A union-backed slate of reformers will take control of the board of a Coos Bay hospital in July, giving new momentum to a fight to keep it away from corporate hands.
Bay Area Hospital, the largest hospital on the Oregon coast, is publicly owned and governed by a publicly elected six-member board. But last December, its board approved plans to partner with Tennessee-based Quorum Health, a for-profit hospital operator owned by two private equity funds.
With around 1,100 workers, Bay Area Hospital is the largest employer in the region. United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555 — which represents roughly 440 health care technicians at the hospital, pushed back against the board’s plans, and backed four candidates who challenged incumbent board members.
In the May 20 special district election, all four won seats: Simon Alonzo Jr., Brandon Saada, Kyle Stevens, and John Uno. Each won by greater than a 10-point margin, and Uno defeated incumbent board chair Troy Cribbins with 69.4% support. Coos Bay area voters appear to have sent a clear message: Keep their hospital out of the hands of Wall Street hedge funds.
“Our hospital is a special district, publicly owned, and should remain community governed, not controlled by distant corporations,” Saada said in an email to the Labor Press. Saada won 54% of the vote, defeating Arlene Roblan, the incumbent.
Saada said he would be extremely cautious of any deal with any for-profit entity, doesn’t support the proposed partnership with Quorum Health, and wouldn’t support any deal with the company unless there were “extraordinary and enforceable protections” for workers and the community.
Bay Area Hospital and Quorum had intended to reach a final binding agreement in March spelling out the terms under which Quorum would manage the hospital, but as of late June, the two sides still hadn’t finalized a plan.
“We are focused on completing our period of due diligence, hopefully ending in the signing of a definitive agreement,” Bay Area Hospital spokesperson Kim Winker wrote in a June 26 email to the Labor Press.
Local 555 political director Mike Selvaggio said that the election of new board members doesn’t mean the hospital is out of the woods. The hospital is currently in default on a $47 million loan.
While pushing back against the Quorum deal, Local 555 has also been advocating for state funding and tax bonds to boost the hospital’s finances. Selvaggio said the conversation with hospital leaders started out adversarial, but has become more collaborative.
“For all of the perceived inevitability of a sale of the hospital to corporate America, there was a huge community outpouring of support for this local institution,” Selvaggio said. “As a result, you’ve got a number of stakeholders — including people at the hospital — who are now robustly exploring a menu of other options.”
