California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of December 19, 2008
Coalinga Regional Medical Center
Coalinga Regional Medical Center is undertaking a $1.3 million renovation as part of its efforts to draw patients to the facility as it works to emerge from its 2003 bankruptcy, the Fresno Bee reports.
CEO Sharon Spurgeon said the renovation is being funded using revenue from changes adopted at the hospital, including acquiring a 60-bed skilled nursing facility, refinancing bond debt and increasing the number of patients at the facility (Clough, Fresno Bee, 12/17).
Community Hospital of Los Gatos
On Wednesday, Mountain View-based El Camino Hospital announced that it had acquired the land and buildings of Community Hospital of Los Gatos for $45 million, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
El Camino plans to spend a "yet to be determined" amount on equipment.
El Camino will begin operating the facility on June 1, 2009 (Fernandez, San Jose Mercury News, 12/17).
Good Samaritan Hospital, San Jose
Good Samaritan Hospital will close its "Cardiac Rehabilitation 3 and 4" at its Mission Hills campus today, the Mercury News reports.Â
The program is a health club where recent cardiac patients exercise under medical supervision.
Hospital spokesperson Leslie Kelsay said that Good Samaritan would continue to offer a 12-week rehabilitation program for patients after cardiac procedures (Mangaliman, San Jose Mercury News, 12/17).
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Fontana
Last week, the Fontana City Council approved Kaiser Permanente's plan to construct a seven-story hospital to replace an existing facility in Fontana, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
The $700 million building is set to open in 2013 (Ghori, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 12/16).
St. Mary Medical Center, Apple Valley
St. Mary Medical Center will be the first in the High Desert region to be designated as an ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Receiving Center, the Victorville Daily Press reports.
The designation comes as a result of a new agreement with San Bernardino County (Victorville Daily Press, 12/13).
Sutter Memorial Hospital, Sacramento
CMS has informed Sutter Memorial Hospital that Medicare will not cover heart transplants at the facility after Jan. 15 because the hospital performs an inadequate number of transplants each year, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Sutter has asked a federal judge to require Medicare to continue reimbursements while it appeals the decision (Peyton Dahlberg, Sacramento Bee, 12/18).
UC-Davis Medical Center, Sacramento
On Friday, university officials announced that UC-Davis Medical Center plans to close its liver transplant program as soon as patients can be moved to another center, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
The program is the only one if its kind in the Sacramento area. Patients will be transferred to one of three Bay Area facilities.
Allan Siefkin, chief medical officer at the hospital, emphasized that the program is closing for business reasons and not because of quality issues (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 12/12).
UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles
Federal investigators have found no evidence that UCLA Medical Center staff acted improperly when performing liver transplants on four Japanese patients with suspected connections to organized crime in their country, a CMS official announced, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and CMS launched inquiries after the Times published articles in May detailing events surrounding the transplants (Zavis, Los Angeles Times, 12/15). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.