State Appeals Pro-Santa Clara Co. Ruling; Resets Court Date

GILROY, CA -- It's not over yet.

The legal wrangling between the state and Santa Clara County is coming down to that last two-minute window that can mean the difference between life and death for the critically injured. In this case, the scenario is being played out in the courts and means the difference between having a viable area hospital or not.

As the only bidder, the county is trying to buy Gilroy's St. Louise and San Jose's O'Connor hospitals when their parent company, Verity Health Systems, went bankrupt in August. The sale would ordinarily close by March 5, if not for California Attorney General Xavier Becerra stepping in to halt the sale with mandated conditions that date back as far as former A.G. and now U.S. Senator Kamala Harris in 2015.

The county won a battle Friday when a Los Angeles bankruptcy court denied a petition by the state to suspend the sale. The federal judge had dismissed the state attorney general's move to block the county from purchasing the two local hospitals for $235 million.

In the 11th hour, the state returned with an emergency motion pending appeal of this judge's ruling over the weekend, placing a hearing back on the docket at 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 22 and prompting County Executive Jeffrey V. Smith to flip from gratitude to disappointment at having to continue the war.

The county contends the legal maneuvering by the state jeopardizes the hospitals. St. Louise, for one, serves about 100,000 area residents.

Word got out to the "save-our-hospital" activists, who have sided with the county and staged rallies in support of the county's intentions. Another one is planned on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center at 17900 Monterey Rd.

Local activist Swanee Edwards declared this is "just wrong"of the appeal and wants the state to move out of the way so the county can take over the medical facilities.

Upon entering the stay on Jan. 10, Becerra contends the county had failed to meet the conditions to maintain the hospital, including continuing general acute care and around-the-clock emergency services. The A.G. has cited examples such as the county failing to meet restrictions that ensures access to emergency care to women's healthcare and maintains the important patient protections that apply to Verity's health facilities.

But county officials insist the local government has been following the guidelines. It deems the state has stopped the dialogue, something it considered unfortunate. The judge issued a tentative ruling declaring if the attorney general's stay would have gone through, the collapse of the sale agreement would have been inevitable.

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