California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of August 19, 2011
California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco
California Pacific Medical Center is altering the design of the nine-story medical office building it plans to open in San Francisco, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
The Sutter Health-affiliated hospital outlined its design changes in an Aug. 11 memo to the San Francisco Planning Commission. The changes -- which include making the layout more symmetrical and replacing large expanses of glass with glass-fiber reinforced concrete -- are part of an effort to make the building match other historic structures in the area.
The Planning Commission plans to revisit the medical office building's design plans on Oct. 13 (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 8/15).
Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland
On Thursday, the National Union of Healthcare Workers announced that workers at Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland voted 163 to 159Â to be represented by NUHWÂ instead of the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
However, three ballots were challenged and not counted toward the totals, and five employees voted for "no union." The National Labor Relations Board will come to a decision on the challenged ballots.
SEIU officials said that the challenged ballots could lead to a runoff election and that NUHW did not receive the necessary "majority plus one" total to claim victory outright.
The hospital's bargaining unit represents housekeepers, certified nursing assistants, licensed vocational nurses and other staff (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 8/18).
Community Memorial Hospital, Ventura
This week, Community Memorial Hospital officials finalized a bond financing arrangement that involves the hospital using borrowed funds to build a new facility that meets state seismic safety requirements, the Ventura County Star reports. The move ends a three-year effort in which the hospital unsuccessfully sought financing through government loan programs.
Community Memorial Hospital CEO Gary Wilde said the hospital has borrowed $350 million over 30 years to build up its reserve funds. Those funds will go toward the construction project, which is expected to cost about $268 million. A groundbreaking for the new 250-bed facility will be held in September. When the new hospital is complete, Community Memorial's older facility will be used for administration, laboratory testing and other services (Kisken, Ventura County Star, 8/17).
Kaiser Permanente-Redwood City
Last week, officials held a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off construction for a new 280,000 square-foot Kaiser Permanente hospital complex in Redwood City, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
The new hospital, which will replace Kaiser's 42 year-old Redwood City facility, is being built to comply with state seismic safety requirements. It will have 149 rooms, 85% of which will be private. The hospital is expected to be completed in late 2014. Officials did not provide a cost estimate for the new hospital (Eslinger, San Jose Mercury News, 8/12).
La Clinica, Oakley
La Clinica plans to open a new primary care facility in Oakley this October, the Contra Costa Times reports.
The 3,900 square-foot clinic, which will cost approximately $800,000, is expected to primarily serve low-income residents and uninsured populations. Anita Addison -- La Clinica's chief of planning and strategic advancement -- said the clinic's operating costs will be defrayed by grants during the first three years. The city of Oakley has agreed to pay the remaining time on La Clinica's seven-year lease if the clinic cannot (Coetsee, Contra Costa Times, 8/13).
Tri-City Medical Center, Oceanside
The Oceanside Planning Commission recently approved Tri-City Medical Center's plans to build an $18 million medical office building on the hospital's campus, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
The commission approved an environmental study, development plan and conditional use permit for the three-story, 57,476 square-foot facility. Developer Rich Landreth said hospital officials want construction to begin soon, adding that the building likely will take about one year to complete (Scharn, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8/11).
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