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Alameda County Officials Working To Save San Leandro Hospital

SAN LEANDRO (KCBS) – The future of San Leandro Hospital is unclear as thousands of patients are awaiting word on whether the medical facility will be closing its doors.

Alameda County officials are currently trying to help broker a deal that would save the hospital.

KCBS' Dave Padilla Reports:

"The proposal is for St. Rose Hospital in San Leandro to join under the Eden Township Healthcare District," said Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan. "That way they would be able to save money. And with St. Rose becoming a public hospital, they qualify for new funding that they haven't previously qualified for."

Chan, who sits on the county's Health Committee, said that closing the facility would not be a viable option, given that 25,000 patients visit the emergency room each year.

"The problem is that San Leandro Hospital is the only real emergency room in the city of San Leandro," Chan said. "So for the residents there, they would have to go elsewhere."

She said the closure of San Leandro Hospital would mean that patients would be forced to go to Castro Valley, Hayward or Oakland.

Sutter Health, which currently operates San Leandro Hospital, wants to turn the facility into a rehabilitation center, eliminating emergency and acute care.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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