Opinion

The move by the Daughters of Charity Health System to sell Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy and De Paul Medical Center in Morgan Hill might be the Roman Catholic religious order’s best decision since it was founded in France in 1633 by St. Vincent de Paul to care for the poor.Best for the nuns, to be sure. Their questionable business model and mission to treat patients regardless of ability to pay have created a financial disaster that cannot be resuscitated in its current form.But is it best for the south Santa Clara County communities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Martin, which make up most of the facilities’ service area and are home to about 75 percent of their patients?Cut through the complexities and absurdities of healthcare, politics and union and corporate egos and the simple answer is, yes.The proposed sale of the DCHS medical facilities to Prime Healthcare makes the best sense in terms of healthcare and the best business sense.The alternatives—a private equity firm or the County of Santa Clara—are iffy and, in the county’s case, unrealistic and scary. The county hospital system loses tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.The sale requires review by California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who can approve or reject the bid or approve with conditions.Harris, a superstar in state Democratic Party circles who wants to be California’s next U.S. Senator, will decide by Feb. 20. Her announced run for the seat being vacated by Barbara Boxer begs the question: will politics influence her decision about Prime’s bid to buy the DCHS facilities?We applaud the attorney general’s diligence and that of her staff—and urge her to approve the sale with conditions that will ensure continued, quality care while not being so onerous as to chase away the anointed buyer-in-waiting and put the future of South County’s heath care delivery system at risk.We also urge her to resist mixing politics into her decision, no matter how badly she wants the financial support and votes of the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers, which opposes the sale to Prime and prefers another bidder.Uions have important roles to play, but when their self-serving motivations take priority over what’s best for all the people, they dilute their importance in the discussion. After all, a union’s fiduciary responsibility is and should be to its membership.The Harris decision should not be about unions or political office. If the people of south Santa Clara County and other areas impacted by the sale of DCHS facilities—San Jose, Daly City and Half Moon Bay in northern California—are to continue to receive quality care, Harris’ decision on Prime must focus on two issues:•Will its business model keep hospital doors open?•Will Prime deliver sustained, quality care, including to the poor, that is substantially equal to or better than what DCHS provided?Prime’s record must not be discounted. Under founder Dr. Prem Reddy, a cardiologist turned hospital entrepreneur, the firm has rescued 30 hospitals, saved 35,000 jobs in nine states and won awards and the gratitude of communities.Unlike other bidders, Prime has promised to respect union contracts and pension plans, assume DCHS’s debt, spend $150 million on capital improvements and continue care to the poor. It has never closed or sold a hospital, according to Reddy and its literature.That Prime is a for-profit company should not be a deal killer.  It offered better terms and is the only viable bidder that would not force DCHS to go through bankruptcy. And bankruptcy proceedings are likely if the Daughter’s system becomes insolvent or a different buyer insists on it in order to shed financial liabilities before taking over.If bankruptcy happens—a requirement if the county buys DCHS facilities—then how the system is run and to whom it is sold would be up to a bankruptcy judge and a creditors’ committee, with no local say in the matter. Could the county outbid private healthcare or equity firms that would line up to buy at liquidation prices?  Arguments for approval are reasonable, unclouded by politics, give access to healthcare priority and come from a cross section of constituencies, including—tellingly—hospital workers bucking their own union.The Silicon Valley Leadership Group has endorsed the sale. So have the California Nurses Association, a lot of SEIU-UHW’s local members, the City of Gilroy and its chamber of commerce, the Gilroy Economic Development Corporation and the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce.Economically, DCHS employs more than 500 people, has a payroll in excess of $58 million and spends another  $130 million—easily nearing $200 million a year flowing into local cash registers and bank accounts.DCHS executives and around 45 employees in its administrative operation will lose their jobs if sold and will leave with severance checks, customary in the industry—not the improper windfalls critics suggest.Arguments against the sale don’t all add up, even if some are well founded—fears of some job loss (Prime says mostly middle management positions), programs being cut and not all insurance plans accepted.Others, such as Prime being under investigation for its billing practices, mislead. Many hospitals undergo such probes and some have paid big fines. Prime says it has never been charged with wrongdoing or fined.If Harris rejects the sale and hospital doors close, it would mean long drives, even in medical emergencies, for South County residents—and even for some as far away as Hollister, which accounts for about 10 percent of Saint Louise’s patients.If Harris approves the sale, her consultants have recommended conditions that are designed to make sure quality care continues. While some are for five years, most of the conditions are suggested to last for 10 years.That’s a potential problem for Prime. Changes in the nation’s healthcare system are inevitable. The Affordable Care Act is a good example. Virtually overnight it has changed the medical landscape.In most cases, the 10-year assurances are prudent. But they raise questions: is the consultant suggesting that for a decade Prime must continue business as usual at DCHS facilities and expect better financial outcomes? And is Prime to have no flexibility to adjust if the medical landscape shifts and what seems doable now becomes impossible in the future?Approval of the sale to Prime with doable conditions that protect services is what’s in the best interest of Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Martin.  

City encourages illegal trespassing

Congratulations are in order for the local wine industry, as the results of the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition are in. This is the first wine-judging event of the year and with more than 6,400 entries, this is the largest judging of American wines in the world. This year 86 awards went to wineries in Santa Clara and San Benito counties. Our wineries won 35 bronze, 37 silver, 11 gold, two double gold and one Best of Class.

Just when you think our South Valley can’t get any lovelier now that our golden hills have turned green, out of the cold and rain of winter (well, sort of—it’s been a strange year!) burst forth brilliant yellow flowers spreading like soft coverlets over our hills and vales.

Keep growth balancedDear Elected and Appointed Morgan Hill Representatives,In recent weeks we have had extensive meetings and discussions with representatives from a large number of Morgan Hill’s major private employers, and every one of these companies is in a solid growth mode. Many of them are considering physical expansions as they have filled out their current facilities. They need to know that there is a place for them to expand into; otherwise they will be forced to expand and/or relocate elsewhere.Since this time last year, much has changed … and all of those changes further support the argument against land conversions of this type. Our industrial building vacancy rate has dropped from a great recession high of approximately 20 percent to about 3 percent today.  Meanwhile, large numbers of new housing units have been built, but the vast majority of them are occupied by commuters and retirees. The counterintuitive argument that more housing will automatically mean more good paying jobs in Morgan Hill has, in fact, not been demonstrated. Housing has been added at a much, much faster pace than have good paying jobs. Meanwhile, many cities to our north have been pursuing a job focused development program; relying ever more heavily on communities like Morgan Hill to provide the housing, services and amenities people need to live their lives.A healthy Morgan Hill must be a balanced Morgan Hill. That is why we have land reserved for industrial development in our General Plan. Those in the development business focus on doing the projects now which can make money now, and then they typically move on. The point of zoning and planning is to ensure that an appropriate long term view is taken as we further build out our terrific city.Please continue to support a robust, balanced Morgan Hill by denying requests for industrial land conversion to residential uses. Yes, Morgan Hill needs more apartments, but not at the cost of building a balanced city.Sincerely yours, John T. Horner, President and CEO of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce Coffee with the MayorThe first Coffee with the Mayor for 2015 will be 10 to 11:30 a.m. Feb. 7 at BookSmart. Coffee with the Mayor gives Morgan Hill residents an opportunity to give input to the mayor in a very relaxed and informal environment.  The “input” can be anything—questions, suggestions, criticism (hopefully constructive!) or just a friendly chat to get more familiar with the mayor and with Morgan Hill governance. Some regulars come because they want to hear what other attendees have to say, and that’s fine, too.  The coffee is on the mayor and BookSmart very graciously provides some yummy treats to complement their great coffee. The mayor and City Council will have concluded their annual goal setting retreat the previous weekend, so Mayor Tate will give an overview and provide an opportunity for residents to provide feedback on the city’s direction. The mayor usually brings along a guest but for this first meeting of the year, he will go it alone.  Steve Tate, Morgan Hill‘Original Navy SEAL’ to speak in MHFriends and Family of Nisei Veterans (FFNV) will hold its annual membership meeting Feb. 14, 2015 at the rear building of  Morgan Hill Buddhist Community Center, 16450 Murphy Avenue. Pot-luck lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m. for FFNV members and the main program will start at about 12:30 p.m. The program portion of this meeting is open to the public.Our guest speaker will be William Goehner, Jr., of Morgan Hill. At the beginning of World War II, he joined the Navy at age 16 and volunteered for the elite Underwater Demolition Team (UDT), popularly known as “frogmen.” The UDT was the original Navy SEAL. He led many “suicide missions” against the German Navy and became one of the most decorated and fastest promoted sailor in the Navy.  In Hollywood’s Oscar-nominated movie “The Frogmen” (1951),  Goehner was portrayed by Richard Widmark. Goehner will take you through a harrowing and danger-packed mission to mine a German submarine base in the Baltic Sea to a heartwarming encounter with a young German soldier while on a reconnaissance mission on Normandy just before D-Day.Brian Shiroyama, Morgan Hill

Art is not only coming; it is already here.I’m sure most of you are now aware that in the next few months we will soon double, triple, or possibly quadruple the amount of public art we have in town. It’s hard for me to say since apparently there’s more public art in Morgan Hill than you might think because it’s not all obvious. Most of the new art will be much more obvious.All of the attention right now is on public art but we have a lot of the other kind too. What do you call that, private art?In many of the businesses in town, most notably restaurants, you will find local art that has been placed there for your enjoyment and purchase. Some of this art will grab your attention with bold colors or designs while others remind you that there is a quiet place in the library that could use that painting (we all have libraries, right?).The local art was placed in those businesses by the Valle Del Sur Art Guild that is based right here in Morgan Hill. The guild was formed over 4 decades ago and includes several dozen members. Now you can see their work thanks to over 14 partner businesses participating in their Art Around Town program. Their art can also be viewed periodically at the Community and Cultural Center (CCC).Art on the walls of the CCC is also coordinated by the El Toro Culture and Arts Committee. This group also helps with events to spark an interest in art in our youth and push to keep art in the forefront of our community.A new art gallery is opening up downtown. Morgan Hill Art Gallery on Second and Monterey is an example of one of the components long discussed as missing in our downtown business mix—an art gallery where diners and shoppers can spend some time browsing and shopping for art. This gallery also happens to be associated with the Valle Del Sur Art Guild and will feature locally created art.We are fortunate to also have many other local artists who are not associated with any guild or association in our community. Several of these artists will gain new or additional exposure in the community as they release their Downtown Placemaking Art Mini-grant winning work. Many of our artists are not just hobbyists and you will find some of them in art exhibits around the country. A second mortgage might be needed to purchase some of their work.We have an abundance of all forms of art in our community whether it be painted, sculpted, photographs, music or otherwise. Like so many other things happening in Morgan Hill there appear to be opportunities, or opportunities in the making, to let more of what is already here grow and shine.Again, for a community of our size we fight above our weight class in the arts. We just need to stop and pay more attention to it.I think that this is the year that art, like so many other things, will start to find its proper place in the community.Please enjoy what we have and support the arts.—John McKay is a longtime Morgan Hill resident, city planning commissioner and a member of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance.

‘The Story Of My Life” is about the relation-ships in life, what we miss, what we remember and what we could have done differently. Two actors carry this story with quality voices and good delivery.

At Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park above Santa Cruz, a single ridge separates two very different habitats. Walking the trails on the park’s east side through bright slopes of mixed evergreen trees and chaparral, it seems so unlikely that just over the hill giant redwoods nearly 300 feet tall shade a forest floor dark, moist and green. The great thing about this park is that both settings are within easy reach of a day hiker.

Last August we sent Junior off to college. It was horrible. I spent the entire day trying to be cheerful and happy, when all I really wanted to do was cry. Junior looked like all he wanted to do was get rid of his mother. I honestly think Harry could have stayed because the entire time he was helping Junior assemble the $3 million worth of useless dorm organization crap I bought*, he kept talking about how fun college life was and giving helpful advice on what co-eds to avoid and how keep track of your red Solo cup at a party.

As we head into 2015, we reflect on 2014 and make resolutions to hopefully carry us through the upcoming year. We promise to eat healthier, exercise more, be a better person and pray for world peace. But instead of searching for that magic cure, or constantly working toward fulfilling New Year's resolutions, just be happy—it's not that hard.