SAN JOSE – Nearly five months after Santa Clara County announced its plans to buy Regional Medical Center within the wake of HCA Healthcare's decision to downgrade the trauma center, an agreement has been reached on the sale.

The county will take over operations of the 258-bed East San Jose hospital on April 1, making it the fourth hospital within the Santa Clara Valley Healthcare System — the second-largest county-owned health and hospital system within the state.

The purchase caps a virtually year-long saga that sent shockwaves across the East Side as residents frightened in regards to the lack of a trauma center nearby and county officials raised concerns in regards to the potential strain on the local health care system.

Santa Clara County is buying the hospital for $150 million, lower than the $175 million price previously announced in August.

“In the long term, this is a real strategic move for the county,” County Manager James Williams told The Mercury News. “This is a huge win for the community. This will help ensure stability and access to integrated care for the entire eastern portion of Santa Clara County, and that provides stability throughout the Santa Clara Valley healthcare system.”

HCA (Hospital Corporation of America) originally intended to completely close the Regional Medical Center's trauma center and discontinue certain services for cardiac arrest and stroke patients. But in July, the Tennessee-based healthcare giant announced it will as an alternative downgrade from a Level II facility to a Level III facility and retain a few of those life-saving services. The changes got here into effect on August 12, 2024.

But county leaders and native medical experts said that wasn't enough. There aren’t any other Level II trauma centers in Santa Clara County, and the downgrade to Level III resulted within the hospital now not having certain specialties – similar to neurosurgery – on call. The nearest Level I trauma centers are Valley Medical Center, eight miles away, and Stanford Health Care, greater than 20 miles away.

In an announcement, the president of HCA Healthcare's Far West division said
Jackie Van Blaricum said, “Our dedicated nursing staff will be instrumental in ensuring that Regional Medical Center makes a smooth transition to the Santa Clara Valley Health System.” HCA Healthcare stays a powerful community partner of Good Samaritan Hospital and we sit up for continuing to offer the high-quality Providing health care Santa Clara County deserves.”

Williams said the county's first priority is to revive Regional Medical Center's designation as a Level II trauma center, which he said will occur the day the sale closes and the county takes over. He expects cardiac arrest and stroke services to resume soon.

Williams said the county continues to be planning to revive labor and delivery services that were closed on the hospital in 2020, but there was no timeline for when that might occur.

“There will be no disruption to services,” Williams said of the ownership change. “The hospital itself will go from HCA operations to county operations literally overnight. There will be no disruption or closure of the hospital itself.”

Recently elected Superintendent Betty Duong, whose district includes the Regional Medical Center, said in an announcement that “the dismantling of health care services at RMC East has hit San Jose hard.”

“The county’s purchase and rescue of the Regional Medical Center, located in the heart of one of the most marginalized and historically disadvantaged areas of our county, is critical to restoring critical access to health care,” she said.

Originally published: January 13, 2025 at 2:51 pm PST

SACRAMENTO — California is partnering with a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company to purchase a generic version of Narcan, the drug that may save someone's life in an opioid overdose, under a deal announced Monday by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom .

Amneal Pharmaceuticals will sell naloxone to California for $24 per pack, about 40% cheaper than the market price. California will distribute the packs freed from charge to first responders, universities and community organizations as a part of the state's naloxone distribution project.

The deal is important since it means California should buy so much more naloxone — 3.2 million packs in a 12 months as an alternative of two million — for a similar total cost.

The deal means naloxone will eventually be available under the CalRx label. Newsom first proposed CalRx in 2019 to force drug corporations to lower their prices offers less expensive, competing versions life-saving medications. He signed a law In 2020, the ability might be transferred to the state.

California governments and businesses should purchase naloxone outside of the naloxone distribution project, the Newsom administration said, adding the state is working on a plan to make it available on the market to non-public individuals.

“California is disrupting the pharmaceutical industry with CalRx – securing life-saving medicines at lower and transparent prices,” Newsom said in an announcement from his office.

Naloxone has been available with no prescription within the United States since March 2023 The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Narcana nasal spray brand from Maryland-based pharmaceutical company Emergent BioSolutions.

Amneal Pharmaceuticals makes a generic equivalent of Narcan, which received FDA approval last week.

The naloxone packs initially purchased by California might be available under the Amneal brand. The naloxone will switch to the CalRx label once it’s approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a process that would take several months, in keeping with the Newsom administration.

California began freely giving free naloxone kits in 2018. State officials say the Naloxone Distribution Project has distributed 4.1 million kits, reversing a reported 260,000 opioid overdoses. The money comes from taxpayers and is a component of a nationwide settlement agreement with several other pharmaceutical corporations.

Last 12 months, California lawmakers agreed to spend $30 million to work with a pharmaceutical company to make its own version of naloxone. Ultimately, they didn't have to spend that cash on this deal because Amneal Pharmaceutical was already far enough along within the FDA approval process that it didn't require upfront funding from the federal government.

Instead, California will use a portion of the revenue it receives from a national opioid settlement to buy the drugs.

Naloxone is only one drug targeted by the Newsom administration.

Last 12 months, California signed a 10-year contract partnered with nonprofit Civica to supply CalRx brand insulin, used to treat diabetes. California has put aside 100 million dollars for this project$50 million is earmarked for drug development and the remaining is earmarked for investment in a producing facility. Newsom said a 10-milliliter vial of state-brand insulin would sell for $30.

Civica has met with the FDA and “has a clear path forward,” the Newsom administration said.