California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of February 27, 2009
Axis Community Health, Pleasanton
Axis Community Health has moved into a larger facility, the Tri-Valley Herald reports.
The center provides medical, psychological and social support programs.
Axis is funding the move with $108,000 from Measure A, a half-cent transaction and use tax Alameda County voters approved in March 2004 (Jordan, Tri-Valley Herald, 2/19).
Folsom Medical Center
Kaiser Permanente will delay completion of its Folsom Medical Center as part of a larger effort to cut costs, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries reported a net loss of $794 million for 2008, compared with a net income of $2.2 billion in 2007.
The hospital's completion was set for 2015.
Ed Glavis, Kaiser senior vice president and regional manager, said a projected opening date for the hospital has not been set (Glover, Sacramento Bee, 2/25).
Memorial Hospital, Gardena
Memorial Hospital in Gardena has been sold to the newly formed Avanti Health System, the Torrance Daily Breeze reports.
Terms of the deal, which was finalized this week, were not disclosed (Evans, Torrance Daily Breeze, 2/23).
Riverside County Regional Medical Center
Beginning July 1, Riverside County Regional Medical Center will expand its no-cost non-emergency transportation services to reach thousands of disabled, elderly and poor patients as far away as the Arizona border, the Riverside Press Enterprise reports.
The expansion will use about $222,000 of a two-year $740,000 grant the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved for expanding a door-to-door patient transportation program in the western part of the county.
Hospital estimates show that about 50,000 residents could qualify for the program (Hines, Riverside Press Enterprise, 2/21).
John Muir Medical Center, Walnut Creek
The SMARTT report, a national study on trauma centers, has named John Muir Medical Center one of the top five trauma centers in the U.S., the Contra Costa Times reports.
In January, the hospital opened four new trauma rooms equipped with their own X-Ray and ultra sound machines, which doubled the hospital's capacity to handle trauma cases.
The Muir Medical Center handles all trauma cases in Contra Costa County and 75% of those in Solano County (Rose, Contra Costa Times, 2/20).
San Ysidro Health Center
The San Ysidro Health Center plans to open the Maternal and Child Health Center next month, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.Â
The $18.6 million center will offer women's medical services related to pregnancy, childbirth and child rearing (Zuniga, San Diego Union Tribune, 2/21).
Shasta Regional Medical Center, Redding
The United Public Employees of California will be allowed back into Shasta Regional Medical Center after an agreement was reached between the union and Prime Healthcare Services, the Redding Record Searchlight reports.
UPEC and Prime officials made the announcement Monday in a joint statement.
The hospital and union will meet Monday to work on a new agreement that includes matters such as pay and "operational issues," UPEC representative Steve Allen said (Sabalow, Redding Record Searchlight, 2/23).
ValleyCare Health System, Pleasanton
On Feb. 24, ValleyCare Health System began admitting patients to its $2.5 million redesigned and expanded Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the Contra Costa Times reports.
The unit has been expanded from four to 10 beds in an attempt to treat more patients (Jordan, Contra Costa Times, 2/19). 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.