Health care news: Marin Healthcare District gets hospital from Sutter Health

Marin General Hospital 

At midnight on Wednesday (tonight), Sutter Health will give the elected Marin Healthcare District in Greenbrae, CA of Marin County, California control of the Marin General Hospital in Kentfield, California after managing it for almost 15 years.

While the prospects of success of an elected public health care center would seem promising, that's only the case when there's money to run it and a private sector partner - not here.

While a lot of press places Sutter in the position of bad person, the reality is different if one does some digging. Sources say that Marin Healthcare District knew Sutter had the ability and the right to transfer funds to its overall system. Moreover, Sutter reportedly offered to build a $400 million earthquake safe hospital for free.

This space is not against public control of organizations (like the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum) but as long as it's done correctly and with a nod toward the need for private sector involvement. There's no reason Sutter could not have remained as a partner in some way, but the edgy and combative approach of some Marin County politicos erased such a possible deal long ago.

The Marin County Grand Jury's view of this was scathing. In a report called "Marin General Hospital: Hope is not a strategy," and released in May of 2009, the Marin County Grand Jury wrote the following on the board's decision to release Sutter Health from its lease and take over Marin General:

"(the decision) woefully underestimates its working capital needs, assumes the public will vote to tax itself for a new wing estimated to cost between $350 million and $400 million, and implausibly takes for granted that it will be able to negotiate reimbursements from insurance companies as favorable as those negotiated by large healthcare systems."

Now, the Marin Healthcare District has to push a bond measure with Marin County voters to raise the necessary funds to build a new hospital. It will be hard to get the voters to approve financing for a hospital board that seems more politically than managerially oriented.

Health care consumers in Marin have other healthcare options are available, including Kaiser and Sutter Health, which continues to provide healthcare services in Marin County and at California Medical Center in San Francisco.

Not that this space hopes for failure by the Marin Healthcare District, just a dose of common sense and a lot less emotion. It's current course is not going to work.