S Bay Medical Clinics Change Hands; Fired Workers Cry Foul: Union

GILROY, CA -- At least 164 employees in five South Bay medical clinics have been let go as the facilities prepare to change hands to the El Camino Healthcare District on April 1, one of the largest unions in the western United States reported Thursday.

As a result, the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West further claims patient care for thousands will be placed at risk at the two clinics in Gilroy and Morgan Hill as well as the three in San Jose. They're currently owned by Verity Health, which filed for bankruptcy last year.

The bankruptcy served as a catalyst that led to a legal battle between the California Attorney General's Office, which lost in court to Santa Clara County. The local government took over the two hospitals in Gilroy and San Jose.

See also

• Santa Clara Co. Takes Over Hospitals Friday

“The district is putting patients’ health at risk and raising serious doubts about its ability to safely manage these facilities,” said Rena Schwartzberg, a 29-year employee who adds she is losing her job. “Right now, we don’t even know if these clinics will be open come April 1, and if they are, they will likely be staffed by a skeleton crew. It’s reprehensible that the district would let go quality employees who built trust among patients and have been caring for them, in some cases, as long as three decades.”

Of the 180 employees at the clinics who are members of the union, 16 are being retained by the El Camino Healthcare District, which owns the Silicon Valley Medical Development and El Camino Hospital, union spokesman Sean Wherley noted.

Nearly half of the laid off workers are older than 50. No legal complaint citing age discrimination has been filed yet, Wherley confirmed.

The affected clinics are as follows:

• Gilroy Primary Care, 9360 No Name Uno, Gilroy
• Good Samaritan Clinic, 2585 Samaritan Dr., San Jose
• McKee Clinic, 227 N. Jackson Ave., San Jose
• Willow Glen Clinic, 625 Lincoln Ave., San Jose
• Morgan Hill Medical Associates, 18550 De Paul Dr., Morgan Hill

The El Camino Healthcare District through its Silicon Valley Medical Development shared a different version of the circumstances that transpired in the takeover

"The district is not letting go of any employees. The employees are employees of Verity Medical Foundation, which has filed for bankruptcy and is closing the clinics," spokeswoman Kristine Naidl told Patch. "Separate from that process, the assets of the clinics are being bought through bankruptcy court by SVMD. That purchase will close before April 1. SVMD then signed a professional services agreement with the San Jose Medical Group to practice at five clinics that SVMD would now own and operate. SVMD is now in the process of making employment offers for staffing the clinics."

The jury is still out on how the staffing will work out given the union insisting the workers were forced to reapply for their jobs.

“We are so pleased that all the elements necessary have aligned to put patient care first,” said Bruce Harrison, president of SVMD. “San Jose Medical Group physicians serve an important community need, and we are honored to work with them to quickly open and make this transition as seamless as possible for their patients.”

The entity received approval from the bankruptcy court on March 27 that its offer to purchase was accepted and, as planned, formalized its professional services agreement with San Jose Medical Group.

“We are pleased to have a new home where we can continue to see our patients and meet their needs,” said Dr. Shabnam Husain, chairman of the Medical Group.

On the day before the purchase agreement was approved in bankruptcy court, health care workers filed a ballot initiative for the November 2020 election to ensure voters have a say in the El Camino Healthcare District’s expansion plans, including its $1.27 million purchase of the five clinics outside district boundaries.

The district claims the purchase is being made from the Silicon Valley Medical Development - with no district funds being made for the purchase.

The El Camino Healthcare District includes most of Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos
Hills; a large portion of Sunnyvale, and small sections of Cupertino, Santa Clara and Palo Alto. It
is governed by a publicly elected or appointed board of five members.