Community sues to evict doctors from Fresno building. Doctors countersue, allege violations
The legal battle between the Fresno area’s biggest hospital system and a major physicians’ group extends to three cases filed this month.
Community Medical Centers filed a complaint to evict primary care doctors occupying a hospital-owned facility under an expired lease, and the doctors have countersued — alleging unfair business practices.
Community filed against the Sante Health System earlier this month in Fresno County Superior Court. That was followed by the counter lawsuit filed by the Sante Health System and Community Medical Providers Medical Group (CMP) on Sept. 15.
Community runs Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno, Clovis Community Medical Center, Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital and other facilities. Sante is a group of more than 1,200 physicians and nurse practitioners. CMP is a member of the Sante Physicians IPA, an organization under the Sante Health System umbrella.
In a separate case, Community Medical Centers is suing Community Regional Medical Staff Medical Group and Scott Wells, chief executive officer of Sante, under his individual capacity over issues that led to the interruption of trauma services a year ago.
The eviction case boils down to deciding whether Sante has a valid lease for the hospital-owned property on 1570 E. Herndon Ave. CMP has operated out of the location, known as the Care Center, through a contract with Sante.
Wells on Tuesday said Sante went to court to ensure the continuity of patient care.
Michelle Von Tersch, a spokeswoman for Community Medical Centers, on Tuesday said the eviction case was filed by Community Medical Centers “to regain possession of its Care Center property after Sante’s lease expired and the CMP physicians did not leave the building.”
Von Tersch said the hospital’s goal was to retain the services of the current Care Center group of providers and continue their lease.
“But the group failed to renew the lease as required, and the physician organization has decided it will no longer care for the 12,000 members in our health plan, Community Care Health,” Von Tersch said in a statement. “These are mainly Community employees and their families.”
The lease, according to the Sante lawsuit, was set to expire Aug. 31, 2021. According to the lease attached in the lawsuit, Sante is supposed to provide a 270-day notice if it wants an extension to the lease.
According to the lawsuit, Sante has been a tenant for over two decades, and “extensions have been handled informally” in the past. Sante’s notice of opting for a lease extension has been given “after the lease’s stated deadline for giving notice of an extension.” The most recent extension request was made in April 2021, according to the lawsuit.
On May 14, 2021, Grant Nakamura, president of CMP, gave Community Medical Centers a formal notice that CMP would not be renewing its contract to provide medical services to patients under Community Care Health after Dec. 31, 2021, according to the lawsuit.
The hospital’s management was “very displeased with the turn of events” that CMP would no longer provide medical services to CCH’s members, the lawsuit alleges.
Wells on Tuesday said CMP never had a direct contract with CCH, the hospital’s health plan. CMP provided medical services to CCH participants through CMP’s relationship with Sante Physicians IPA.
Sante Physicians IPA earlier this year decided to no longer do business with Community Medical Centers, Wells said. CMP informed the hospital it would no longer provide medical services to CCH members since Sante Physicians IPA was no longer in a business relationship with the hospital.
The hospital, Wells said, then wanted to enter into a direct contract with CMP. However, he said CMP and CCH were unable to agree to a separate contract directly with Community Medical Centers.
According to the lawsuit, after Community Medical Centers received notice that CMP would not renew its contract to provide medical services for CCH participants, Chief Operating Officer Craig Wagoner informed Nakamura and Wells that the hospital would make the Care Center space available to other doctors.
Von Tersch on Tuesday said hospital officials expect the medical providers in the hospital-owned building to care for the CCH plan members, “not abandon them.”
“For months now, we have offered the group’s leadership a simple and fair path for maintaining continuity of care and keeping the current providers in the building,” she said. “Basically, we just wanted them to continue doing what they’re doing now. That would have been best for everyone.”
Unfortunately, she said, the group’s leaders have rejected all reasonable efforts to reach an agreement to continue.
According to the lawsuit, Community Medical Centers “seeks to coerce plaintiffs into an unwanted contract.”
The lawsuit says Sante has a contractual right to continue to occupy the Care Center as long as it pays Community Medical Centers 125% of the monthly rent due under the lease.
Still, Community Medical Centers, according to the lawsuit, rejected Sante’s rent of $76,148 for the month of September in contradiction to what’s allowed under the lease.
As of Tuesday, 18 primary care providers were still occupying the Care Center, according to Wells.
Von Tersch said the hospital must protect its patients and plan for 2022.
“That means directly executing a lease or multiple leases with providers who agree to serve our health plan members,” she said.
.jpg)