California Healthline Highlights Recent Hospital News
Kaiser Permanente in November is scheduled to open its 142-bed Antioch Medical Center, the San Francisco Business Times reports. The $500 million, 340,000-square-foot complex will include the hospital and a physician office complex that is scheduled to open by July.
The medical office will provide primary care and specialty outpatient care in cardiology, neurology, nephrology and other service lines. Primary care and dermatology services will continue to be available at the existing medical complex on site (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 1/22).
The Fresno Native American Health Center on Friday will close after being notified last week that Indian Health Service will not renew its federal funding contract, the Fresno Bee reports. The facility provides referrals to physicians and counsels American Indians on health issues such as diabetes, substance abuse and nutrition.
An Indian Health Service official said the center was not complying with its contract because of its low patient volume and lack of a public health nurse.
Indian Health Service is the federal health program for American Indians and Alaska natives (Anderson, Fresno Bee, 1/25).
The owner of Paradise Valley Hospital in National City on Monday rejected a bid for the not-for-profit hospital from an investor group that seeks to block the sale of the hospital to for-profit Prime Healthcare Services, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Robert Carmen -- executive vice president and CEO of Adventist Healthcare, the hospital's owner -- said the offer from Paradise Preservation Group "is not in the best interests of the community."
Prime Healthcare in October offered $30 million to purchase the 301-bed hospital. Earlier this month the investor group, led by former Paradise CEO Fred Harder, made a $35 million bid for the facility. However, Carmen said that accounting differences make the investor group's offer worth about $8 million less than Prime Healthcare's bid.
Harder also remains hopeful that Attorney General Jerry Brown (D) will block the sale of the hospital to Prime Healthcare if he concludes that the deal jeopardizes services (Darcé, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1/19).
Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego over the next five years will undergo building projects and technology upgrades costing $500 million, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Projects include a $350 million acute care pavilion that will contain 84 patient beds, a cancer center, a surgical center and a neonatal intensive care center.
Ronald Kendrick, chair of the hospital's board of trustees, said the hospital will pay for the projects with state funds, fundraising efforts, loans and earnings (Darcé, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1/24).
San Carlos traffic commissioners on Wednesday approved an environmental impact report for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation's $300 million medical center, the San Mateo County Times reports. The planning commission will review the report in March (Morente, San Mateo County Times, 1/25).
PAMF has spent three years working on the proposal, which has been delayed because of traffic concerns and inadequate property tax revenue. The group also awaits final board approval from parent company Sutter Health (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 1/22).
Washington Hospital in Fremont in April plans to open its Taylor McAdam Bell Neuroscience Center, the San Francisco Business Times reports. Two neuroscience specialists recruited from UC-San Francisco will lead the center.
The facility is expected to be one of the first in the world, and reportedly the first on the West Coast, to use an advanced Leksell gamma knife, which uses doses of focused radiation to treat brain tumors while avoiding harm to surrounding tissues (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 1/22).