Grossmont Hospital Board OKs Merger With Sharp

After a last-minute legal challenge failed, the Grossmont Hospital District on Tuesday night handed over management of its La Mesa facilities to Sharp HealthCare.

The district’s board voted, 4 to 1, to approve the merger at a meeting just two hours after Superior Court Judge James R. Milliken refused to restrain the action. Board Chairman Dr. Basil Maloney voted against the merger.

Within minutes of the vote, executives of Grossmont and Sharp signed the paperwork leasing the 465-bed hospital and its associated facilities to a corporation controlled by Sharp for the next 30 years.

“Instead of competing against each other for patients, technology and services, we’ll be working together to provide the best available health care to the residents of both the Grossmont Hospital District and to the areas served by Sharp,” said Michael Erne, chief executive officer of Grossmont Hospital.

The merger will “open up more choices for people,” Erne said. “Now, those who have health plans using Sharp facilities will be able to use Grossmont’s facilities and vice versa.”

Milliken cleared the way by refusing to issue a temporary restraining order against consummating the deal, saying political battles should be fought in the political arena, not the courts.

It was a setback for opponents of Grossmont’s absorption into Sharp.

“Our feeling is that, once this merger is voted on by the board, it’s going to be incredibly complicated and difficult to undo,” said the lead attorney for opponents, David Rosenberg.

But the lawsuit to block and eventually kill the affiliation will continue, Dr. Dennis D. Wilcox said. Another hearing in the case is set for June 11, when merger foes will argue for an injunction.

Wilcox helps lead a group called the Citizens Network to Save Grossmont District Hospital. In addition to the lawsuit, the group has begun a recall effort against the four board members who voted in favor of the affiliation.

The opponents call the deal a giveaway of public assets to a private corporation, and argue that voters should have been consulted. Grossmont receives tax money as a quasi-governmental agency, but Sharp is a private, nonprofit corporation.

But proponents say the agreement will ensure Grossmont’s survival in a health care climate that is becoming increasingly competitive.

Grossmont has had difficulty attracting health care contracts with insurers and employers, which are seen as crucial to a hospital’s financial viability in San Diego County. Sharp has been building a countywide network that draws such contract business, in which Grossmont now will share.

Under the agreement, Grossmont will be leased for 30 years to a new firm controlled and managed by Sharp, Grossmont Hospital Corp. This firm’s new board of directors--all residents of the Grossmont district--is expected to hold its first meeting this morning.