California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of March 8, 2013
Cathedral Hill Hospital, San Francisco; St. Luke's Hospital, San Francisco
On Tuesday, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and several members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors confirmed new plans for California Pacific Medical Center's construction projects at Cathedral Hill and St. Luke's Hospital, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
The new agreement would downsize the proposed 555-bed Cathedral Hill medical campus to 274 beds and expand the St. Luke's facility from 80 beds to 120 beds.
Warren Browner -- CEO of CPMC -- estimated the total cost of the projects at about $2 billion.
The city Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on the new plan at a meeting on March 12 (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 3/5).
Doctors Medical Center, San Pablo
Last week, Doctors Medical Center workers and union leaders urged the hospital's board of directors to reconsider potential layoffs, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Dawn Gideon -- interim CEO of the hospital -- said Doctors Medical Center has a projected $10 million deficit for 2013 and is running out of reserves to continue operating.
The hospital is trying to cut its deficit by consolidating two patient care floors -- which would save about $400,000 -- and laying off 22 of its roughly 1,000 employees.
Robert McCauley -- an organizer with the National Union of Healthcare Workers in Emeryville -- said the hospital should do a better job of enlisting the help of elected representatives (Radin, Contra Costa Times, 2/27).
Dominican Hospital, Santa Cruz
Physicians and nurses at Dominican Hospital are seeking more security at the facility after a patient assaulted a doctor and a physician assistant last month, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports.
Some hospital workers also have discussed the need to replace ambulance bay doors leading to the emergency department, which the patient pried open before assaulting the staff members.
Nanette Mickiewicz -- president of the hospital -- said the facility "places the highest priority on the health and safety of our patients and staff members," adding that two trained security officers are stationed throughout the hospital at all hours (Baxter, Santa Cruz Sentinel, 3/5).
Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center, Los Angeles
Los Angeles County officials are considering proposals to add 150 more beds to Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The hospital opened in 2008 with 600 inpatient beds, 224 fewer than the facility it replaced.
The medical and surgical ward at County/USC regularly operates at 95% capacity, which is much higher than recommended by health officials. The hospital regularly diverts ambulances and transfers patients elsewhere (Gorman, Los Angeles Times, 3/5).
St. Joseph Health; Hoag Hospital
Last week, St. Joseph Health and Hoag Hospital announced that they have received approval from the state Attorney General's Office to create a new not-for-profit company, the Orange County Register reports.
The affiliation will pool resources from Hoag's hospitals in Newport Beach and Irvine and St. Joseph's hospitals in Orange, Mission Viejo, Fullerton and Laguna Beach.
The new company -- called Covenant Health Network -- will focus on preventive health, new health care services, improved medical outcomes and care access for low-income residents (Perkes, Orange County Register, 2/28).
Tulare Regional Medical Center
Tulare Regional Medical Center will lay off workers and make cuts to spending and charity care as part of cost-saving initiatives approved by the board of directors, The Business Journal reports.
Most of the layoffs will affect workers in non-clinical areas, and less than 5% of the staff will be affected, according to officials (The Business Journal, 3/1). 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.