California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of May 17, 2013
California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco
Sutter Health has announced that it will use a vacant Circuit City building on San Francisco's Van Ness Avenue for administrative offices, including one that will handle construction management for the new California Pacific Medical Center being built across the street, the San Francisco Business Times' "Biz Talk" reports.
The 40,000 square-foot building has been vacant since the electronics retailer moved out in 2009 (Dineen, "Biz Talk," San Francisco Business Times, 5/9).
Good Samaritan Hospital, San Jose; Regional Medical Center, San Jose
Members of the California Nurses Association-National Nurses United plan to strike May 23 and 24 at Good Samaritan Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Contra Costa Times reports.
The protest is over disagreements about wages, staffing levels, pensions and benefits. It coincides with the last day of a week-long strike that CNA organized against Sutter hospitals in the East San Francisco Bay Area.
Officials at Good Samaritan and Regional -- both of which are owned by the Hospital Corporation of America -- were unavailable for comment (Kleffman, Contra Costa Times, 5/15).
Kaiser Permanente, Temecula
Kaiser Permanente has proposed a development deal that would allow it to hold a plot of land in Temecula for up to 25 years before deciding whether to build a 1.2 million square-foot hospital complex, U-T San Diego reports.
Last year, Kaiser filed a pre-application with the city to build a 250-bed hospital, including two hospital towers, medical offices, and a diagnostic and treatment area.
Temecula Mayor Mike Naggar said he understands why the hospital system is hesitant to commit to the project, claiming that studies and government data show that fewer people are staying in hospitals for extended periods. However, he said the city cannot support "tying up land for that long" (Claverie, U-T San Diego, 5/15).
Mission Hospital, Mission Viejo
Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo has participated in a nationwide March of Dimes study that helped lower the hospital's early elective delivery rates, the Orange County Register reports.
Before the study -- the results of which were published last month -- Mission's elective delivery rate before 39 weeks was 22%. During the study, patients and clinicians received education about the risks of early deliveries, and Mission's elective delivery rate before 39 weeks fell to less than 5% (Perkes, Orange County Register, 5/8).
San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital, Banning
On Tuesday, San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital's new emergency department and intensive care unit began accepting patients, according to hospital officials, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
The new 39,500 square foot facility includes 27 ED beds and a 16-bed ICU (Wesson, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 5/15).
San Leandro Hospital
On Tuesday, Alameda Health System -- the public health system of Alameda County -- signed a nonbinding letter-of-intent to assume ownership of Sutter Health's San Leandro Hospital, the Contra Costa Times reports.
The 93-bed hospital faced possible closure because of financial challenges (Woodall/McGlone, Contra Costa Times, 5/14).
Under the nonbinding deal, Sutter Health also would establish a $22 million fund to help the county manage the hospital, which operates the only emergency department in the city (Rauber, "Biz Talk," San Francisco Business Times, 5/13).
If the Alameda Health board approves a final version of the deal, the transfer of ownership could be completed in the fall (Glover, Sacramento Bee, 5/15).
Temecula Valley Hospital, Temecula
Construction on the new Temecula Valley Hospital is nearing completion, and the facility is expected to receive its occupancy certification on July 22, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
Mike Fontana, construction project manager, said the new 140-bed hospital is being built at a cost of just over $150 million so far.
The 178,000 square-foot facility is scheduled to open Sept. 1 (Rodriguez, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 5/10). 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.