IT’S TIME TO VOTE 0AGE 6/,86 .5-"%2s!02), PLEASANTONWEEKLY.COM Turning the wheelsWheelchair project aims to raise funds and awareness PAGE 10 NEWS Teen takes plea deal for fatal crash SPORTS Foothill cheer squads shine at nationals TRI VALLEY LIFE ‘The Music Man’ heads to Pleasanton Page 2ÊUÊ April 25, 2014ÊUÊPleasanton Weekly AROUND FD #429 LOCALLY OWNED PLEASANTON AND OPERATED SINCE 1891 BY JEB BING Burial & Cremation * Celebration of Life My services include: Services Merger likely to keep Reception Facilities Professional Home Staging Landscape/yard cleanup Advance Planning ValleyCare afloat Made Easy House Cleaning/General Cleanup Garage Sale/Estate Sale alleyCare Health System for a free consultation or in-home visit call will likely merge with a Hauling to donation centers larger hospital group in V Handyman Services/Contractors the near future to provide long- term financial stability and se- *call For Details cure its position as Pleasanton’s community hospital. ValleyCare was established in 1961 and has grown from a small hospital in Livermore into a comprehensive health system with medical fa- cilities in Livermore and Dublin, Deanna Moser 800-319-8991 as well as Pleasanton. Since its beginning, Valley- 925.846.5624 Care has remained not-for-prof- to view our facilities visit: Find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/seniorsrealestatespecialist www.grahamhitch.com it, which means any earnings 25 Years in Real Estate have gone right back into the JEB BING 4167 First Street, CA. BRE # 00979099 health system in new programs, FD#429 ValleyCare CEO Scott Gregerson ® services, equipment and facili- Pleasanton ties. But its ability to continue delivering high-quality health care is threatened by fierce and He also showed a graphic en- growing competition for patients titled, “A crowded dance floor,” and services from larger groups, listing ValleyCare’s formidable increasing medical care costs competitors, including Kaiser and a whopping $86 million in Permanente, Sutter Health’s Eden outstanding debt. Medical Center in Castro Valley, In the last five years, Val- Washington Hospital in Fremont, leyCare has lost an average of John Muir in Walnut Creek and $3.5 million a year, although San Ramon Valley Medical Cen- Scott Gregerson, ValleyCare’s ter, which has just announced an new chief executive officer, is alliance with John Muir to build determined to stop the losses a 9,000-square-foot outpatient next year. clinic in Pleasanton. In remarks to the Rotary Club “The future for ValleyCare is of Pleasanton last week, Greger- going to be within a partnership son, described as one of the best with a major hospital group,” “change” managers in the in- Gregerson said. “Right now, I dustry, said that his predecessor don’t see anybody riding a white Marcy Feit — ValleyCare’s long- horse over the hill to rescue us, time CEO and a change manager but I know that ValleyCare won’t herself, when she took over the be able to go it alone.” failing hospital system two de- Already, ValleyCare has devel- cades ago — was being paid $2 oped strategic affiliations with million a year plus perks when UC San Francisco Medical Cen- she abruptly resigned last Feb- ter and its Benioff Children’s ruary with the blessing of Val- Hospital, UC Davis Medical Cen- leyCare’s board of directors. Two ter’s Cancer Care Network and of her top executives also were Stanford University’s medical earning more than $1 million. center. All three of those medi- They’re gone and, as part of cal centers have expressed an his first actions, Gregerson also interest in expanding into the laid off a number of other em- Tri-Valley. ployees he said weren’t needed. First, Gregerson said, he has Further belt-tightening is con- to “right the ship” at ValleyCare tinuing while he’s on the prowl to restore an adequate revenue looking for a financially strong stream and then leverage that and larger health care partner. improvement to find a manag- Gregerson said Johns Hop- ing/operating/financial partner kins Medical Center in Baltimore to join ValleyCare in continuing came to the rescue of Sibley to serve the community. Memorial Hospital in northwest “We have a great hospital and Washington, D.C., which was we are going to come out of our in a similar financial situation, financial problems and be in far and Sibley today has retained better shape,” he said. “We’ve its identity with more medical been in an unsustainable trajec- services now available in the tory. We have to face the brutal community it serves. reality of where we are.” N About the Cover Students at Valley View Elementary School in Pleasanton take part in wheelchair relays during morning recess on April 17. The campus received demo wheelchairs for the week from the Wheelchair Foundation, which is presenting the From the Heart awareness campaign in Pleasanton schools. Photo by Jeremy Walsh. Cover design by Shannon Corey. Vol. XV, Number 13 Pleasanton WeeklyÊUÊ April 25, 2014ÊU Page 3 B_l[_dj^[bWfe\ Streetwise ASKED AROUND TOWN bknkho\ehWib_jjb[Wi What is the most unusual thing '"&+(f[hcedj^ that has either happened to you or that you have seen on BART? Judy Kong M[^Wl[Wb_c_j[ZdkcX[he\_dYec[gkWb_Ó[ZWfWhjc[dji"ie^khhoedel[h Writer I once saw a man standing in his back- >[h_jW][;ijWj[iH[j_h[c[dj9ecckd_jo_iWX[Wkj_\kbfbWY[jeb_l[\ehj^ei[,&!$ yard as my train was passing by. I saw him pick up a rock and throw it at the 7dZ_\oekgkWb_\o"oekYWdb_l[_dj^[bWfe\bknkho\ehWib_jjb[Wi'"&+(f[hcedj^ window of my train car. The window =_l[kiWYWbbWj/(+)-)#),),WdZm[Êbb[nfbW_dWbbj^[Z[jW_biWdZi[jkfWjekh$ cracked, and the riders were all quite startled, but fortunately, no one was injured. It’s More Than Retirement. It’s Five-Star Fun. /&&;IjWdb[o8blZB_l[hceh[/(+)-)#),), Abbie Love Retired mmm$^[h_jW][[ijWj[ih[j_h[c[dj$Yec Many years ago I was on BART while very pregnant. The car had only one LIC#015601095 available seat. A man shook his finger at me and said, “Uh, Uh, Uhhhh.” He then stole the seat from me! I glared at him until my stop, and as I stepped out onto the platform, I yelled to him, “You must have been raised in a sewer!” Public Notice Adam Pfeffer Mixed martial arts instructor I once witnessed that well-known “Naked BART Acrobat” while I was in the Embarcadero station waiting for Notice is hereby given that ValleyCare Health System (The Hospital Committee for my train. It was an unusual experience. the Livermore Pleasanton Areas, Inc.) is holding its annual meeting on Wednesday, The nudity was an interesting touch. July 23, 2014 at 7:00 pm at ValleyCare Medical Center, Cafeteria, 5575 W. Las I guess everyone’s got to have a gimmick. Positas Blvd., Pleasanton. The Board of Directors of ValleyCare Health System unanimously ratified the Nominating Committee’s selection of candidates for the five Board positions to be Ansar Muhammad elected at the annual meeting of its corporate members. The Board’s nominees for Medical receptionist the 2014–2017 term are as follows: Recently my friend’s grandmother had the door close on her leg as she was Jim Summers Livermore Seat getting out of the train. She sued BART and won a settlement, even though she Dale Kaye At-Large Seat had no broken bones, but just a lot of John Yee, MD Physician Seat A (incumbent) bruising and swelling. Marty Inderbitzen Pleasanton Seat (incumbent) Alcina Wegrzynowski At-Large Seat (incumbent) A corporate member may also be nominated by petition submitted before 5:00 pm Sara Chen on Friday, May 23rd to the Secretary of the Board, signed by twenty-five (25) or more High school student members of the Hospital Corporation. The petition should contain the written consent I was trying to get home from the of the candidate and designate which area he/she is representing (Pleasanton, Lake Merritt stop in Oakland once and someone gave me wrong direc- Livermore, At-Large, Physician). tions, so I took four different trains, Petitions should be sent to Secretary, Board of Directors, ValleyCare Health System, trying to get home, and I ended up in Richmond. c/o Marketing Department, 1111 E. Stanley Blvd., Livermore, CA 94550. —Compiled by Nancy, Jenny and Katie Lyness Have a Streetwise question? Email [email protected] The Pleasanton Weekly is published every Friday by Embarcadero Media, 5506 Sunol Blvd., Suite 100, Pleasanton, CA 94566; (925) 600-0840. Mailed at Periodicals Post- age Rate, USPS 020407. The Weekly is mailed upon request to homes and apartments in Pleasanton. Print subscriptions for businesses or residents of other communities are $60 per year or $100 for two years. Go toPleasantonWeekly.com to sign up and for Serving the Tri-Valley with Medical Facilities in Livermore, Pleasanton and Dublin. more information. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Pleasanton Weekly, www.valleycare.com 5506 Sunol Blvd., Suite 100, Pleasanton, CA 94566. ©2014 by Embarcadero Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. Page 4ÊUÊ April 25, 2014ÊUÊPleasanton Weekly Newsfront DIGEST Driver takes plea deal for fatal crash Vote for lookalikes Pleasanton teen pleads no contest to manslaughter for cyclist’s death The photos of the 10 final- ists for the Mother-Daughter BY JEREMY WALSH Diana Hersevoort, 58, was pronounced dead Hurley asked Hall while reviewing the proposed Lookalike Contest in honor Pleasanton teen has accepted a plea deal at the scene. Joe Hersevoort suffered a broken agreement in Alameda County Superior Court of Mother’s Day are set to be in the criminal case stemming from a leg in the crash.