California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of February 11, 2011
Children's Hospital Central California, Madera
On Wednesday, Children's Hospital Central California announced that it has received a $5 million gift from the Lincy Foundation, the Fresno Bee reports. The 340-bed hospital plans to use the donation to build an electronic health record system.
Gordon Alexander, president and CEO of CHCC, said the hospital plans to start using EHRs this year. He said the system will help the hospital collect data about patients to determine the best treatment options (Anderson, Fresno Bee, 2/9).
Loma Linda University Medical Center-Murrieta
On Sunday, officials held a welcome and dedication ceremony for the new Loma Linda University Medical Center-Murrieta, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
More than 1,000 area residents attended the event and toured the facility, which will serve southwest Riverside County. The five-story hospital is scheduled to begin accepting patients in March (Rhodes, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 2/6).
Los Alamitos Medical Center
On Monday, the Los Alamitos City Council heard plans for a major construction project at the Los Alamitos Medical Center, the Orange County Register reports.
The plans call for the construction of a medical office building and the expansion of the hospital's emergency department. Although physicians generally have supported the project, some local residents have raised concerns about how the construction could affect traffic and future retail expansion (Kopetman, Orange County Register, 2/4).
Redwood City
Officials are moving forward on plans to build a 114-bed skilled nursing facility in Redwood City, the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal reports.
The skilled nursing center is expected to be constructed on a 31,000 square-foot property, and officials are looking to secure additional property for parking lots. Once open, the facility could provide long- and short-term rehabilitation care for patients discharged from local hospitals (Sibley, Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, 2/4).
Stanford Hospital and Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
Officials at Stanford Hospital and Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital recently announced plans to impose the terms of their latest contract offer on nurses, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
The terms will affect the 2,700 registered nurses represented by the Committee of Recognition of Nursing Achievement. Lorie Johnson, president of CRONA, said the hospital's move is an attempt to force the nurses to accept an unfavorable contract.
Sarah Staley, a spokesperson for LPCH, said the contract terms will extend sick and bereavement leave benefits and align paid time off with the benefits that other hospital employees receive (Dungan, San Jose Mercury News, 2/8).
Temecula Regional Hospital
The Temecula City Council unanimously voted to approve Universal Health Services' proposed changes to the first phase of a construction project for the planned Temecula Regional Hospital, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
However, council members said UHS must build a foundation for the new hospital by this time next year or it will lose its permits and forfeit a $5 million bond to the city. Temecula officials initially approved hospital construction plans five years ago, but UHS failed to break ground and later scaled down the project. The first phase of the hospital now will have 140 beds, instead of the 170 previously proposed (Horseman, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 2/10).
UC-San Francisco Medical Center, Parnassus Heights
This week, UC-San Francisco opened the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Regeneration Medicine Building at its Parnassus Heights campus, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The $123 million, 68,500 square-foot building, which is located near UC-San Francisco Medical Center, will house stem cell research efforts. The facility has the capacity to accommodate up to 300 professors, support staff, and graduate and post-doctoral students (King, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/5).
Westlake Village Hospital
Demolition crews have started tearing down the former Westlake Village Hospital in a two-phase process that is expected to be completed by the end of April, the Ventura County Star reports.
The crews first will remove hazardous materials from the 6.5-acre property, and then demolish the hospital's two buildings. It remains unclear what will be built on the site after the demolition is complete. Hospital Corporation of America is attempting to sell the property (Fenner, Ventura County Star, 2/10).
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.