BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 1352
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          Date of Hearing:  June 4, 2014

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
                           K.H. "Katcho" Achadjian, Chair
                   SB 1352 (Hancock) - As Amended:  April 21, 2014

           SENATE VOTE  :  35-0
           
          SUBJECT  :  Alameda Health System.

           SUMMARY  :  Replaces the term "Alameda County Medical Center" with  
          "Alameda Health System" in statute.  Specifically,  this bill  :   

          1)Replaces the term "Alameda County Medical Center" with  
            "Alameda Health System" in statute.

          2)Makes other technical and conforming changes.  

          3)Finds and declares that in order to better reflect the  
            regional availability of services to the residents of Alameda  
            County, the Alameda County Medical Center is doing business as  
            the Alameda Health System (AHS) and it is appropriate that the  
            name change be reflected statutorily to ensure that there is  
            no confusion in the administration of state programs.  

          4)Finds and declares that AHS is a regional provider of health  
            care services, and includes the following facilities:

             a)   Highland Hospital (Oakland), a major regional trauma  
               center and teaching hospital, delivers primary, specialty,  
               and multispecialty care;
                 
             b)   John George Psychiatric Hospital (San Leandro) provides  
               psychiatric emergency and acute care services to adults  
               experiencing severe and disabling mental illnesses;

             c)   San Leandro Hospital (San Leandro), a 93-bed facility  
               acquired in late 2013, provides a wide range of medical  
               services, including 24-hour emergency services, critical  
               care, a full complement of skilled surgeons, rehabilitation  
               services, and ancillary services;

             d)   Fairmont Hospital (San Leandro), an acute rehabilitation  
               center, is one of the foremost providers of acute  
               rehabilitation services in northern California, treating  








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               severe injuries such as stroke, brain, and multiple-trauma  
               injuries; and,

             e)   Wellness Centers (Oakland, Hayward, and Newark), a  
               network of community-based wellness centers, expand access  
               to primary care and AHS medical specialties.  

           EXISTING LAW  authorizes the Alameda County Board of Supervisors  
          to establish a hospital authority separate and apart from the  
          county to manage, administer and control the Alameda County  
          Medical Center.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  None
           
          COMMENTS  :   

           1)Purpose of this bill  .  This bill replaces the term "Alameda  
            County Medical Center" with "Alameda Health System" in  
            statute.  This bill is sponsored by AHS.  

           2)Author's statement  .  According to the author, "[This bill]  
            updates current law to accurately reflect the changes and  
            improvements made to AHS.  Current statute refers to the  
            Alameda County Medical Center, which doesn't reflect the  
            breadth of services provided and facilities run by the system.  
             Changing the name in statute will avoid confusion in the  
            administration of state funded programs and correctly  
            reference the official health network in Alameda County.  Now  
            doing business as AHS, it operates eight district programs at  
            seven major facilities: San Leandro Hospital, Highland  
            Hospital, Highland Wellness, Eastmond Wellness, Hayward  
            Wellness at Winton, Newark Wellness, Fairmont Hospital, and  
            John George Psychiatric Hospital."  

           3)Previous legislation  .  The Legislature has granted several  
            counties the ability to create health authorities, including  
            Alameda [AB 2374 (Bates), Chapter 816, Statues of 1996];  
            Monterey [AB 276 (Alejo), Chapter 686, Statutes of 2012]; San  
            Luis Obispo [SB 538 (O'Connell), Chapter 899, Statues of  
            1999]; and, Santa Barbara and Sonoma (for dental).  

            Following the passage of AB 2374 (Bates), the Alameda County  
            Board of Supervisors appointed a board of trustees to  
            separately manage, administer and control the Alameda County  
            Medical Center, now known as AHS.  According to AHS, their  








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            integrated public health care system employs more than 3,000  
            people including 500 physicians throughout Alameda County.  

            AB 1008 (Buchanan), Chapter 311, Statutes of 2013, prohibits  
            AHS from privatizing services provided by physicians and  
            surgeons, and establishes eligibility for retirement benefits  
            for employees of a facility that is acquired or merged into  
            AHS.  

           4)Arguments in support  .  According to AHS, "On November 26,  
            2013, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors unanimously  
            adopted File No. 29041 which approved the name change from the  
            former Alameda County Medical Center to Alameda Health System.  
             [This bill] updates the various state codes to recognize the  
            approved name change and ensure that there is consistency  
            between the operational name and state licensing, payments and  
            other interactions with the various regulatory and oversight  
            agencies."  

           5)Arguments in opposition  .  None on file.  

           6)Chaptering conflicts  .  This bill conflicts with provisions in  
            AB 104 (Committee on Budget) and SB 80 (Committee on Budget  
            and Fiscal Review).  
           







          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          Alameda Health System [SPONSOR]
          Alameda County

           Opposition
           
          None on file
           
            
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Misa Yokoi-Shelton / L. GOV. / (916)  








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