DATE: February 20, 2024
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Fire Chief
SUBJECT: Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Accept and Appropriate $2,000,000 in Grant Funding From the California Department of Health Care Services For the Construction of a Subacute Facility for Senior and Medically Fragile Persons at St. Rose Hospital in Hayward
RECOMMENDATION
That Council adopts a resolution (Attachment II) authorizing the City Manager to accept and appropriate $2,000,000 in grant funding from the California Department of Health Care Services for renovations at St. Rose Hospital for the development of a new sub-acute care facility for the senior and medically fragile population in Hayward.
SUMMARY
The City of Hayward has partnered with St. Rose Hospital to seek funding to renovate a portion of the hospital to create a subacute facility to serve senior citizens and the medically fragile population of Hayward.
Subacute care is defined as comprehensive inpatient care designed for someone who does not require hospital acute care but has an acute illness, injury, or exacerbation of a disease process that requires more intensive care than is provided to patients in a general nursing facility. Subacute patients are medically fragile and require special services, such as inhalation therapy, tracheotomy care, intravenous care, tube feeding, and complex wound management care.
Currently, there are no subacute facilities in this region of the County, and therefore there is a huge demand for such. Because there are no subacute facilities in this region, many patients treated at St. Rose end up staying longer even though they do not require acute hospital care, because there are no nursing homes able to facilitate their care.
With the use of the requested funding, St. Rose Hospital will be able to create a subacute treatment center that can care for approximately 30 patients at a time. This critical investment benefits every system in the region, enabling St. Rose to efficiently provide more service to those who most need it.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
St. Rose Hospital is an independent, nonprofit community hospital located in Hayward. As the only non-profit hospital in the area, St. Rose is open to all Hayward residents regardless of insurance, income level, or documentation status. St. Rose serves the neediest members of the community daily, services that the City and the other hospitals in the area are unable to provide. The current services at St. Rose include surgery, physical rehabilitation, outpatient care, birthing, emergency, diagnostics, and more. The addition of a sub-acute facility within the existing hospital will allow for the ongoing care of patients who currently do not fit into the offered services. By expanding the offerings at St. Rose, more residents of Hayward will be able to receive quality care without the added hindrance of travel and associated costs. As indicated above, adult subacute care is defined as a level of care needed by a patient who does not require hospital acute care but who requires more intensive licensed skilled nursing care than is provided to most patients in a skilled nursing facility. Often, these patients are forced to take alternative routes to receive the care they need, which can manifest in unnecessary emergency room visits, which burden the 911 system, or travel to outlying facilities that come with difficulties of reliable transportation and costs. Subacute patients require special medical equipment, supplies, and treatments such as ventilators, tracheostomies, total parenteral nutrition, tube feeding, and complex wound management care.
The addition of sub-acute care to the only full-service hospital within the City of Hayward fills a necessary gap in fulfilling the healthcare needs of all residents and bolsters the available amenities of living and working in Hayward. While the city proudly boasts 84,400+ local jobs, the expansion of services at St. Rose would add additional skilled labor positions. The addition of employment opportunities, expanded healthcare services, and additional commerce within the city boundaries will create a positive impact on the city in many facets.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The renovation of the hospital and the expansion of services will create jobs in construction and hospital employment, and the addition of purchases associated with increased healthcare supply purchases, the economic impact of the hospital addition will be positive and beneficial to the city.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
The addition of sub-acute care aligns with the strategic priority for “Enhancement of Community Safety and Quality of Life” but does not align with a specific project.
NEXT STEPS
If Council adopts the resolution, staff will accept the funding and transfer the funds to St. Rose to begin the bidding and construction process.
Prepared by: Lauren Dekas, Management Analyst
Recommended by: Garrett Contreras, Fire Chief
Approved by:
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Kelly McAdoo, City Manager