California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of February 22, 2013
Children's Hospital Central California, Madera
Norman Jansen, a 94-year-old Fresno native, has donated $250,000 to Children's Hospital Central California's Childhood Cancer Survivorship Program, the Fresno Bee reports.
Jansen donated the money in memory of his wife, who died of leukemia in June 2009.
The program provides ongoing health management and testing for young cancer survivors and helps them prepare for adulthood (Anderson, Fresno Bee, 2/21).
Dominican Hospital, Santa Cruz
Last week, Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz announced that it will close its Frederick Street rehabilitation campus by Dec. 31, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports.
Dominican officials said the decision to close the campus "was made as part of the hospital's ongoing work to meet the standards of California's seismic safety law."
The hospital plans to relocate some programs offered on the campus and discontinue others, including a 30-bed skilled nursing unit.
It is not clear whether any staff members will lose their jobs under the plan. According to Dominican, the hospital will attempt to place employees affected by the change in other open positions (Gumz, Santa Cruz Sentinel, 2/15).
Loma Linda University Children's Hospital
Loma Linda University Children's Hospital plans to use a $43,775 donation from the group Spirit of Children to purchase new technology that allows patients to connect with family and friends, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
The telehealth initiative will link patients with individuals outside the hospital via a camera, a videophone and an iPad (Riverside Press-Enterprise, 2/19).
San Joaquin General Hospital, French Camp
Last week, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to establish a permanent governing board to oversee San Joaquin General Hospital, the Stockton Record reports.
The 11-member board will replace the current interim board of trustees and will include a member of the county Board of Supervisors, the hospital's CEO, its chief medical officer and eight community members.
County officials say the board will help keep the public hospital financially sound (Johnson, Stockton Record, 2/13).
St. Bernardine Medical Center, San Bernardino
Last month, the St. Bernardine Medical Center opened its new endovascular hybrid surgical suite, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
The suite serves as both a catheterization laboratory and an operating department (Riverside Press-Enterprise, 2/14). 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.