Santa Clara County is expected to purchase Regional Medical Center following trauma center downgrade

Santa Clara County and HCA Healthcare have reached an agreement that will let the county pursue the purchase of Regional Medical Center following the hospital’s decision to downgrade its trauma center, officials revealed Wednesday afternoon.

If the deal goes through, the East San Jose hospital would become the fourth hospital in the Santa Clara Valley Healthcare System — the second-largest county-owned health and hospital system in California. County Executive James Williams said the agreed upon price is $175 million.

The announcement comes six months after HCA Healthcare, the corporation that owns Regional Medical Center, said they’d be closing the trauma center and other lifesaving programs. The move was met with ire from the county and residents in East San Jose, prompting HCA to reverse its decision and instead downgrade the trauma center from a Level II to a Level III facility.

The county also owns O’Connor Hospital and Valley Medical Center, which is one of two Level I trauma centers in the county, in San Jose and St. Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy. In 2019, the county purchased O’Connor, St. Louise and De Paul Health Center in Morgan Hill for $235 million after its previous owner, Verity Health Systems, filed for bankruptcy.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.