Measure B passes in Alameda County

Very disappointed as the CEO get approximately 1.5 million dollars a year for a local community hospital, which includes around $250,000 from the WHHS Foundation. WHHS as a trauma center also now gets funds from Alameda County to support it. Their campaign literature lied by stating that WHHS gets no public funding despite getting trauma center funds and property tax that is currently on the property tax statments. Finally their is no real serious accountabilty one how the funding from this measure will be spent as it is mostly vague generalities.

Washington Hospital has delivered terrible care teice when a family member was admitted and documented that my CT was normal when in fact, I had hepatomegaly. My spouse and I are healthcare workers and know when we receive poor care. You are better off going to Highland Hospital or Eden Hospital.

I dont understand how or why this passed.
Both Washington Township and Kaiser are located close to each other providing same services
Both provide medical care to low income , including Medi-cal insured folks.
Both have to follow Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).
Yet kaiser is NOT asking for public tax handouts like Washington Township is….
Is this because Washington Township is not managing its budget correctly?

And another gripe is why is the tax burden to fund this 1 hospital being put solely on property owners, instead of having a tax that is spread out amongst all the people in alameda county or at least al the people in Fremont to share the burden of this tax.

One article stated that Washington Township was the only default hospital providing Stroke care.
But in fact–Kaiser Permanente medical center in Fremont is recognized as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, providing specialized care for stroke patients. They have programs in place to ensure rapid diagnosis and treatment to improve patient outcomes.
And Kaiser is NOT asking for tax payer handouts.

I worry the more us tax payers keep handing out this free money the worse Washington Township will manage their funds

I live in Alameda County and was not given the option to vote for this. Yet I will be subject to an increased tax for a Medical Center in Fremont? Isn’t this taxation without representation?

Torrey Byrne it was in the ballot along with prop 50 for all US citizens to vote on. Washington Hospitals CEO’s and board gets paid way too much. I voted against it. It’s a rich hospital that over charges its patients. I am disgusted that this got passed.

I voted against it as well and even made and passed out 300 flyers to my neighbors encouraging them to Vote No. So disappointed this passed and will now have increased taxes.

Simple reason- Washington is a PUBLIC hospital and Kaiser is not. Public hospitals are funded by the public and are obligated to serve everyone. Private hospitals serve only their patients and accept only the insurance they accept; in this case, they take only Kaiser insurance. Had this measure failed, the closest public hospital and emergency room would have been Oakland. Imagine a patient with a stroke having to drive to Oakland during peak traffic hours!?!

I voted for it and I have Kaiser. It’s not about me but about others in our community who desire access to adequate health care. I don’t mind helping others in need.

I voted for it. I had a severe head injury from way back and the closest hospital is Washington Hospital. Instead, the paramedics took me to Eden Hospital in Castro Valley it being a trauma center.

Both Washington Township and Kaiser are located close to each other providing same services
Both provide medical care to low income , including Medi-cal insured folks.
Both have to follow Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).
Yet kaiser is NOT asking for public tax handouts like Washington Township is….
Is this because Washington Township is not managing its budget correctly?

And another gripe is why is the tax burden to fund this 1 hospital being put solely on property owners, instead of having a tax that is spread out amongst all the people in alameda county or at least al the people in Fremont to share the burden of this tax.

One article stated that Washington Township was the only default hospital providing Stroke care.
But in fact–Kaiser Permanente medical center in Fremont is recognized as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, providing specialized care for stroke patients. They have programs in place to ensure rapid diagnosis and treatment to improve patient outcomes.
And Kaiser is NOT asking for tax payer handouts.

I worry the more us tax payers keep handing out this free money the worse Washington Township will manage their funds

peace–
A public hospital is a healthcare facility that is owned and funded by the government, primarily using taxpayer money, to provide medical care, often at little or no cost to patients. These hospitals typically offer a range of services, including emergency care and surgeries, and are accessible to all residents, including non-citizens in some cases.

But Washington Township is not really a true public hospital other than the fact it does serve to the public.
Washington Township charges high rates—-not free or reduced.

As I stated before Kaiser is just a few blocks away, Also provides the same services, provides to low income and Medi-cal folks..
And can not deny service to anyone that does not have insurance…

I voted NO,,,
Being that Washington Township charges full high rates but is still begging for tax payers money..
I believe Washington Township is poorly managed…and most likely giving them free tax funds wil not fix but instead just fuel the poor management practices.

Kaiser down the street from Washington Hospital is managed better and is NOT begging for Tax money…

Another thing that was badly thought out, –Why was ALL this tax burden put ONLY on property owners.
Why wasnt the tax on something that would be shared by all the public in Alameda county???
Since ALL the public will be able to use this hospital.

In California, when a person without medical insurance receives care at a hospital, the costs are often covered by a combination of public funds, such as Medicaid (Medi-Cal), and charity care programs offered by the hospital. Additionally, hospitals may absorb some costs as uncompensated care, which can be offset by government payments designed to help cover these expenses..

So why am I having to pay higher property taxes to give free money to this hospital…
Perhaps Medi-cal is so over burden now from ALL illegal immigrants given Free medical via Medi-cal which stated Jan 2024..
The California budget for Medi-cal has over doubled from $100 Billion to over $200 Billion.
A majority of the Medi-cal budget is consumed by 5 counties in southern California–LA area.

I think this measure B was a work around since Medi-cal is already way over burden..

I just realized why they are adding the tax to ONLY property owners–property taxes.
Because if they added a tax that was wide spread to affect ALL tax payers, then most likely Measure B would not have passed, since ALL people involved would most likely not want an additional tax burden.
But being that the burden of the tax was ONLY on Property owners, then all the renters that dont have property taxes would have no problem volunteering property owners to pay the bill for something they may benefit from for free …

Update to previous comment under James Weil:
Did some more research. I did a search for compensation for the CEO of Kaiser, also non-profit. That persons salary is about $500,000 a year for all of Kaiser that has facilities in several states including Hawaii. Ms. Hartz is making around 1.5 million dollars a year. So the CEO of Kaiser is making less than half what Kimberly Hartz is making for a single community hospital only located in the TriCity area. According to the Fall Leapfrog hospital safety ratings, an independent non-profit hospital rating service, that just came out, WHHS now has a “C” rating again. Fremont Kaiser has a “B” rating.

So what we have here is when comparing 2 local hospitals in Fremont, both non-profit and one having facilities in several states including one halfway across the Pacific Ocean, the CEO of that hospital is making less than half of what our local hospital solely in Fremont and doing a better job. This is one major reason I voted NO on measure B. Given Ms. Hartz has been at the head of WHHS for around 3 years now, given her performance and her compensation, I am of the opinion that she needs to be replaced with someone more effective that is commitied to take action to raise the safety standards of WHHS on a continual to be at least as good as Kaiser Fremont, especially if residents are going to pay her that much money. Just throwing more money at an issue rarely changes things. What has to change first is the culture. Given Ms. Hartz performance, in my opinion, that does not seem to be happening.

To quote Jon M. Chu, director of Wicked: “Good can’t just be a word. It has to have meaning. It has to change things.”