City Government

Fight Continues in Richmond to Save DMC

Published

11 years ago

August 29, 2014

At a press conference on Aug. 26 at Sojourner Truth United Church in Richmond, Oakland Civil Rights Attorney Pamela Price and a panel of four – Registered Nurse Maria Sahagun, Dr. Otis E. Rounds, Dr. Humayun Tufail, and Rev. Andre Shumake – updated the community on their fight to save Doctor’s Medical Center.

< p>Alawsuit filed by Price on behalf of the DMC Closure Aversion Committee (DCAC), representing several doctors nurses and patients, is directed to the entire Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and individually Supervisor John Goia and Eric Zell the Director of Contra Costa’s Health Department and the President of the Board of the West Contra Costa Health District (WCCHD), who have proceeded with plans to close the hospital for months despite the public outcry.

“We believe that John Goia and Eric Zell have a conflict of interest that led to none of the funds from Chevron to be allocated to DMC,” said Price. “They have been diametrically opposed to DMC, and we will begin to establish that they did act with malice towards this community and this hospital.”

“Chevron is a powerful multinational corporation. (It) has billions of dollars and has its interests. Eric Zell is the president of the governing body of DMC and over the WCCHD,” said Price. Funds were available and could have been used and they were not allocated.”

“When you remove the lifeline, it will have a catastrophic impact on the community,” said Emergency Room RN, Maria Sahagun, who was in a series of committee meetings vying for funds to assist DMC.

Dr. Otis Rounds, on staff at DMC for 32 years and chair of DCAC, said that they are fighting on a legal, legislative and judicial field and recently presented in Sacramento to Assembly member Nancy Skinner, Assembly member Loni Hancock and others.

Rounds stated that through a review of records from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPOD)that provides financial stats on California area facilities, proved DMC is even more viable financially than the Contra Costa County Regional Medical Center.

According to the report, Otis stated that in 2012, DMC’s net income was, $140 million, the regional hospital’s was $200 – 250 million with DMC having $650,000 in revenue and $500 million in deductions and $150 million in expenses.

The regional hospital had $245 million in expenses and a $99 million net operating margin loss. DMC had a $31 million net operating loss and is only allowed a parcel tax of $14million, giving DMC a $97 million dollar net income for 2012.

“The regional hospital had a $99 million dollar loss, but shows a net income of $10 million dollars because the Board of Supervisors gave them a $110 million of “non-operating contributions,” said Rounds.

Rounds further shared that over the last 10 years, ending in 2012, the regional hospital received $840 million from the county and DMC has only received $142 million from parcel taxes over the same period of time.

“There is a huge disparity financially and both of the hospitals serve a similar population of the poor, uninsured and underinsured, Secretary Dooley said no monies are available; however through AB 39 Assemblyman Skinner is attempting to designate DMC as a public hospital and receive a one-time $1 million dollars due to the crisis.”

Local clergy member and founder of the Richmond Improvement Association, Reverend Andre Shumake shared his thoughts.

“Stop the medical apartheid that is taking place in West Contra Costa County. It is a travesty that our elected officials have allowed this hospital to come to this point. How many more people have to die?

Shumake referred to Richmond resident Booker Williams who died Wednesday, August 20 at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley from an apparent heart attack.

He was taken there as part of the DMC ambulance diversion despite the family’s requests that he be taken immediately to Doctor’s Hospital. Plaintiffs, the family and the community are concerned that the diversion to Alta Bates may have contributed to, if not caused his untimely death. Simultaneously, hospital administrators continue to accelerate plans to close the hospital and shut down as many services as possible before the Court hearing on Aug. 27.

“District hospital board and elected officials it has been stated and presented that should this hospital close or should there be a diversion of ambulances to other facilities it would be a detriment to the community. My prayers go to the gentlemen that lost his life,” said Shumake as he urged the hospital board and elected officials to “do the right and humanitarian thing.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Uber & Lyft Support Bonilla in Addressing Insurance Gap Coverage for Driver

Don't Miss

Why Is the City Paying Its Agent Tagami to Force Out Army Base Businesses?

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Barbara Lee

WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries Kick Off Season with Community Programs in Oakland

“The Golden State Valkyries are more than a team—they’re a movement,” said Oakland Interim-Mayor Kevin Jenkins. “Their touchdown in Oakland marks a new era of opportunity, inspiration, and equity in sports. This partnership reflects our city’s deep commitment to uplifting women, investing in youth, and building a community where every dream has a place to grow. We’re proud to welcome the Valkyries to The Town.”

Published

44 minutes ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

The Valkyries came to Oakland City Hall with a “Hoopbus.” Present were (from left to right): City Councilmembers Noel Gallo, Rebecca Kaplan, Zac Unger and Rowena Brown; Oakland Mayor-elect Barbara Lee, Valkyries President Jess Smith, a Valkyries team representative and Deputy Mayor LaNiece Jones. Photo courtesy Rebecca Kaplan’s office.

Team installs new nets at playgrounds, holds flag-raisings at City Halls in Oakland and S.F.

Special to The Post

The Golden State Valkyries brought the excitement of their inaugural season to every corner of the Bay Area with a full slate of community celebrations leading up to their historic home-opener against the Los Angeles Sparks at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Friday.

The week featured flag-raising ceremonies at city halls in Oakland and San Francisco, three “Violet Net” installation days at Oakland parks to encourage basketball play, fun “Hoopbus” takeovers at multiple schools presented by Kaiser Permanente, and player appearances.

In total, 90 violet nets were installed on 45 basketball courts across 34 public parks throughout Oakland this week. A list of the parks receiving violet nets can be found at Valkyries.com.

About the Golden State Valkyries

The Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA affiliate of the seven-time NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, were announced as the 13th WNBA franchise on Oct. 5, 2023. According to Norse mythology, Valkyries are a host of warrior women who are fearless and unwavering – flying through air and sea alike.

This brand is Golden State’s modern interpretation of Valkyries: strong, bold, and fierce. Tipping off during the 2025 WNBA season, the team is headquartered in Oakland and will play home games at Chase Center in San Francisco. For Golden State Valkyries’ assets, including team logos, visit valkyries.com.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Bay Area

Grand Jury: Richmond Police Short-staffed Amid Budget Cuts, Council Inaction

In recent years, RPD was described as severely understaffed in two independent reports, one by Raftelis Financial Consulting (2024) and another by Matrix Consulting Group (2023). Raftelis recommended the hiring of 27 more officers and Matrix recommended hiring 30. Despite these findings, “neither report has been fully discussed by the City Council in a public meeting,” the Grand Jury report notes.

Published

56 minutes ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

RPD headquarters. Courtesy image.

The Richmond Standard

A newly released Contra Costa County Civil Grand Jury report raised concerns about public safety in Richmond caused by an understaffed police department.

The Grand Jury ultimately recommended that the Richmond City Council reverse its actions to defund the Richmond Police Department, which remains below the approved level of 146 sworn officers with a current vacancy of 23 officers, according to the report.

In 2014, when the RPD under Chief Chris Magnus gained national recognition for implementing a community policing model that drove down crime, the department boasted 196 sworn officers.

Meanwhile, crime is on the rise. While homicides were down from 18 in 2021 to 11 in 2024, violent crimes overall jumped 22.6% in that time. Robbery and aggravated assault both increased by nearly 20%, with sexual assaults up 21%, according to the grand jury report’s findings.

Those numbers are likely higher since RPD’s limited staffing means police are unable to respond to all calls for service, according to RPD authorities.

The Grand Jury report noted a pivotal moment for the police department occurred in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020.

Jumping aboard a national trend to defund police, the City Council, led by the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA), reallocated $3 million away from the RPD budget, leading to downsizing or elimination of RPD’s specialized investigative units.

The funds were redirected to support the YouthWORKS Program, unhoused services, the Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS), and a new alternative non-police community response team.

The latter strategy, known as the Community Crisis Response Program (CCRP), aims to reduce the number of calls to dispatch that require a law enforcement response. But the program has yet to be fully implemented and is being challenged by the RPD’s union, which takes issue with CCRP employees becoming members of SEIU Local 1021, a separate city union that routinely helps to elect RPA members to the City Council.

The Grand Jury recommends that the city use a portion of the $550 million Chevron settlement funds to hire and retain more officers. The City Council recently expressed interest in using those funds to address the city’s unfunded pension liabilities. To read the full, 10-page Grand Jury report, go to https://www.cc-courts.org/civil/docs/grandjury/2024-2025/2503/2503-DiminishingFundsandFewerOfficers.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawKR1AVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFxeW1vUTFXNWNWazZCZmxIAR6FJYmFEfK098FXFhC4lvSCMSbHr5aEVno_sZqukzhZKI9iEvsu8kr_KoKX6g_aem_Xp15VG4_irpJqDWBcAI7-g

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Bay Area

WCCUSD Reinstates Pinole Valley High Baseball Coaches

The WCCUSD stated that an internal review found that both coaches followed the appropriate process when they were made aware of the allegations. However, the district said its investigation was unable to confirm exactly who made the racist remarks. “Reports indicate that the inappropriate remarks may have come from the stands; however, the exact source has not been confirmed,” the district said in the statement.

Published

1 hour ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

West Contra Costa Unified School District headquarters. Photo by Kathy Chouteau of the Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

The West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) announced Tuesday the reinstatement of Pinole Valley High School coaches who were placed on leave while the district investigated allegations of racist remarks made by their team during games.

“Reports indicate that the inappropriate remarks may have come from the stands; however, the exact source has not been confirmed,” the district said in the statement.

The district said that in response to the incident, it will have a school administrator and the athletic director present at all remaining Pinole Valley High School baseball games this season. The district says it is also reinforcing behavioral expectations to student-athletes, staff, families, and spectators.

“The behavior displayed by individuals during the April 23 varsity baseball game between Pinole Valley High School and Albany High School was unacceptable and does not reflect the values of our district, our schools, or our athletic programs,” the district stated.

In cellphone video captured by an Albany High parent at the April 23 game, one or more people can be heard shouting comments including “P.F. Chang is that you” and “Baljeet” to separate Albany pitchers of Asian descent.

According to news reports, the Pinole Valley baseball coach apologized to the Albany team days after the game. Pinole Valley High also faced allegations of inappropriate remarks made at the April 16 game against El Cerrito High.