HCA Healthcare had recently downgraded trauma and other services at Regional Medical Center, triggering a spike in volumes at the county’s other Level 1 trauma center. The county hopes to close the deal in the first quarter of 2025 and will finance its purchase with leased revenue bonds and one-time FEMA reimbursements from the COVID-19 pandemic.
August 22, 2024 – By Dave Muoio
California’s Santa Clara County has cut a $175 million deal with HCA Healthcare to purchase a 258-bed hospital, a move the county says will restore critical care services for its residents. 
The facility, Regional Medical Center (RMC) in east San José, covers about a quarter of the county’s total trauma cases and is located in “one of the highest need areas in our region,” the county said Wednesday. However, on Aug. 12, HCA downgraded the level of trauma, comprehensive stroke and other cardiac services offered at the hospital.
Santa Clara—which runs County Health System, a safety-net health system of 10 hospitals—said the change was a “significant” 25% jump in trauma patient volume at another of its hospitals with a Level 1 trauma center since HCA announced its plans to wind down services earlier in the year.
“Making [RMC] part of Santa Clara Valley Healthcare’s network of hospitals and clinics will ensure that East San José and the surrounding community continue to have access to top-notch Level II trauma, comprehensive stroke, specialized heart attack, and ultimately, labor and delivery care,” County Executive James R. Williams said in a release. “In addition, the County will not have to make significant investments to expand staffing and facilities at our other hospitals, which would otherwise be required, by building on HCA Healthcare’s facility investments and operations at [RMC].”
