California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of July 20, 2012
Children's Hospital Central California, Madera
Children's Hospital Central California has received a $100,000 donation for its neurosurgery program, The Business Journal reports.
Scott and Deborah Amey -- a couple from Great Falls, Va. who credit a physician at the hospital with saving their daughter's life -- donated $75,000. The other $25,000 came from a $1 million gift through the Robert M. Shapazian Trust.
The donations will allow the hospital's Pediatric Neurosurgery Fund to provide training materials for neurosurgery clinicians and staff that focus on pediatric neurosurgical diagnoses and treatments. The funds also will help the hospital purchase equipment, perform clinical research and conduct community and organizational outreach (The Business Journal, 7/17).
Palo Alto Medical Foundation
On Tuesday, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation -- part of the Sutter Health system -- and health insurer Cigna announced that they are launching Cigna's first accountable care organization in California, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
The new ACO initially will affect 21,000 Cigna PPO policyholders who see PAMF physicians or those affiliated with the Mills-Peninsula Medical Group.
The insurer and PAMF said the ACO was developed to improve quality and reduce costs by linking physicians and Sutter hospitals with a single health plan (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 7/17).
Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego
Rady Children's Hospital has announced that is has completed a five-year campaign to raise $220 million six months ahead of schedule, U-T San Diego reports.
The fundraising campaign initially focused on construction and allowed the hospital in 2010 to open its 279,000 square-foot Acute Care Pavilion.
Then, the campaign focused on raising funds for technology, research and patient care programs (Lavelle, U-T San Diego, 7/13).
Woodland Hills Medical Center
On Thursday, Kaiser Permanente's Woodland Hills Medical Center awarded grants totaling $501,301 to 16 organizations in Ventura County and the western San Fernando Valley, the Ventura County Star reports.
The Community Benefit Grants Program aids not-for-profit organizations that provide health care or work with public policy initiatives to improve community health.
Jennifer Lopez -- community benefit manager for Kaiser -- said the grant recipients were chosen based on factors such as the organizations' sustainability and the estimated effectiveness of the grants on the recipients (Tarrab, Ventura County Star, 7/18).
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