I had the good fortune of sitting next to Patrick Rohan, the CEO of Good Samaritan Hospital, at the Police Foundation fundraiser.
As a former Good Samaritan League volunteer I was very interested in learning about what’s going on there these days.
Rohan assured me there was plenty of news to share from the corridors of “Good Sam,” as us locals affectionately call it. We agreed to meet, so I could catch up.
Good Samaritan Hospital was established in 1965. It is a 474-bed acute care facility located at 2425 Samaritan Dr., right at the border of Los Gatos and San Jose.
Since 1996, it’s been part of the Hospital Corporation of America.
Earlier this month, Good Sam’s parent company (HCA Healthcare, Inc.) was named one of the 2025 World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute, a for-profit company that measures corporate standards for a fee.
In Spring 2023, Good Samaritan Hospital was given an “A” grade in The Leapfrog Group’s health care safety survey. This had dropped to a “B” in Spring 2024, and then fell to a “C” grade in Fall 2024.
In the review, the hospital did better than average in preventing MRSA infections, average for blood and C. difficile infections, but worse than average in terms of urinary tract and post-surgery infections. It got good marks for “staff working together to prevent errors,” but poor marks for communication about medicines.
According to the research, the hospital faces challenges with the responsiveness of hospital staff, but scored top marks in “effective leadership to prevent errors.” And on March 14, Good Sam got an award from Healthgrades (an initiative of RVO Health, a partnership between Red Ventures and Optum, which is part of UnitedHealth Group), putting it in the top 5% of hospitals in America for patient safety for a second year running.
SQUEEZING IN A MEETING
Dawn Bussey, the San Jose market director and communications and community engagement person, arranged my meeting with Rohan through Farah Porria, his senior executive assistant. Porria was born in this hospital and has been employed with Good Sam for around two decades. “We are like a close-knit family here,” she said.
Heading into Rohan’s office, the first thing that I noticed was a small portrait of Hugh Laurie, who starred in the drama series “House” as Dr. Gregory House. The atmosphere of his office conveyed the get-it-done feeling Rohan exudes, while still being relaxing and welcoming.
In his previous positions, Rohan was part of significant hospital expansions. Rohan and his family came to Good Sam in October 2023. He, his wife and 4.5-year-old son now live in Los Gatos, where his son attends Kiddie Kampus.
GOOD NEWS FROM GOOD SAM
As we had a short amount of time to meet, Rohan went to the exciting news first.
“We are underway on the $1.2 billion hospital replacement project,” he said. “It will be a whole new hospital. We will first build an eight-story parking garage. That will allow us to build this hospital and have adequate parking already in place. This project is scheduled for ground-breaking this summer, with competition 2029-30.”
Rohan also mentioned they have a new technology called “focused ultrasound.” It seeks out parts of the brain that are causing tremors, he explained.
“Essentially, it will take a patient that has a central tremor, and after they are seen by a neurosurgeon as a suitable candidate, they go into a MRI machine,” he said. “The focused ultrasound will identify in the brain what is causing the tremor. The ultrasound permeates the skull to locate where the tremor is coming from and then the ultrasound will treat it so it cannot continue. The patient is awake for this entire procedure. The results of focused ultrasound have been showing improvements from central tremors.”
Our brief meeting was coming to a close and as we began walking to the hallway, Dr. Rich Briones, chief medical officer, joined us.
I asked him about Good Sam’s recent awards and he said it “reflects the dedication of our physicians, nurses and entire care team to delivering the highest standards of safe, high-quality care to our patients every day.”
He added, “We are honored to be recognized once again as one of America’s top hospitals. These accolades are a testament to our staff’s unwavering commitment to clinical excellence and superior patient outcomes.”
Chief Financial Officer Brandon Ware joined us, and then the three chiefs ran off to their next meeting.
Good Sam donates $10K to West Valley Community Services
Gift supports mobile food pantry program
Last month, Good Samaritan Hospital presented a $10,000 check to West Valley Community Services to combat food insecurity in the area.
“This donation is part of our broader commitment to supporting the health and well being of our neighbors,” Rohan said in a release.
“West Valley Community Services is a vital partner in fighting hunger and we are honored to contribute to their mission of ensuring that no one in our community goes hungry.”
The donation was made to support the organization’s Park-It Market, a mobile food pantry that delivers fresh, nutritious food to underserved residents across the region.
