California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of April 9, 2010
Chino Valley Medical Center
Administrators at Chino Valley Medical Center are challenging a recent vote by nurses to join the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports. Last week, the nurses voted 72-39 to unionize.
James Lally -- president and chief medical officer of the facility -- said UNAC/UHCP coerced nurses to vote for the union. A spokesperson for UNAC/UHCP said the union ran a fair campaign.
The medical center has filed its objections with the National Labor Relations Board, which must approve and ratify the vote (Nisperos, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, 4/5).
Loma Linda University Behavioral Health Institute, Redlands
On Thursday, officials held a grand opening for Loma Linda University Behavioral Health Institute, the Redlands Daily Facts reports.
The facility will provide comprehensive outpatient care while integrating academic research and clinical practice.
The new institute also will enable the adjacent Loma Linda University Behavioral Medical Center to expand some of its outpatient mental health and chemical dependency services for youth (Redlands Daily Facts, 4/7).
Orange County Hospitals
In a recent courtroom auction, orthopedist Kali Chaudhuri bought the debt of four Orange County hospitals and gained control of their parent group, Integrated Healthcare Holdings, the Orange County Register reports (Campbell, Orange County Register, 4/2).
Chaudhuri now owns Western Medical Center in Anaheim and Santa Ana, Coastal Community Hospital in Santa Ana and Chapman Medical Center in Orange.
The hedge fund Silver Point Partners provided financial backing to Chaudhuri, who bought the debt by offering $70 million to pay off high-interest loans with a face value of $73.6 million ("KPCC News," KPCC, 4/3).
Palomar Pomerado Health, San Diego County
The health system Palomar Pomerado Health has merged with the physician group Centre for Healthcare to create a new entity called Arch Health Partners, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Arch Health Partners is the first medical group that is a hospital subsidiary for Palomar Pomerado Health. The new group will refer patients exclusively within the Palomar Pomerado Health system.
Currently, 43 primary care physicians, specialists, physician assistants and nurse practitioners belong to Arch Health Partners. Palomar Pomerado officials say the group is expected to add 100 more health care providers (Lau, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4/3).
San Joaquin General Hospital, French Camp
An update submitted this week to the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors showed that San Joaquin General Hospital had a February operating loss of $995,736, the Stockton Record reports.
The loss was worse than expectations but better than the hospital's average monthly loss of $1.8 million. The report projected that the hospital's losses would be $18 million to $19 million by the end of the fiscal year (Stockton Record, 4/7).
In related news, the county Board of Supervisors recently approved a package of recommendations that would make significant changes to San Joaquin General Hospital.
The hospital currently operates under the county's Health Care Services division. Officials are considering a proposal to separate the hospital into its own department, which could provide the facility with greater flexibility to address its annual losses and appoint a new board of trustees (Johnson, Contra Costa Times, 4/2).
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose
By the end of this month, Santa Clara County auditor Roger Mialocq is expected to deliver a report evaluating consulting firm Deloitte's 2008 audit of the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal reports.
In December, Mialocq issued a report finding that the Santa Clara County Health and Hospital System -- which oversees Valley Medical Center -- overstated its budget by $5.6 million and is still owed $7.7 million by the federal government (Duan, Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, 4/2).
Ventura County Health Care Agency
The Ventura County Health Care Agency has opened a medical clinic in Simi Valley, the Ventura County Star reports.
The 36-patient-room, 38,000-square-foot facility offers urgent, primary, specialty and behavioral care services to all county residents (Bakalis, Ventura County Star, 4/3).
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