California Healthline Highlights Recent Hospital News
Kaiser Permanente plans to open clinics in Palm Springs, Palm Desert and Indio by June, a move that will affect 18,000 patients in the area, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
Contracts with 180 area physicians will end June 30, and patients will have to choose one of 14 Kaiser doctors at the clinics or change their insurance coverage (Pierceall, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 2/11).
The Moorpark City Council on Wednesday voted to hire an architect to design and construct a building to house a medical clinic and other social services for low- and moderate-income residents, the Ventura County Star reports.
The center will offer low-cost medical, dental and mental health services.
There is no completion date set for the project, but it is expected to take about two years to build the $10.5 million facility (Ventura County Star, 2/16).
A $225 million bond will be needed to pay for the seismic retrofit of Sharp Grossmont Hospital, hospital CEO Michele Tarbet told the Grossmont Healthcare District board last week, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
The bond would be used to pay for 90 additional hospital beds, nine new operating rooms, a new parking structure and a medical office building in addition to renovations.
Tarbet also discussed the hospital's long-term renovation plans -- a three-phase project that is estimated to cost more than $1 billion.
Members of the board must decide by March 10 whether to include a bond measure on the June ballot (Krueger, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2/11).