California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of April 27, 2012
California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco
On Thursday, San Francisco's Planning Commission voted 5-1 to recommend that the city's Board of Supervisors approve a development deal between California Pacific Medical Center and Mayor Ed Lee (D) to allow CPMC to move forward with a $2.5 billion construction project, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The cornerstone of CPMC's project is the construction of a 555-bed hospital on Cathedral Hill that would meet state seismic safety building requirements.
Although the commissioners expressed concerns over the project's effect on traffic, low-income residents and housing, they said that the agreement would help generate $1.1 billion in community benefits, keep 6,000 medical center jobs, create 1,500 permanent new jobs and create 1,500 construction jobs.
It is unclear whether the board will approve the deal (Lee, San Francisco Chronicle, 4/27).
Dignity Health, San Francisco
San Francisco-based Dignity Health is in affiliation negotiations to have Ashland Community Hospital in Oregon join the Dignity Health system, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
Mark Marchetti -- CEO of Ashland Community Hospital -- said the hospital chose Dignity out of four potential partners.
Dignity Health currently operates 40 hospitals in Arizona, California and Nevada. Ashland would be the first Oregon hospital to join the health system (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 4/24).
Kaweah Delta Health Care District
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has authorized Kaweah Delta Health Care District to establish medical residency programs, The Business Journal reports.
The accreditation means that Kaweah Delta can establish its Graduate Medical Education residency programs in family practice and emergency medicine in 2013. The district then plans to establish a psychiatric residency program in 2014 and a general surgery and transitional year program in 2015 (The Business Journal, 4/19).
Palo Alto Medical Foundation
Sutter Health's Palo Alto Medical Foundation soon will begin construction on a $200 million outpatient clinic in San Carlos, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
When the four-story clinic opens, it is expected to have 75 physicians, 800 other staff members, an urgent care center and outpatient surgery services (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 4/20).
Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla; Scripps Mercy Hospital, San Diego
In 2009, Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla had the lowest death rate from heart bypass surgery in the state, according to a report from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, U-T San Diego reports.
For the report, OSHPD reviewed the 119 hospitals in California that perform the surgery. It found that Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego was one of two California hospitals to have significantly higher death rates from heart bypass surgery than the state average (Lavelle, U-T San Diego, 4/23).
Stanford Hospital & Clinics
Stanford Hospital & Clinics has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the 20 best hospitals in the U.S., the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal reports.
U.S. News & World Report evaluated more than 4,800 hospitals across 16 medical specialties.
In addition, Stanford was given a four-year "magnet" status from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, which is the highest honor a health care provider can receive for nursing care excellence (Goll, Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, 4/24).
Sutter Health
The California Nurses Association has called for a one-day strike on May 1 to protest a lack of progress in negotiations over the contracts of 4,500 registered nurses at 10 Sutter Health hospitals, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
The affected hospitals include:
- Alta Bates Summit Medical Center hospitals in Berkeley and Oakland;
- Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley;
- Mills-Peninsula Health Services hospitals in Burlingame and San Mateo;
- Novato Community Hospital;
- Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport;
- San Leandro Hospital in Antioch;
- Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch; and
- Sutter Solano Medical Center in Vallejo.
CNA officials say Sutter is trying to reduce employees' benefits and cut programs.
Karen Garner -- a Sutter spokesperson -- in an email said that Sutter provides competitive wages. She added that Sutter hospitals are seeking "moderate" contract changes to make health care services more efficient and affordable for patients (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 4/23).
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