Doctors Medical Center Remains In Near-death State

Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo remains in a near-death state, with a plan to infuse short-term cash in limbo and residents yet again appearing reluctant to tax themselves to keep the hospital open. The board of West Contra Costa Healthcare District, which governs the struggling hospital, had hoped on Wednesday to approve the sale of several real estate properties to the city of San Pablo for $7.5 million in a stop-gap measure to extend the hospital’s survival by a few weeks, possibly longer. The situation became dire last spring when voters in the district failed to approve a $200 parcel tax, which would have raised $20 million to keep the hospital open. Some say the combination of being a stand-alone public hospital in a low-income area makes it unsustainable. About 80 percent of its patients are covered by Medi-Cal and Medicare — which doesn’t come near covering the cost of services — and less than 10 percent have private health insurance. At Wednesday’s meeting, board members said they need to know within days whether San Pablo could give the medical center at least $1.7 million of the $7.5 million sale of a parking lot, two medical office buildings and a condominium owned by the hospital. “People don’t realize how seriously this is going to affect everyone, not just the people who use this hospital as their safety net,” said Gail Eierweiss, of Richmond, a retired UCSF Medical Center financial manager. In a telephone survey of 600 residents conducted Feb.