Concern continues with Seton Coastside closure

The emergency room is targeted for reopening in December, Schulze — who previously said the closure would take six to nine months — said at a March 27 Midcoast Community Council meeting where hospital officials presented on the subject.

AMHC Healthcare purchased Seton Coastside and nearby Daly City Seton Hospital in 2020 with the stipulation that the hospital must stay open for at least 5 1/2 years and only close for the minimum amount of time possible if a closure was required.

The county said that the closure of the emergency department and skilled nursing services “violates the conditions imposed by the California Attorney General’’ in a letter from San Mateo County Attorney John Nibbelin. It demands that the emergency room department reopen by April 29.

U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo also voiced concerns about the closure, sending a letter to the California Department of Public Health Director on April 4 requesting “information on the impacts of the emergency room’s closure on access to emergency medical care.”

Construction began at Seton Coastside in October 2023 to restore damage from last year’s storms, including a tree that had fallen on the roof, Schulze said. Patients had previously been moved from the long-term skilled care facility for the first phase of construction.

“Now we’re coming to the last phase of our project. That’s the part where the standby emergency department is located,” he said. “What was important to us was to speak to the community, make sure we notified all of the proper committee members.”

San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller said at the Midcoast Community Council meeting that the lack of communication from AMHC was disconcerting, pointing to repeated denials of information provided to the Department of Health in support of their request to close the emergency room.

“My office and the county of San Mateo have been frustrated by the lack of information the agency has shared regarding the closure of the emergency room,” he said.

Schulze said that hospital ownership could not commit to sharing the confidential documentation provided to the state.

Mueller also requested a variety of specifics on the closure at the meeting — including a timeline of construction, if the emergency rooms were damaged as a result of that storm damage, and the specific reasons that necessitated a closure.

No information was provided in response to his questions. Medical Director Dr. Thomas Hazelhurst said that, to their knowledge, there was no direct damage to the emergency room from the storm, although they would need to confirm that information.

“I apologize that we don’t have the information that you need,” Hazelhurst said. “We will find the right people and get the answers to everybody.”

Seton Coastside intends for the closure to be temporary and for a reopening to occur, he said, although hospital officials pointed to community interest in services like urgent care, radiology and lab drawing stations as potentially more worthwhile.

“What we’ve heard from community members is a standby emergency department isn’t what the community needs, and we’d love to explore with you, well, what does the community need?” Schulze said.

Dr. Suzan Goodman, a physician at Seton Coastside for over 20 years, said at the meeting’s public comment that staff are concerned about transparency and are concerned both about the closure and the longer-term viability of AMHC’s ownership of the hospital.

“I don’t really understand, nor do the other physicians or staff who work there, why the other ER could not have been used. There really wasn’t any direct damage to the ER itself and the notion of it needing to close doesn’t really make a lot of sense,” she said.