California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of January 8, 2010
Community Regional Medical Center, Fresno
An anonymous donor contributed $750,000 toward the construction of Terry's House, a 17,000 square-foot home where family members visiting critically injured or sick loved ones at Community Regional Medical Center can stay, the Fresno Bee reports. The facility will have room for 20 families.
Construction of the $5 million building is expected to begin this month and take 10 months to complete (Rodriguez, Fresno Bee, 12/21/09). Â
Eden Medical Center, Castro Valley
On Dec. 31, Eden Medical Center hospital workers ratified a new contract that includes wage increases of up to 9.27% compounded over the next three years, the Service Employees International Union, United Healthcare Workers-West said, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
About 340 members of the union will be covered by the agreement (San Francisco Business Times, 12/31/09).
John Muir Medical Center, Walnut Creek and Concord
The fundraising arm of John Muir Health announced that a committee of local volunteers has raised more than $1 million toward its $2.5 million goal, the Business Times reports.
The organization's capital campaign is seeking support for its $800 million expansion and renovation of its Walnut Creek and Concord campuses (San Francisco Business Times, 12/28/09).
Parkview Community Hospital, Riverside
Prime Healthcare Services, a Victorville-based health care company with 13 hospitals in Southern California, has bought Parkview Community Hospital's loan from Textron, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
The hospitals' operations are expected to remain the same as long as it meets the terms of its note.
The note changed hands as hospital leaders seek to enroll Parkview -- which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2002 -- into a federal program that would allow it to refinance its debt (Hines, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 12/21/09).
St. Joseph's Health System, Orange
St. Joseph's Health System has contracted with Accenx to provide data management solutions for information sharing, Healthcare IT News reports. The hospital chain operates facilities in California, New Mexico and Texas (Monegain, Healthcare IT News, 12/28/09).Â
Southwest Healthcare System
On Dec. 22, CMS released a 174-page inspection report for Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta and Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, criticizing the quality of patient care and putting the facilities at further risk of losing federal funding, the Press-Enterprise reports.
Southwest Healthcare System owns both facilities.
On Aug. 12 and Sept. 4, California Department of Public health inspectors declared an "immediate jeopardy" for Rancho Springs Medical Center and Inland Valley Medical Center.
According to the report, the issues that triggered the investigation were resolved, but several issues remained. Specifically, the CMS inspectors found deficiencies in testing, discharge procedures and follow-up care for 15 infants at risk for severe jaundice, which can lead to brain damage, developmental disabilities or death (Horseman, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 12/23/09).
Meanwhile, in December, the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development signed off on the blueprints for Temecula Regional Hospital, leaving its owner, Southwest Healthcare Systems, free to apply for a permit to begin construction, OSHPD spokesperson David Byrnes said.
A spokesperson for Southwest said the company is working to resolve issues at its hospitals in Murrieta and Wildomar before starting construction on the 320-bed Temecula facility (Horseman, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 12/28/09).
UC-Irvine Medical Center
On Wednesday, UC-Irvine Medical Center released a letter from CMS indicating that inspectors found deficiencies in three areas during an October inspection, the Orange County Register reports.
The hospital must submit a corrective plan to CMS by Jan. 18.
In a letter to hospital staff, CEO Terry Belmont said that the deficiencies were not a surprise and that some already have been addressed (Perkes, Orange County Register, 1/6).
Washington Hospital, Fremont
In December, nurses at Washington Hospital told the hospital's board of directors that they feel pressured to come to work sick, and requested the hospital to revise a policy that disciplines them for using accrued sick time, the Oakland Tribune reports.
The hospital's policy allows nurses to accrue up to 480 hours of sick time, but the disciplinary program goes into effect after three nonconsecutive unscheduled absences, including sick days, within one calendar year.
Hospital spokesperson Chris Brown said that the facility's sick leave policy is similar to other area hospitals and that "there were few if any complaints" about it prior to current contract negotiations (Artz, Oakland Tribune, 1/3).
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