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Hospital chief: Alta Bates not a public service
When Alta Bates Summit announced its plan to consolidate services between its two facilities — Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley and Summit Medical Center in Oakland — East Bay lawmakers cried foul.
The plan calls, which calls for “Centers of Excellence” to be instituted at both hospitals, seemed to break an agreement the hospitals made with the community at the time of their merger in 1999.
In addition, the Service Employees International Union Local #250, which represents housekeepers, food service workers, some nursing positions and others at the hospitals, has been critical of Sutter Health, the Sacramento-based hospital chain to which Alta Bates Summit belongs. They, and lawmakers, have also raised questions about an unreleased report prepared by the Hunter Group, a corporate consultant who recently finished a study of Alta Bates Summit. Many think the call to consolidate was issued by Hunter.
Alta Bates Summit CEO Warren Kirk sat down with the Daily Planet on Friday to discuss the
