Director Gabriel Hernandez said city leaders need to inquire further as to the services Good Samaritan will provide at the expanded hospital, and those services should center around families.

“They started to divest in Regional (Medical Center) and now they just walk away from it, so the county is going to have to pick it up,” he said. “They build hospitals to make money, regardless of the services. When it doesn’t make money, they just walk away. Don’t let them do this again. Tell them to leave.”