Advocates Far From Reassured That Plans To Move Alta Bates Center Won’t Affect Care
Due to a California law that requires hospitals to complete seismic upgrades by 2030, Sutter Health announced in 2016 its plans to move inpatient care and emergency services from the Alta Bates site in Berkeley. This week, Sutter Health released a statement saying the emergency room and inpatient hospital services provided at the Alta Bates campus will remain in Berkeley until they are available in full at the Summit Medical Center campus in Oakland, which could take 10 years.
San Jose Mercury News:
Sutter Health Will Close Alta Bates Hospital, But Not Yet
Hospital services at Alta Bates Medical Center’s Berkeley campus will end, but not as soon as people think, company officials said this week. In an ongoing debate over the future of emergency services at the campus, legislators, city officials and health care professionals will continue their public campaign against the closure while the hospital’s parent organization Sutter Health insists it will keep the campus open for at least a decade. Nurses and local leaders will gather for a community forum Saturday on the Ed Roberts campus, calling on Sutter Health to keep Alta Bates open as a full hospital with inpatient and emergency car. (Sciacca, 2/2)