Community

OP-ED: Who killed Doctor’s Medical Center?

Published

10 years ago

April 11, 2015

By Jovanka Beckles

A quarter of a million people in Richmond and West Contra Costa County, a majority people of color community, will be without a community hospital as a result of a recent decision to phase down and finally close the doors of Doctors Medical Center (DMC) in San Pablo by April 21.

To not provide a full service hospital in West Contra Costa County is an example of environmental and institutional racism as experienced by predominantly poor people of color.

In large part due to the location of Chevron and other industries, West Contra Costa County has higher rates of cancer and asthma. These industries also pose a regular risk of explosion and release of dangerous chemicals.

There should be a hospital nearby in case of an industrial accident, but the largest and most profitable industry, the Chevron Corp., refused to contribute to keep DMC open.

The remaining hospital in the area, Kaiser Richmond, does not serve indigent patients, has an emergency room too small to handle the volume of the area, and does not have the capability to handle strokes and heart attacks.

The DMC emergency room closed to emergency services months ago. For most of the residents of Richmond, San Pablo and surrounding areas, emergency care is between 15 and 20 miles away over clogged freeways.

Already it appears that two or three people have died because they could not receive emergency care quickly enough.

But it’s not just an issue of emergency care. A community needs a hospital just as it needs its parks, police, libraries, schools and public transit.

When people require treatment in a hospital, it is important that their parents, children and other members of the family and friends be able to visit.

It is simply part of good medical care. People who need regular treatments, whether it’s for cancer or kidney problems, need a hospital that is convenient.

The long travel distances to a hospital place an extra burden on poor people.

There is very little chance that last-ditch efforts will save the hospital. One can only hope.

So who killed DMC?

First is our broken health care system. The problem with DMC was not how it was run. Whatever problems its management had, it provided service at lower cost than surrounding hospitals.

The problem was “its patient mix” – DMC treated “too many” low income or indigent patients.

The problem with DMC was not how it was run. Whatever problems its management had, it provided service at lower cost than surrounding hospitals. The problem was “its patient mix” – DMC treated “too many” low income or indigent patients.

Payments from Medicare and Medical were too low to cover costs. DMC lost money on every one of these patients.

Simply put, DMC failed because it provided medical care to people who are already underserved. As a result, DMC had to be subsidized.

The county refused to do it. The state government refused to reclassify DMC so it could receive a special subsidy for caring for “target” patients, and came up with a paltry $3 million.

Obamacare meant the hospital would benefit community members, but provide more services at a loss to DMC.

Many community members tried to save Doctor’s Medical Center. As a result of pressure from the community, the Richmond Progressive Alliance and the California Nurses Association, the Richmond City Council was pressured to allocate $15 million to support DMC.

Unfortunately, government leaders from other parts of the area turned their heads.

San Pablo contributed nothing more than to broker a deal to transfer land to the local casino. Neighboring cities Hercules, Pinole and El Cerrito were silent.

A majority of the county supervisors based in the East County would not help.

The Contra Costa Times ran a campaign for the closing.

Other hospitals in the region should have contributed. While they are called “non-profit,” Kaiser, Sutter and other hospitals are enormously profitable and have ways to transfer money to management.

They save a lot of money because of their “non-profit” status.

The existence of DMC actually saves them money by absorbing some of the indigent population they would otherwise have to treat. Yet they refused to join in the plan to keep DMC open.

There are a lot of institutions and individuals to blame for closing DMC, but in the end the main problem was that there were not enough political leaders willing to organize a campaign to force these institutions to save DMC.

This scenario is a case of classic institutional racism. Areas where people of color live are underserved supposedly not because of race, but because we are not wealthy and powerful

In the end the main problem was that there were not enough political leaders willing to organize a campaign to force these institutions to save DMC. This scenario is a case of classic institutional racism.

We have to figure out as a community how to get the medical care we need, we deserve and is our right.

Jovanka Beckles is a member of the Richmond City Council.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Dr. David Tom Cooke, Oakland Native, Receives Cal Alumni Excellence Award

Don't Miss

Community Fundraiser for Jabari Shaw

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Bo Tefu

California Assembly Passes Bill to Strengthen Penalties for Soliciting Minors

The revised version of Assembly Bill 379, authored by Assemblymember Maggy Krell (D-Sacramento), now allows prosecutors to file felony charges against adults who solicit sex from a 16 or 17-year-old, provided the accused is three or more years older than the minor. If the offender is within three years of the minor, the charge would remain a misdemeanor.

Published

12 minutes ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

The California State Assembly has agreed to amend a controversial bill that would increase penalties for adults who solicit sex from minors ages 16 or 17, following a wave of criticism from Republicans and concerns raised by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“From a prosecutor’s standpoint, this bill strengthens California law and gives us the felony hammer to prosecute the creeps that are preying on teenagers,” Krell said in a statement supporting the amended bill.

The new amendments also include provisions for a state grant program aimed at improving the prosecution of human trafficking and sex trafficking cases, as well as a support fund for survivors partially funded by increased fines on businesses that enable or fail to address human trafficking.

The bill faced significant opposition last week after the Assembly removed a provision that would have treated solicitation of 16 and 17-year-olds as a felony for all offenders.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Business

Student Loan Collections Have Resumed: Here’s What You Need to Know

According to the DOE, 42.7 million borrowers owe more than $1.6 trillion in student debt. More than 5 million borrowers have not made a monthly payment in over 360 days and their loans have been declared “in default.” Another 4 million borrowers are in late-stage delinquency (91-180 days). As a result, there could be almost 10 million borrowers in default in a few months. If this happens, almost 25% of the federal student loan portfolio will be in default.

Published

3 hours ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) announced that its Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) resumed collection of its defaulted federal student loan portfolio on May 5.

The department has not collected on defaulted loans since March 2020.

‘Collections on defaulted federal student loans are resuming. This means that your tax refund or other federal benefits may be withheld,” reads an email affected borrowers in California and around the country received from the DOE last week.

“Later this summer, your employer may also be required to withhold a portion of your pay until you begin to repay your defaulted federal student loan,” the email continues.

“American taxpayers will no longer be forced to serve as collateral for irresponsible student loan policies,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in a release.

The DOE is urging borrowers in default to contact the Default Resolution Group to make a monthly payment, enroll in an income-driven repayment plan, or sign up for loan rehabilitation. Later this summer, FSA will send required notices to begin administrative wage garnishment.

Student loan debt statistics among racial and ethnic groups reflect dramatic differences in financial health, habits, and resource availability from one community to the next, according to the Education Data Initiative.

Black and African American college graduates owe an average of $25,000 more in student loan debt than White college graduates (Black and African American bachelor’s degree holders have an average of $52,726 in student loan debt).

“The level of concern here really depends on the reasons a borrower has not paid their federal student loans. If they don’t have the capacity, they may be overstretched,” Michele Raneri, vice president and head of research at TransUnion, said in a statement. “They may not know they have to pay them, may not be able to find the information on how to do so, or may not have a willingness to pay for one reason or another,” she said.

Top tips to manage any pending student loan payments include reviewing your student loan balance on your Dashboard.

Affected borrowers can visit their loan servicer’s website for assistance if needed. Setting up auto pay to ensure on-time payments is recommended. Individuals are also encouraged to review many loan forgiveness options and qualifications.

Most programs have strict eligibility requirements, but student loans can be forgiven under programs such as the following:

Public Service Loan Forgiveness for people who work for eligible government and nonprofit employers
Teacher Loan Forgiveness for people who work in eligible teaching jobs
Income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness for people who repay their loans on an eligible IDR plan
Total and permanent disability discharge for people with a disability that severely limits their ability to work

Learn about other loan forgiveness programs at Studentaid.gov.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

14 hours ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.