California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of February 14, 2014
Dignity Health
Dignity Health recently awarded more than $846,000 in grants to boost community health and reduce population health disparities in Sacramento, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
The grants ranged from $5,000 to $50,000 and targeted programs that increase health care access for low-income residents and that treat the underlying causes of illnesses, including poverty, homelessness, substance misuse and physical abuse. Dignity Health also aimed to award grants to partnership programs between several not-for-profit organizations that proposed working together to address the health concerns of a particular population (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 2/12).
Kaiser Permanente, Northern California
HHS' Million Hearts Hypertension Control Challenge last week recognized Kaiser Permanente in northern California and eight other medical practices for their success in controlling patients' blood pressure, United Press International reports.
The practices that were recognized, including Kaiser Permanente, all achieved blood pressure control rates of between 73% to over 90% using a variety of methods, including team-based care, using health IT to track care and prioritizing blood pressure at each patient visit (United Press International, 2/9).
Kaiser Permanente, San Diego
On Wednesday, Kaiser Permanente broke ground on a $900 million, 450-bed hospital in San Diego -- the health system's second hospital in San Diego and the first it has built in 40 years, U-T San Diego reports.
The hospital will open with 321 beds, with the potential to increase by 129 additional beds depending on demand. The seven-story facility will offer single-patient rooms, video conferencing equipment, gardens and a walking trail, but officials have not yet specified what medical equipment will be included (Sisson, U-T San Diego, 2/12).
Sequoia Healthcare District
Last week, the Sequoia Healthcare District voted 3-1 to increase the salary of CEO Lee Michelson for the second time in 15 months, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
The raise, which is retroactive through April 2013, adds an additional $10,000 to Michelson's annual salary, raising it to $192,800 (Eslinger, San Jose Mercury News, 2/13).
UC-Riverside School of Medicine
UC-Riverside School of Medicine has partnered with Temecula Valley Hospital to give high school and college students in the area access to the university's Future Physician Leaders Program, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
UC-Riverside established the program four years ago to encourage medical students to work in Inland Southern California -- a medically underserved area -- after graduation. The seven-week summer program involves community service, a leadership lecture series, physician shadowing rotations and research projects, followed up by ongoing networking events (Claverie, Riverside Press Enterprise, 2/12).
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