Could anyone help me understand why a successful suburban hospital that brings in quite a bit of money through the services it provides should still be receiving a large taxpayer subsidy, rather than operating like a normal, private, unsubsidized non-profit hospital?

I would also like to understand why El Camino hospital is receiving taxpayer subsidy. Let us bring new people into the board to change things!

I agree with the previous two commentators: Why is El Camino Hospital receiving tax payer dollars?

El Camino Hospital doesn't receive taxpayer dollars, per se. The El Camino Hospital District is the entity that collects the taxes. A hospital district is a public municipality, kind of like a city. If the El Camino Hospital District did not exist, and El Camino Hospital were a private entity, there would be no tax collection in connection with the hospital. However, if the hospital were solely a private entity, voters would have no say over who is on the district board. This is a very basic explanation. I've been kicking around the idea of writing an article explaining all of this in much greater detail. Is that something that readers would like to see?

Nick V I think that's a great idea for an article. An informed electorate is a wonderful thing.

Good idea to prepare an article detailing what the Board is expected to do and what their compensation is. How much does the El Camino Hospital District receive from our taxes?
I understand the hospital offers free emergency care for those who cannot afford to pay and agree with that policy. That may justify receiving taxpayer financing.

I'm all for more accountability and transparency. I would vote for Miller and Chiu.

Unfortunately, I cannot vote for any patent attorney, since patent attorneys are the people most responsible for the huge patent litigation mess we are all paying so dearly for, so only 2 out of 3 for me.

The two incumbents have had years to make board actions transparent to the community and have failed miserably in doing so. I'm happy to finally have enough candidates to make this a real "election" vs. having board members "elected" by virtue of running unopposed or by being appointed. It is great to see more interest in improving the functioning of this board.

To clarify on a point made up above by Peter, all emergency departments are obligated to perform a medical screening exam and stabilize a patient (as best they can) regardless of ability to pay. Now, whether the patient receives a bill later in the mail, I do not know. Nick V., I think an article on this topic would be extremely valuable (even post election).