Regional Medical Center in East San José on May 24, 2024. (Joseph Geha/KQED)

In a major move to preserve critical health care support for tens of thousands of residents, Santa Clara County plans to purchase Regional Medical Center, a privately owned hospital in East San José.

County officials on Wednesday announced a tentative agreement to pursue buying the facility for $175 million from its ownership, HCA Healthcare, the largest hospital corporation in the country. The agreement follows months of protests against the company for cutting trauma center, stroke and heart attack services at the hospital to save costs.

The deal would bring the hospital under the wing of Santa Clara Valley Healthcare, the public health system run by the county that already includes three hospitals and a series of clinics and health centers across the county.

"Making Regional Medical Center part of Santa Clara Valley Healthcare's network of hospitals and clinics will ensure that East San José and the surrounding community continue to have access to top-notch Level II trauma, comprehensive stroke, specialized heart attack, and ultimately, labor and delivery care," County Executive James Williams said in a statement.

The county said due diligence and a formal purchase agreement need to be hammered out, with HCA and the county hoping to complete the transaction in the first quarter of 2025.