Alameda County Health Committee: Children's Hospital & Housing Funds, Feb 9, 2026
Alameda County Health Committee Meeting – February 9, 2026
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors Health Committee (Supervisors Miley and Tam) met on February 9, 2026, to receive an informational update on Measure C pediatric health account spending at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland and to act on the Measure W capital funding for affordable housing new construction. The meeting featured extensive public testimony from hospital staff, community advocates, and labor representatives, resulting in a directive for greater transparency and a consensus plan.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Susan Remold (retired Children's administrator): Expressed concern that Measure C intent was for full spectrum of children's health, not only trauma; requested breakdown of $22M in community benefit.
- Martha Cruel (CNA/Labor Council): Warned that UCSF Health cannot be trusted; called for accountability mechanisms and labor-management oversight.
- Melanie Davis (community activist): Disappointed that local hiring goals (25% Oakland residents) are too low; asked for 35% and noted lack of West Oakland Job Resource Center representation.
- Brianna Wallace (Parent Voices, Measure C advisory council): Stressed that Measure C dollars should keep services local, not shift them to San Francisco.
- Umberto Rentana (psychotherapist): Noted that UCSF hiring freeze has reduced frontline mental health staff at Children's, turning away patients.
- Ryan Bellorty (laboratory staff): Requested quarterly oversight meetings and a detailed proposal from UCSF on lab testing preservation.
- Taisha Allen (parent): Urged keeping the hospital open and transparent community involvement.
- Alia Phelps (Parent Voices director): Criticized lack of community outreach; demanded protection of Black maternal and infant health services.
- Triceda (infant development specialist, 14 years): Said UCSF’s management has led to loss of early intervention services; felt deceived by Measure C promises.
- Marissa Schwaber-Corrin (social worker): Reported that life-saving services like nuclear medicine, image-guided biopsies, and bone marrow transplants have been moved to San Francisco, forcing families to travel.
- Diana Katu Arena (PICU nurse case manager, via Julie Evangelista): Described a brain-dead patient whose family had to wait hours because interventional radiology was moved to SF; called for quarterly oversight.
- Peggy Busher (retired social worker): Warned that home visiting programs are at risk; urged that Measure C funds support community programs, not just trauma center.
- Angelica (child life specialist): Described high patient volume (120-140 children/day) and stressed need for psychosocial support.
- BERT clinician (written statement): Said staffing cuts have left one clinician per shift to cover entire hospital, causing gaps and burnout.
- Ruby Butler, Stacey Cummins, Libray Gavin, Annie Banks (Parent Voices advocates): Emphasized that moving services harms East Bay families; demanded funds stay in Alameda County.
- Ruth Crow (LCSW, 24 years): Said frontline staff were never consulted on Measure C spending; families face 9-10 month waits for audiology; requested quarterly labor-management meetings.
Discussion Items
Item 1: Measure C Pediatric Health Account – UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland
- Nicholas Holmes (president) and clinical leaders presented the hospital's role as a Level 1 pediatric trauma center, serving 1,400 trauma cases/year, with 66% transferred from other hospitals. They detailed $88M in community benefit annually and a $300M shortfall from public programs. They emphasized the need for Measure C funds ($2.5M/month average) to upgrade equipment (biplanar angiography), expand simulation training, hire wound/ostomy specialists, and fund violence prevention (CalVIP extension).
- Supervisor Miley noted a previous understanding that 5% of funds would go to staffing/training, and asked whether mental health safety training for line staff had been addressed. Dr. Holmes said it was forthcoming.
- Miley expressed frustration over lack of communication with labor and community, contrary to the board's intent. He stated the item would come back to the full Board on March 3, 2026, and he wanted Children's Hospital to meet with labor and community to produce a consensus plan by then.
- Supervisor Tam concurred, adding that the community advisory council process appeared insufficient.
Item 2: Measure W Capital Funding for Affordable Housing – Home Together Plan
- John Lowe (HCD) presented the RFP results: 20 proposals received, 11 moved to scoring, 10 recommended for funding at $52.95 million total (increased from $40M). An 11th project (430 Broadway) would receive $14M separately. The 10 projects will create 946 affordable units, over 300 for homeless households, leveraging state resources. Geographic distribution includes Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Livermore, Newark.
- Supervisor Miley asked about incomplete projects and future capital rounds. Staff indicated at least one more round is planned, including acquisition/conversion and small-lot development.
- Public speakers from Eden Housing, SAHA, Black Cultural Zone, and the developer of Fijian Legacy Court supported the recommendations.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1 (Children's Hospital Measure C): No vote; supervisors directed UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital management to meet with labor representatives and community stakeholders before March 3, 2026, to develop a consensus plan on Measure C fund utilization. If no consensus is reached, Supervisor Miley indicated he would recommend withholding all funding at the full Board meeting.
- Item 2 (Measure W Capital RFP): The committee voted unanimously (Supervisor Miley moved, Supervisor Tam seconded) to forward the staff recommendation to the full Board of Supervisors for adoption of funding resolutions. The recommended awards total $52.95 million for 10 projects, with an additional $14 million from Measure W for the 430 Broadway project.
Meeting Transcript
Part of the health committee for February 9th. She provides a PAM. President Supervisor Miley. We have a floor. Is there any instructions you need to provide? For in-person participation, the meeting site is open to the public. For online participation, follow the teleconferencing guidelines posted at www.acgov.org. For remote participation, use the raise your hand function. All right, thank you. Everyone make sure everybody knows the mics will pick up any conversation because they're in the ceiling. So the inside conversation, whatever. Mics will pick it up. So if you're you know saying something bad about Lena and myself, the mics will pick it up. So please uh don't uh talk. We're not uh speaking, and then apologize for this being for I'll take responsibility, but I'm annoyed about the fact that we're in this room, not at the training center. The board chambers are being retrofitted for uh mics and stuff. Should have been in the training center because it is anticipate number of folks being here this morning. So I'm just publicly seeing the way, so I can get that off of my chest, and I will follow up with folks who are responsible for putting us in this room. Yeah. Supervisor, we do have an overflow at the TEC. Okay. That's nice to know, but still, I'm annoyed. Okay. Um, first item is uh leisure C pediatric health count. Informational item. Who's presenting that? We've got about um hi, folks. That's correct. Hi, supervisor. I just see you again. I'm Nicholas Holmes, I'm the president of Biddy. Next slide, please. UCS Binning Up Children's Hospital Oakland is nationally recognized for its excellence in providing comprehensive high quality care for children. We're more than just the name suggests a hospital or a system of care. We're we're have community-based clinics within our schools and Oakland, with our outpatient facilities and an incredible level one pediatric trauma center. Pediatric trauma are rare events and require specialized teams of care to save lives. We are recognized nationally for the great quality care we provide, as noted by the USA, we'll report rankings of one of the best children's hospitals with top 10 rankings in the neatology, gastroenterology, and gastroenterology surgeries. We have just over 2,500 employees with about 50% of our team residing within our slide. Who do we care for and where do they come from? The vast majority of our patients live within Palameda County. We've all types of patient encounters. These patients are occur in the outpatient setting, but inpatient setting. We see approximately about 1,400 uh trauma cases, uh encounters in the last fiscal years. Next slide. We are one of three level one pediatric trauma synopsis, but one of seven in the state of California. We get referrals as far north as Oregon border as far east as Utah and all the way south to LA. We will hear from the members of our trauma team leadership why we are considered experts in this highly complex market. Next slide. At the heart of what we do is to serve all children, all patients regardless of their economic status. Is our core value starting from our founder's birthday right in Able weed when our divorce opened in 1924?
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