The state Department of Justice denied the proposed merger between the St. Joseph Health system and the Adventist Health system into ST Network on Thursday, stating in a news release that the partnership wasn’t in the public interest.

A letter from today from the Office of the Attorney General states there were concerns about “the potential for increased health costs and concerns over access and availability of health care services.”

“The California Department of Justice is responsible for ensuring that any proposed sale or transfer of a nonprofit health facility protects the health and safety interests of the surrounding community,” said Sean McCluskie, chief deputy to the attorney general, in a news release. “After careful review, we found this proposal falls short of protecting consumers.”

The two faith-based hospitals were planning to jointly manage nine hospitals in Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.

A joint news release from Adventist Health and St. Joseph Health states the organizations are going to “take a step back and determine implications of this decision.”

“Both Adventist Health and St. Joseph Health are very disappointed in the outcome of this decision,” the release states. “Our intent has always been to better serve our communities, increase access to services, and create a stronger safety net for families in Northern California.”

However, union members and consumer and civil rights groups said the DOJ made the right call.

Union members are pleased that their concerns were taken seriously at the DOJ hearing on the partnership in June, said Renee Saucedo, an organizer with the National Union of Healthcare Workers.

“What is happening here in Humboldt in terms of corporate health entities taking over community health hospitals, it’s happening all over the country,” Saucedo said.

The previous corporate takeover resulted in more layoffs, chronic understaffing and other measures that have put profit over patients, Saucedo said, but solving the community’s health care problems is going to need to include “dignified treatment of caregivers, accountability to the community and always patients over profits.”

Simeon McLean, an MRI technologist and union member, said the previous merger between Providence and St. Joseph resulted in a “slow atrophy” of the workforce at the local health care facilities because workers that leave don’t get replaced.

“Instead of hiring someone new, they just say, ‘let’s see what happens,’ ” he said.

The terms of that merger were that the health care network needed to provide $20 million in charitable giving, which didn’t happen “and could be one of the reasons that this new merger did not pass muster with the state of California,” McLean said.

The ACLU of Northern California and consumer rights group Health Access California also saw this as a win for civil rights. Health Access California wrote a letter to the attorney general asking the partnership be denied because, in part, it could have resulted in the elimination of reproductive and LGBTQ services.

Phyllida Burlingame, Reproductive Justice & Gender Equity Director at the ACLU of Northern California, said the growth and consolidation of institutions that deny reproductive and gender-affirming surgeries puts people’s health at risk.

“Californians spoke out about the proposed merger because they understand that at a time when reproductive and LGBTQ rights are being attacked across the nation, it is crucial that healthcare in California be free from discrimination,” she said.

Sonia Waraich can be reached at 707-441-0506.