California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of January 24, 2014
Daughters of Charity Health System
Last week, the Daughters of Charity Health System announced that it was placing its six hospitals up for sale, San Francisco Business Times' "Bay Area BizTalk" reports (Rauber, "Bay Area BizTalk," San Francisco Business Times, 1/13). DCHS did not disclose desired sale prices but said it would consider offers for the individual hospitals or the entire health system.
DCHS' hospitals include O'Connor Hospital in San Jose; Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy; Seton Medical Center in Daly City; Seton Coastside in Moss Beach; St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles; and St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood (Seipel, Contra Costa Times, 1/13).
Fairview Developmental Center, Costa Mesa
On Jan. 15, the California Department of Developmental Services signed an agreement with the state Department of Public Health to improve conditions at three developmental centers, suspending the process currently underway to decertify Fairview Developmental Center, the Orange County Register reports.
On Jan. 3, DPH announced that the three developmental centers -- in Fairview, Porterville and Pomona -- were out of compliance with the federal standards required for Medicaid certification and funding.
Under the Jan. 15 agreement, the Fairview center will start addressing the identified deficiencies and allow DPH to make unscheduled visits in order to monitor the center's progress (Boessenkool, Orange County Register, 1/22).
Hoag Memorial Hospital
Hoag Memorial Hospital in 2015 will open a new outpatient facility at Shady Creek Medical Center, the Orange County Register reports.
According to the Register, the facility will take up two 50,000 square-foot buildings (Jow, Orange County Register, 1/12).
John Muir Health, Walnut Creek
Last week, John Muir Health opened a $40 million, 144,000 square-foot outpatient center in Walnut Creek that aims to consolidate patient care by offering several medical services in one location, the Contra Costa Times reports.
The center will include 27 physicians and 75 support staff on opening day, with plans to increase to 43 physicians and more than 250 administrative staff. The center, which will be open for customers every day, will offer urgent care, X-ray and lab services, pediatric and senior care services, behavioral health care, weight management services, bone density and "medical home" services (Tsai, Contra Costa Times, 1/14).
Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center
Last week, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center announced that it will lay off approximately 3% of its staff -- 76 employees -- and reduce hours for another 111 workers, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports. The hospital has about 3,000 full- and part-time employees.
According to hospital officials, the changes will take effect in about 60 days (Rodriguez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, 1/16).
Sutter Health
Sutter Health has invested $8.15 million in the Florida-based telehealth company MDLive, which aims to expand physician access for patients with non-emergency medical problems, San Francisco Business Times' "Bay Area BizTalk" reports (Rauber [1], "Bay Area BizTalk," San Francisco Business Times, 1/22). The investment is part of a $23.6 million round of funding secured by the telehealth company.
According to the Sacramento Business Journal, MDLive will use the funding to bolster its virtual services and integrate a second opinion program for patients (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 1/22).
Torrance Memorial Health System
The California Association of Health Facilities has recognized the Torrance Memorial Health System for reducing readmissions through its coordinated patient care network, according to press release from Torrance Memorial Health System.
Torrance Memorial Health System's Post-Acute Network established guidelines and implemented weekly meetings among key staff at eight local nursing homes; prioritized ambulatory case management; and aimed to eliminate patient confusion over medications, social issues or continued care needs (Torrance Memorial Health System release, 1/14).
UC-Davis Medical Center
UC-Davis Medical Center last week earned back a designation from the Magnet Recognition Program that recognizes hospitals that provide workplaces where nurses can flourish professionally, the Sacramento Business Journal reports. UC-Davis was the first Sacramento hospital to earn the recognition in 1997, but it lost the title in 2006 because of inconsistencies in its nursing program and labor unrest.
The center is now the only Sacramento hospital to have the designation, and one of only 25 such hospitals in California (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 1/16).
UC-San Francisco
On Jan. 22, the UC-San Francisco Medical Center confirmed that its affiliation with Children's Hospital Research Center Oakland was finalized as of Jan. 1, the San Francisco Business Times' "Bay Area BizTalk" reports.
Children's Oakland CEO Bert Lubin said the affiliation would cause the hospital to reconsider whether to continue with the second phase of an expansion and renovation project, which could cost $270 million (Rauber [2], "Bay Area BizTalk," San Francisco Business Times, 1/22).
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