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The Sacramento Bee extensively quoted NUHW President Emeritus Sal Rosselli in an article about California unions endorsing Kamala Harris for president, citing her strong labor record. “Workers and their unions are going to be extremely active in this election because there’s never been more at stake for working people,” he told the paper. NUHW’s executive board voted to endorse the vice president on July 13 in the event President Biden ended his candidacy. Rosselli was also quoted in similar articles published by The Washington Post and CalMatters.
NUHW President Sophia Mendoza was quoted in an article published by In These Times about labor coalescing around Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. “Kamala Harris’ strong advocacy for reproductive freedom and other vital health care services, for workers’ rights to join a union and have a voice on the job, and for economic and social justice for all U.S. residents have earned our endorsement,” Mendoza said.
Becker’s Hospital Review reported that the board overseeing Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital seeks to re-enter Chapter 9 bankruptcy, arguing that a judge improperly tossed its case based on an “unduly narrow” view of insolvency tests while excluding its pension obligations from the analysis. NUHW objected to the May 2023 bankruptcy filing from the San Benito Health Care District and our representatives spoke against it during a trial in December before a judge acknowledged the financial challenges Hazel Hawkins has faced but concluded the hospital is not insolvent. In a July 17 court filing, the board said the central issue in its appeal is the extent to which the bankruptcy code requires a distressed municipal debtor to be out of cash on, or soon after, the petition date.
NUHW President Emeritus Sal Rosselli’s transition from president to president emeritus of NUHW is the subject of an article in Labor Notes. The writer, Cal Winslow, author of Labor’s Civil Wars in California: The NUHW Healthcare Workers’ Rebellion and Radical Seattle: The General Strike of 1919, wrote that NUHW is a leader in the struggle to improve access to mental health care and in the effort to make California the first state to adopt a single-payer, Medicare-for-All health care system.
San Jose community leaders are decrying a plan by HCA Healthcare to expand Good Samaritan Hospital, which is in a wealthy neighborhood, while downgrading care at Regional Medical Center on the city’s less affluent East Side. The Mercury News reported that community members held rallies in front of the hospital. The project, which is being done to comply with state seismic regulations, calls for two new hospital wings that will increase the number of beds from 404 to 419.
California teenagers are gaining more access to mental health services, thanks to a new law. For the past 10 years, youth covered by commercial insurance have been able to seek mental health services on their own, reported ABC30. Starting July 1, teens with Medi-Cal can also access services without their parent’s consent. Assembly Bill 665 was authored by Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo, and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in October 2023. Proponents say the new law will improve mental health outcomes for low-income youth, who face barriers in seeking help, such as cultural stigma.
The California attorney general’s office has reached a settlement with UCSF Health over its purchase of Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center where it commits at least $430 million in capital investments into the facilities and guarantees that it will continue to operate both facilities as acute care hospitals with the same levels of services and staffing for a minimum of 10 years. UCSF Health is purchasing the hospitals for $100 million from Dignity Health, which is part of CommonSpirit, reported Chief Healthcare Executive.
