California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of January 11, 2013
Alameda County Medical Center, San Leandro Hospital
In a statement released Tuesday, Wright Lassiter -- CEO of Alameda County Medical Center -- said that hospital officials cannot approve a proposal to transfer ownership of San Leandro Hospital to ACMC, the Contra Costa Times reports (McGlone, Contra Costa Times, 1/9).
In November 2012, Alameda County, ACMC and San Leandro Hospital each agreed to pay $3 million over three years as part of a tentative agreement to keep San Leandro open. Under the agreement, ACMC would own and operate the hospital (California Healthline, 11/16/12).
Lassiter said ACMC will not approve the proposal because of information released by Sutter Health -- which owns San Leandro -- that showed subsidies to support the facility as an acute care hospital should be three to four times larger than previously estimated.
Stacy Wells -- a Sutter spokesperson -- said that nothing has been decided related to the San Leandro deal (Contra Costa Times, 1/9).
Huntington Beach Hospital
On Jan. 1, Huntington Beach Hospital converted to a not-for-profit facility, the Huntington Beach Independent reports.
The facility has been open since 1967. Prime Healthcare Services -- which has owned the hospital since 2006 -- donated the facility to Prime Healthcare Foundation, the health system's charity branch (Carpio, Huntington Beach Independent, 1/4).
San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital, Banning
San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital plans to dedicate its new emergency department and intensive care unit on Jan. 18, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
The new ED will include 24 patient rooms, and the ICU will feature 16 beds.
The hospital expects to start treating patients in the new building beginning in April (Waldner, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 1/3).
St. John's Regional Medical Center, Oxnard
On Monday, a group of about 30 to 60 nurses and other health care workers participated in an informational picket at St. John's Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, the Ventura County Star reports.
The event -- organized by Service Employees International Union Local 121 -- protested impending layoffs at St. John's in Oxnard and St. John's Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo.
In a statement, Laurie Eberst, St. John's CEO and president, said the layoffs -- scheduled for Jan. 31 -- are the result of "severe challenges hospitals are facing, including declines in patient volume and reductions in government reimbursements" (Gregory, Ventura County Star, 1/7). 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.