The state will lease about 175 beds for coronavirus care at the Seton Medical Center in Daly City in an agreement with hospital owners, county Supervisor David Canepa said.
He spoke Friday about the medical center that came close to shutting down in March.
“Now the hospital is a regional asset,” Canepa said.
Verity Health System, in a Thursday filing in federal bankruptcy court, refers to agreements with the state that include using 14 beds for coronavirus care in the intensive care unit. A total of 92 beds on the fifth and seventh floors of the hospital are also among state plans, according to the court filing.
Nonprofit Verity filed for bankruptcy in 2018.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that the state has secured Seton and that, “It’s now part of our portfolio.”
Nannette Miranda, spokeswoman for Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, who represents the 19th Assembly District that includes Daly City, said the state seeks a service agreement with Seton and not a purchase.
Representatives of the governor and the California Department of Public Health could not be reached Friday for comment.
The Verity court filing recounts that representatives of the governor contacted the nonprofit to ensure the availability of sites to treat COVID-19 patients. The agreement with the state calls for the designated space at Seton in exchange for a monthly payment of up to $5 million, Verity said.
San Mateo County supervisors agreed on March 10, before the coronavirus led to a stay-at-home order in the Bay Area and later all of California, to assist a buyer of Seton with $20 million as a lifeline.
Canepa said then that if nothing was done that the medical center would probably close.
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