Michele Finney: District lease proposal would allow health care expansion in the Coachella Valley

The Desert Healthcare District has been holding community forums on the future of its hospital, Desert Regional Medical Center, which has been operated by Tenet Healthcare since 1997 under a lease that expires in three years. I have attended these sessions, which have provided valuable perspectives as the board of directors considers a new 30-year lease-purchase agreement with Tenet.

I want to address some provisions of the new proposal that have been subject to serious misunderstanding. I hope to reassure our community that this proposal maintains the ability of the district to continue its grantmaking work. The proposal also protects the long-term financial stability of Desert Regional Medical Center.

At Tuesday’s meeting, members of the Desert Hot Springs City Council expressed worries that the terms of the lease would prevent the district from investing in urgent care clinics and physician offices for its underserved community. That worry is unwarranted. The district has historically supported nonprofit, non-hospital operated clinics and federally qualified health centers within its boundaries. And the board would retain that ability under the new proposal.

The district and Tenet are working to clarify the terms of the lease that caused this misunderstanding, and we hope to see that revision soon. But it is important to remember how we started in 1997.

Tenet was chosen, in a public process, as the best choice to save Desert Hospital from a financial crisis. The 1997 lease was pre-paid by Tenet, providing $160 million so the district could retire its debt and avoid bankruptcy. As part of that agreement, the district would no longer provide direct financial support to its own public hospital. A provision also prevents the district from providing direct support to any other hospital that competes with the one it owns. This public-private partnership has been incredibly successful for our community.

Over the last 27 years, the district has provided more than $100 million to 179 organizations that enhance health care in the community. In fact, those grants include more than $1.3 million to hospital organizations Eisenhower Health and Loma Linda University Health – to pay for programs that do not include acute-care hospital services. Meanwhile, Desert Regional has grown and expanded its hospital services, including our region’s Level 1 Trauma Center and our Comprehensive Stroke Center.

Under the new proposal Desert Regional would remain a publicly owned hospital under the stewardship of the district for the foreseeable future. The seven elected board members would be charged with the benefits – and the burdens – of hospital ownership for the next 33 years. That includes supporting our mutual commitment to care for the underserved.

Desert Care Network hospitals remain the largest provider of hospital services to the local Medi-Cal population. We provide three-fourths of the annual hospital care received by Medi-Cal patients in the Coachella Valley. This is over three times the amount provided by Eisenhower.

The new proposal would also provide enormous benefits to the district and its residents. The plan includes:

• Nearly $650 million in direct payments to the district over the term of the lease.
• A commitment to cover required seismic upgrades – estimated to cost more than $200 million – at no expense to the taxpayers.
• A $60 million commitment to expand the emergency room and admitting areas at JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio.

The value of this financial commitment from Tenet to this community is nearly $1 billion.

No other hospital – for profit or nonprofit – has a contractual obligation to provide a community benefit of that size. In exchange, Tenet is simply asking for some assurance that the district remains an aligned owner of Desert Regional while the lease is in place.

This proposal has so many benefits for the community. I urge the board of directors to move it forward to a vote of the people in November.

Michele Finney, CEO, Desert Regional Medical Center and Desert Care Network. Desert Care Network includes Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio and Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree. Finney can be reached via email at https://www.desertcarenetwork.com/contact , or at Desert Regional Medical Center, 760-323-6511.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Michele Finney: District lease proposal would allow health care expansion in the Coachella Valley