Attorney General Rob Bonta of California said on Wednesday that AHMC Healthcare, which owns Seton Medical Centre and Seton Coastside, is being sued for supposedly not following an agreement they were given when they bought the hospitals in 2020.
The Department of Justice says that Seton Medical Centre in Daly City does not have a centre for people who have had a stroke or heart attack. Since April, Seton Coastside in Moss Beach has not been providing emergency services.
Bonta says that these and other centres were legally forced to stay open, even though they have since closed.
“Unfortunately, it’s clear that AHMC has not lived up to its duties.” “Not meeting the standards is completely unacceptable, and I’m holding them fully responsible for putting patient care and public health at risk,” Bonta said.
Under California law, the Attorney General has to agree to any sale or transfer of power of a nonprofit. Even though Bonta agreed to the sale, he says AHMC broke the rules that were set up four years before this case.
Since Veruty Health Care went out of business in 2020, AHMC Healthcare bought the two hospitals in the Bay Area. As part of the deal, Seton Coastside had to stay open until December 2025. It has an emergency room and a skilled nursing centre. The sale was okay with Bonta.
Bonta’s office says these are some of the other rules that both hospitals must follow:
- Emergency department (ED) at both hospitals
- Stroke center certification
- STEMI receiving center (for heart attack patients)
- General acute care hospital (GACH)
- Skilled nursing facilities (SNF)
„AHMC has let the stroke certification and STEMI designation slide at Seton Medical Centre and has closed the SNF, GACH, and ED at Seton Coastside since April 2024,” Bonta said.
Bonta says that AHMC did this “without telling the Attorney General or asking for a change to the conditions.”
According to the case, if the business is shut down, fewer services may be available, which could make it harder for people to get the care they need.
Seton Coastside is the only hospital along the Pacific Coast from Santa Cruz to Daly City that offers emergency services. It is a refuge for people who need urgent medical care.
When the emergency room closes, I worry about how people will be able to get emergency medical care and why local officials who want to protect our shared voters’ access to important health care services aren’t being held accountable.
Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo
Bonta thinks that the loss of these services also brings more patients to hospitals that still offer them, which drives up the prices of services at those competing hospitals.
The lawsuit wants both hospitals to reopen their services as soon as possible and for civil fines to be given.
“For the health and safety of its patients, some of the most underserved in San Mateo County, I beg Seton to right the ship right away.” Vice President David J. Canepa of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors said.
