Sep 4, 2008

Officials: Health care plan should benefit taxpayers

Sequoia district board delays action on strategic plan

By Shaun Bishop / Daily News Staff Writer

Sequoia Healthcare District-funded programs should benefit not only uninsured residents, but also the homeowners who likely have health coverage and contribute property tax dollars to the district, according to board members.

The board Wednesday discussed a strategic plan for the taxpayer-funded district now that it has relinquished its stake in Sequoia Hospital to Catholic Healthcare West. The complex deal reached last December will pay for a $240 million rebuild of the hospital.

Since CHW took over day-to-day management of the hospital in 1996, the district that was originally formed to fund the facility's construction has backed programs to support good health in the district, which encompasses Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, Woodside, Atherton, Portola Valley and Menlo Park.

Last year, the district spent its approximately $7

million in tax dollars on automated external defibrillators, a nursing education program, the San Mateo County children's health insurance program and grants to Planned Parenthood, among other programs.

The board was slated Wednesday to adopt the strategic plan, including a vision statement and five overarching goals, but delayed action because members requested several wording changes.

One phrase that raised eyebrows was in the district's proposed vision statement, which called for programs that "meet unmet healthcare needs."

Board President Kathleen Kane said she was "a little troubled by the word 'unmet,'" saying it made it sound as though "that's all we do."

Although the district has programs for the uninsured, such as a clinic in Redwood City run by Samaritan House, Board Member Malcolm MacNaughton said it should continue to financially support Sequoia Hospital to ensure it provides high-quality care, since many of the district's taxpayers might use it.

"For us to not consider continuing to support Sequoia Hospital, I think, is not doing justice to what our community, the district taxpayers, expects," MacNaughton said. "I think we need to be conscientious about where people want to see their money spent."

Board Member Jack Hickey, meanwhile, again voiced his long-running desire to dissolve the district and return the tax dollars to residents.

"The district really doesn't have anything to go on to continue collecting the taxes," Hickey said.


E-mail Shaun Bishop at sbishop@dailynewsgroup.com.