Senator Arreguín Responds to Sutter's Abandonment of Emeryville Hospital Plans

Today, Sutter Health announced it is abandoning plans to build a new acute-care hospital in Emeryville. With Sutter also planning to close Alta Bates in Berkeley, the decision would leave East Bay residents with fewer options for emergency and life-saving care, threatening 911 response times and access to critical health services across the region.

Senator Jesse Arreguín, who has fought for more than a decade to preserve hospital services in the East Bay, issued the following statement:

“Sutter is walking away from its commitment to build a new hospital in Emeryville, and our communities will pay the price. Closing Alta Bates without a replacement means fewer options for emergency and life-saving care when every minute matters.

“Just as it did with Alta Bates, Sutter’s explanation for its plans continues to evolve. What has not changed is its failure to be forthright with the communities whose health care hangs in the balance. East Bay residents deserve transparency and a real plan—not shifting explanations for why promised hospital care may disappear.

“I am calling on Sutter to choose people over profits. I will not accept leaving the East Bay without the hospital capacity our communities need, and I will keep fighting for a full-service hospital and the critical care East Bay residents deserve.”