California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of January 23, 2009
French Hospital Medical Center, San Luis Obispo County
Catholic Healthcare West President and CEO Lloyd Dean presented French Hospital Medical Center with a $70,000 check in recognition of high patient satisfaction and foundation growth, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports.
The hospital had the highest patient satisfaction scores of CHW's 41 hospitals last year, and French Hospital Medical Center's foundation had the most significant growth of any other foundation in the company (Lynem, San Luis Obispo Tribune, 1/16).
Marshall Medical Center, Cameron Park
Roseville-based Solar Power has finished installing a solar electric system at Marshall Medical Center's Cameron Park campus, the Sacramento Bee reports (Glover, Sacramento Bee, 1/21).
The hospital will purchase power generated by the system from Solar Power Partners (Lamb, Sacramento Business Journal, 1/20).
May Institute's Pediatric Specialty Center, South San Jose
The May Institute has opened a pediatric specialty center that will offer evaluations, diagnosis and treatment to children with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
The May Institute teaches language and other social skills to the children (Hull, San Jose Mercury News, 1/20).
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, Burbank
On Tuesday, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center announced that it has laid off 95 of its 2,517 employees and eliminated four hospital programs because of rising costs, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Providence spokesperson Patricia Aidem said the hospital eliminated programs that provide:
- Foot care for diabetics;
- Treatment for workplace injuries;
- Transitional care; and
- Urgent care (Olivarez-Giles, Los Angeles Times, 1/21).
Riverside County Regional Medical Center, Moreno Valley
Riverside County Regional Medical Center is performing 40 more surgeries per month by adopting processes from a USC Viterbi School of Engineering project, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports
The hospital participated in the project last year.
RCMC was one of three hospitals selected for the project, which looked at operating room turnover times between surgeries (Hines, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 1/17).
San Joaquin Community Hospital
San Joaquin Community Hospital's burn center will not open this month as planned and will cost more than originally planned, the Bakersfield Californian reports.
Jarrod McNaughton, associate vice president of the facility, attributed the delay and cost increases to state regulators requiring the hospital to comply with construction rules that were written more recently than the ones the facility was following.
The hospital will open in May or June, according to a hospital executive (Cox, Bakersfield Californian, 1/15).
Tenet Healthcare
Tenet Healthcare has signed a multiyear agreement to continue the inclusion of its 13 California hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers in Blue Shield of California's managed care network, the Dallas Business Journal reports.
Ten of the hospitals are included in the insurer's Medicare Advantage network.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed (Dallas Business Journal, 1/16).
Tri-City Healthcare District, San Diego County
On Wednesday, the Tri-City Healthcare District board approved hiring an underwriter to reissue bonds after the interest rate on $58.4 million in securities jumped to 17%, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
In 2007, the hospital district converted traditional long-term bonds to auction-rate securities with a variable interest rate.
Accountant Michael Williams advised the board that it could get a lower interest rate by reissuing the bonds at a fixed interest rate and getting the state to insure the bonds (Burge, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1/22).
Tulare District Hospital
On Jan. 16, Tulare District Hospital eliminated the equivalent of 68.5 full-time staff positions, the Fresno Bee reports.
John Barbadian, the hospital's vice president for human resources, said the layoffs were effective immediately (Sheehan, Fresno Bee, 1/16).
Veterans Affairs Long Beach Healthcare System
On Jan.16, the Veterans Affairs Long Beach Healthcare System began work on a $100 million renovation project, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports.
Older buildings that do not meet seismic safety standards will be demolished and others retrofitted to meet the standards (Canalis, Long Beach Press-Telegram, 1/16). 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.