Measure H, the referendum that asks voters in Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista to approve leasing Tri-City Medical Center to Sharp HealthCare for 30 years, appeared to be headed for an easy victory Tuesday with early returns showing support that far exceeds the simple majority threshold necessary for passage.
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It is the result that early polling predicted. With no organized opposition to the deal, and endorsements from labor unions and the county taxpayers association, promotional campaigns on social media faced no criticism. It likely helped that Measure H asks for the public’s approval of a long-term management pact that does not raise taxes.
Should the early lead hold, Tri-City and Sharp would form a new 15-member governing board to run the Oceanside hospital. Plans call for Sharp to immediately begin investing in Tri-City, with $100 million in improvements expected to occur as the region’s largest medical provider works to bring the campus into its countywide network, which includes hospitals in San Diego, Chula Vista, Coronado and La Mesa.
According to the affiliation agreement between the two parties, Sharp is committed to investing enough cash to bring Tri-City’s facilities into compliance with state seismic laws and to continue to operate it as an acute care hospital with at least 175 beds.
State law requires public district hospitals such as Tri-City to seek voter approval if they wish to sell or lease more than 50% of their assets to a private entity. If the measure passes, Tri-City’s elected board of directors would still exist and one of its main tasks would be appointing five members of the Sharp Tri-City Medical Center Corporation, the nonprofit entity that would run all operations under a master lease. Sharp would have approval of Tri-City appointees, according to the affiliation agreement between the two parties, with no more than three elected Tri-City board members serving concurrently.
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Scott Evans, executive vice president of hospital operations for Sharp, and the organization’s chief strategy officer, said in an email that the public should expect relatively quick action if Measure H wins out.
“After the vote is certified, Sharp will begin making significant investments to modernize facilities, enhance the patient experience, expand primary and specialty services, and strengthen care delivery,” Evans said. “Planned priorities include expanding the nationally-recognized specialized maternity care of Sharp Mary Birch into the North County, advancing key clinical areas such as oncology, and supporting seismic and infrastructure improvements.”
Restoration of Tri-City’s labor and delivery department, including its neonatal intensive care unit, has been a very high priority for the community since its elected board of directors reluctantly suspended operations in 2023, citing a low volume of deliveries after local community clinics began sending their expecting mothers to Palomar Health in Escondido.
As a stand-alone hospital, Tri-City, like Palomar to the east, has struggled with budget problems, which have been exacerbated by inflationary pressure on supply and labor costs. Though Sharp itself has not been immune to such forces, the hope is that teaming up will bring enough volume to the coastal facility to keep a range of services available, especially the emergency services that are part of the region’s larger response network.
