Alameda County
Stanford Health Care Collaborates with Alameda Health System Affiliate, Expanding Access to Care in East Bay
Introduced at a community event hosted at St. Rose Hospital in Hayward, an AHS affiliate, the partnership will enhance care for nearly 400,000 residents and solidify St. Rose’s position as a cornerstone of health and healing in the East Bay.
By Carla Thomas
On April 9, Alameda Health System (AHS) and Stanford Health Care announced a new collaboration to expand access to specialized medical services across central and southern Alameda County.
Introduced at a community event hosted at St. Rose Hospital in Hayward, an AHS affiliate, the partnership will enhance care for nearly 400,000 residents and solidify St. Rose’s position as a cornerstone of health and healing in the East Bay.
The initiative marks a milestone for the region, uniting two leading institutions in a shared mission to deliver high-quality, patient-centered care closer to home. Through this collaboration, AHS and Stanford Health Care will expand rehabilitative and behavioral health services, increase use of St. Rose’s operating rooms for advanced procedures, and enhance inpatient medical-surgical units managed by Stanford Health Care physicians.
The partnership will also support the AHS/St. Rose Foundation to advance local health programs that directly benefit East Bay residents.
Alameda County Supervisor Elisa Márquez praised the collaboration’s impact on local stability.
“This hospital was on the brink of closing, and saving it became my top priority,” Márquez said. “With continued collaboration, we’ll not only strengthen St. Rose but restore vital services like labor and delivery so babies can be born in Hayward again.
“When Stanford Health Care in Santa Clara stepped up, it was a pivotal moment,” she said. Keeping St. Rose open protects the entire regional health care ecosystem.”
James Jackson, chief executive officer of Alameda Health System, highlighted how the effort builds on recent progress at St. Rose.
“In just two years, AHS has made St. Rose financially stable and thriving,” Jackson said. “We want to make sure patients no longer need to drive miles down the highway to get care.
“Our mission; caring, healing, teaching, and serving all, remains at the heart of this collaboration. While HR1 presents real challenges for health care funding nationwide, it also offers an opportunity to reimagine how we deliver care. I’m confident that, through innovation and partnership, we’ll emerge stronger than before.”
For Rick Shumway, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Stanford Health Care, the alignment between the two organizations is crucial.
“This partnership reflects exactly who we are and who we aspire to be,” he said. “Working alongside AHS and St. Rose allows us to better understand community needs and respond meaningfully. Partnerships like this will carry us forward. We’re stronger together.”
AHS Chief Operating Officer Mark Fratzke echoed the same sentiment.
“I’m excited that the communities of Hayward and S. Alameda have access to care like this, he said. “Never underestimate the power of collaborations and partnerships.”
For nearly six decades, St. Rose Hospital has served Alameda County as a community-based safety-net hospital. One of Hayward’s largest employers, it provides more than 800 jobs and 300 skilled physicians and is designated by Alameda County as a ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction STEMI Receiving Center for heart attack care.
