SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif.: The County of Santa Clara is celebrating one year of managing Regional Medical Center (RMC) as part of Santa Clara Valley Healthcare (SCVH) and expanding care to historic levels. SCVH operates the County’s public healthcare system and provides access to high-quality care across the valley. In the past year, there have been more than 12,500 patient admissions to Regional Medical Center, a nearly 40% increase since the County assumed operations on April 1, 2025.
“Thanks to the leadership of the Board of Supervisors, the County quickly restored critical life-saving services at Regional Medical Center, including Level II trauma, stroke, and STEMI care,” said County Executive James R. Williams. “Since assuming operations, the hospital has been busy and thriving, with patient volume nearly doubling and labor and delivery services restored to better meet community needs. Regional Medical Center’s revitalization is a testament to the dedication of our doctors, nurses, and hospital staff, who guided this transition and continue to deliver exceptional care to our community.”
The 265-bed hospital is the main emergency healthcare provider for East San José, treating a wide range of critical and life-threatening conditions for more than 60 years. On April 1, 2025, the County assumed ownership and restored the hospital’s status as a Level II trauma center and brought back vital stroke and heart attack care. In the past year, there have been approximately 82,250 emergency department visits, about 1,800 trauma activations, more than 1,000 stroke alerts, and over 150 STEMI activations. Demand for these critical and time-sensitive care continues to grow as from April 2025 through February 2026, activations for trauma rose 44%, stroke alerts grew by 40%, and STEMI activations increased 27%.
“We made a commitment to protect vital healthcare services, immediately re-opened heart attack and STEMI services, stroke support, Level II trauma healthcare, and later labor and delivery services at Regional Medical Center,” said Board of Supervisors President Otto Lee. “We are extremely pleased we have restored this life-saving resource for our Eastside & Milpitas community.”
“Bringing Regional Medical Center into the County’s healthcare system was rooted in a simple belief: everyone deserves access to high-quality care,” said District 2 Supervisor Betty Duong. “For too long, families in East San José have faced unnecessary barriers to lifesaving and life welcoming services. This one-year milestone represents meaningful progress toward health equity and reaffirms our commitment to ensuring every resident can receive high-quality care close to home.”
The County returned labor and delivery services to RMC on October 20, 2025. The Birth Center at RMC now offers Labor and Delivery, a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and a Family Baby Unit, covering the full spectrum of needs for new families. Reopening these services after five years provides a crucial resource where families can give birth to their newest family members near their homes where family, friends and loved ones can easily visit. Since opening, the Birth Center has welcomed more than 250 new members into our community.
“Restoring RMC’s services and bringing new specialties to East San José reflects our commitment to investing in the long-term health and future of this community and our entire county,” said Board of Supervisors Vice President Sylvia Arenas. “This hospital is a critical community resource that expands access to high-quality preventative and emergency care close to home for families who have too often faced barriers to care.”
Residents living in the neighborhoods surrounding Regional Medical Center are nearly twice as likely to lack health insurance compared with County residents overall. In fact, about 40% of the Santa Clara County’s Medi-Cal enrollees live within five miles of RMC.
“Counties have unambiguous mandates to be the safety net for our residents. Santa Clara County honors this with clear and decisive action – in this case with the purchase of Regional Medical Center,” said District 4 Supervisor Susan Ellenberg. “This act of community care ensures all our residents have access to equitable and affordable healthcare. It’s this consistent leadership that sets our county apart.”
Santa Clara Valley Healthcare is the largest public hospital system in Northern California and the second largest in California. The County operates four hospitals and 15 major health centers, including two of the three trauma centers and the only burn center in the region. Every 11 minutes, someone is taken by 9-1-1 ambulance to a County hospital, which handle nearly half of all ER visits and 80% of trauma cases in Santa Clara County. Santa Clara Valley Healthcare is the medical provider for 1 in 4 County residents and the largest provider of Medi-Cal and Medicare hospital services for people living in Santa Clara County. In 2024, patients who were uninsured or covered by Medi-Cal or Medicare accounted for more than eight out of every ten County hospital stays and clinic visits.
“Congratulations to everyone at Regional Medical Center for an extraordinary first year,” said District 5 Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga. “Now, more than ever, county residents will rely on the strength of our healthcare system. We thank you for all you have done to restore services and caring for the growing needs of our community.”
SCVH also opened Valley Health Center McKee on April 1, 2025 on the RMC campus. Since opening, nearly 7,750 specialty outpatient visits have taken place with VHC McKee offering specialty care services including burn surgery, gastroenterology, general surgery, infectious disease, neurosurgery, OB/GYN, oncology, ophthalmology, and otolaryngology. Future expansion is planned as additional clinic space becomes available.
“Santa Clara Valley Healthcare provides care to 465,000 patients through our 4 hospitals and 15 comprehensive health centers; we value the community trusting us with their health care,” said Santa Clara Valley Healthcare Chief Executive Officer Paul E. Lorenz. “The addition of Regional Medical Center has allowed us to better position care throughout Santa Clara County by ensuring patients can access high-quality care close to home.”
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