California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of December 10, 2010
Adventist Medical Center-Hanford
On Dec. 5, Adventist Medical Center-Hanford opened for business and immediately moved 78 patients from two older hospitals to the new facility, the Fresno Bee reports.
The new $114 million medical center is part of an effort to combine the two older hospitals -- Central Valley General Hospital and Hanford Community Hospital -- into a larger medical complex. The new hospital has 142 hospital beds, up from 91 beds total between the older two facilities. Although the bulk of patient care now has shifted to Adventist Medical Center-Hanford, Central Valley General Hospital is continuing to provide obstetrical services and Hanford Community Hospital is providing business and support services (Lee, Fresno Bee, 12/5).
Department of Veterans Affairs, Sacramento
The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to build a $5 million, 12,600 square-foot psychiatric hospital in front of its existing medical campus at Mather Field in Sacramento, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
Psychiatric patients at the existing medical facility are slated to be relocated to the new 16-bed psychiatric hospital after construction is completed in mid-2012 (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 12/3).
Doctors Medical Center, San Pablo
Last week, the Public Employment Relations Board certified the National Union of Healthcare Workers officially as the bargaining group for nearly 300 caregivers at Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo.
The certification comes after PERB dismissed objections to last year's election. The objections were raised by Service Employees International Union, which formerly represented the medical center's employees (NUHW release, 12/6).
Kaiser Permanente, Terra Linda
Kaiser Permanente has submitted a formal proposal to build a new emergency department and add more parking spaces to its Terra Linda medical center, the Marin Independent Journal reports.
If San Rafael officials approve the project soon, demolition and construction work could begin in 2011 and end in 2012. After the parking structure is complete, Kaiser plans to begin demolishing part of its general services building to clear space for a one-story, 17,550 square-foot ED. The planned ED, which Kaiser hopes to complete by 2013, would have three more treatment bays than the current ED but would not increase patient capacity.
City planners are reviewing Kaiser's proposal and plan to hold a community meeting and Design Review Board hearing early next year (Bernstein-Wax, Marin Independent Journal, 12/7).
Laguna Honda Hospital, San Francisco
This week, San Francisco's Laguna Honda Hospital -- which is the state's oldest nursing home -- began moving 780 patients to a new facility next door, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The $585 million construction of the new hospital took longer than expected and was scaled down from initial plans. The new hospital has two residential towers and a central facility with a cafeteria and other services (Allday, San Francisco Chronicle, 12/6).
March LifeCare, Riverside County
This week, demolition crews at March Air Reserve Base began clearing the way for a new medical center, KPCC's "KPCC News" reports. The new 145-acre March LifeCare medical campus will include the March Memorial Hospital, outpatient services, office space and a hotel.
Workers now are razing two large buildings once used by the Air Force and Army Reserve. Early next year, demolition crews are slated to level the base's vacant five-story hospital and additional buildings. The project is expected to be completed in about four years (Cuevas, "KPCC News," KPCC, 12/6).
Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton
On Thursday, officials plan to break ground on a new $394 million naval hospital at Camp Pendleton that will replace an existing naval medical facility that dates back to the 1970s, the Orange County Register reports.
Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest has awarded the design and construction contract to joint venture Clark/McCarthy. The 500,000 square-foot facility will be the highest-funded Navy project through last year's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The new facility will provide primary care, specialty care and inpatient facilities. Construction is expected to be completed in 2014 (Jolly, Orange County Register, 12/2).
Oak Valley Hospital District, Oakdale
Government watchdog group CalAware has sent a letter calling for the Oak Valley Hospital District's governing board to repeal its decision to extend CEO John Friel's contract for an additional year because the board allegedly violated state law, the Modesto Bee reports.
CalAware claims the board violated California's open meeting law, known as the Brown Act, because the board failed to specify the nature of the discussion or action that would be considered during the Nov. 22 meeting when it extended the CEO's contract.
Friel said the meeting did comply with the Brown Act, adding that the district's legal counsel is reviewing CalAware's letter. If the board fails to respond to the letter within 30 days or denies the allegations, the group alleging the violation can file a lawsuit (Valine, Modesto Bee, 12/5).
Palo Alto Medical Foundation San Carlos Center
Sutter Health's board of directors recently approved construction of the first stage of a planned $550 million medical complex in San Carlos, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
The first stage of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation San Carlos Center is expected to include an outpatient and urgent care center, physician offices, an on-site laboratory, a pharmacy and a parking structure. Construction of the first stage, which will be roughly 192,000 square feet, is slated to begin in January 2011. A spokesperson for Palo Alto Medical Foundation said officials have yet to finalize a timeline for building the second phase of the project, which will be an acute inpatient hospital (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 12/8).
San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital, Banning
San Gorgonio Memorial Healthcare District has contracted EPIC Management to oversee its San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital in Banning, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
The hospital's CEO Mark Turner will remain in his role and CFO Dave Recupero also will keep his position. The new 10-year contract with EPIC also calls for medical staff development and physician recruitment from five specialties. Tennessee-based Brim Healthcare, now called HealthTech Management Services, previously managed the hospital (Waldner, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 12/4).
Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
On Thursday, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital announced a tentative contract agreement with their nursing union, known as the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
As part of the contract, nurses will receive 4% raises retroactive to April and raises of up to 4% for each of the next two years. In addition, the hospital plans to implement a new career advancement system called the Professional Nurse Development Program, which calls for nurses to meet certain certification and education requirements before attaining higher-level positions (Dungan, San Jose Mercury News, 12/9).
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