December 27, 2000

(editor's note: the following article by Sharp HealthCare's President and CEO first appeared in the San Diego Daily Transcript.)

San Diego's heath care infrastructure is in jeopardy. That's the message that those of us in health care are delivering to businesses and individuals throughout our community. This year, with the aid of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, health care professionals and business leaders have begun talking about the need to support health care as if it were a part of the community infrastructure just like our streets, highways, and water.
   
At Sharp HealthCare, we are committed to finding solutions to the challenges we face both fiscally and structurally. We need to manage the escalating costs of delivering care, while still investing in our facilities to bring the most advanced medical technologies to our patients and communities.
   
However, trends for both local and state health care markets paint a grim picture. In California, nearly two-thirds of the hospitals lost money in 1999. A health care futurist, Russell Coile, recently wrote that based on California's health care market, "it is not difficult to imagine that in the next 10 years one in four California hospitals will close, one in 10 physicians will have left the state, and major employers will abandon health benefits for their employees." This is not the direction where our community needs to be headed.
   
By actively enlightening our legislators, businesses and the community to take notice of the looming crisis, we hope to work collaboratively to appropriately address the health care infrastructure in San Diego. The business community has a vested interest in ensuring a viable health care future because there needs to be a quality provider system to take care of their employees and dependents, ensuring access to care and minimizing cost increases to employers and individuals.
   
We recognize the need to maintain and improve our facilities in order to deliver the most advanced care. We are taking steps to renovate our hospitals and build newer, more efficient patient care areas. In 2001, we are set to break ground on major projects at Sharp Memorial Hospital in Kearny Mesa, Grossmont Hospital in the East County and Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center in the South Bay.
   
We urge your support and engagement in the dialogue on issues surrounding health care. Together, we can make a difference in the communities we serve.

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