California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of March 15, 2013

Alameda Health System, Oakland

Alameda County Medical Center officials have renamed the facility Alameda Health System as part of a campaign to improve the hospital's image, the Contra Costa Times reports.

The campaign also involves new websites for the hospital and its clinics, as well as an expansion into southern Alameda County to consolidate and compete with rival health systems, such as Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health (Woodall, Contra Costa Times, 3/12).

Loma Linda University Children's Hospital

Last week, Loma Linda University Children's Hospital Foundation raised $846,700 at its 20th annual gala, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.

A portion of the funds will help pay for cardiac monitors for the hospital's intensive care unit (Riverside Press-Enterprise, 3/12).

Tulare Regional Medical Center

Last month, Tulare Regional Medical Center CEO Shawn Bolouki told the hospital's board of directors that the facility must align with another health care organization or find a partner to remain profitable and sustain operations, the Visalia Times-Delta reports.

According to Bolouki, only about 11% to 15% of payments to the hospital are from private insurers. The majority of the rest of the payments come from Medicare or Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, which have lower reimbursements.

The hospital is expecting Medicare reimbursement cuts under the Affordable Care Act (Villa, Visalia Times-Delta, 3/11).

Ventura County Medical Center, Ventura

On Tuesday, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors approved a $216.5 million contract for Clark Design/Build of California to construct a new 120-bed wing at Ventura County Medical Center, the Ventura County Star reports.