California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of November 14, 2008
Community Regional Medical Center, Fresno
Community Regional Medical Center is set to open a new neonatal intensive care unit, the Fresno Bee reports.
The 65-bed neonatal ICU will replace the hospital's 19-bed unit. Fresno Community officials said that there is a shortage of NICU beds in the central San Joaquin Valley and that Community had outgrown its previous NICU (Anderson, Fresno Bee, 11/11).
Good Samaritan Hospital, San Jose
Patients at Good Samaritan Hospital's Cardiac Rehabilitation program are protesting the hospital's decision to phase out the program beginning Dec. 19 because of budget limitations, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Good Samaritan CEO Bill Piche said the hospital needs to put its resources in other places (Peterson, Mercury News, 11/11).
Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center
On Friday, patients moved into the new and smaller Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, KPCC's "KPCC News" reports.
The building has 220 fewer beds than the old medical center (Nazario, "KPCC News," KPCC, 11/7).
In 1997, Los Angeles County supervisors chose to downsize the new facility because of cost concerns (Lin, Los Angeles Times, 11/8).
Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, Mission Hills
On Tuesday, Providence Holy Cross Medical Center officials asked the Los Angeles City Council to allow construction to continue on an expansion project at the hospital, the Los Angeles Daily News reports (Abram, Los Angeles Daily News, 11/11).
Last month, a judge ordered work on the project to stop until the city council re-evaluated the expansion and determined if further environmental review is needed (Zavis, Los Angeles Times, 11/12).
Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, Mission Viejo
Saddleback Memorial Medical Center has opened its Center for Advanced Wound Healing and Hyberbaric Medicine, the Orange County Register reports.
The center has five treatment rooms and two hyperbaric oxygen chambers.
It cost about $1.1 million to develop the facility (Molina, Orange County Register, 11/10).
Santa Cruz Medical Foundation
The Santa Cruz Medical Foundation, a Sutter Health affiliate, has given $100,000 grants to fund services for low-income patients to Santa Cruz-based Dientes Community Dental Care and the Santa Cruz Women's Health Center, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports.
Dientes plans on starting a pilot program to educate low-income children on dental care and provide screenings at elementary schools throughout Santa Cruz.
The women's health center will use the funds to hire additional staff and open another exam room (Gumz, Santa Cruz Sentinel, 11/8).
Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital
Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital has halted a $68 million effort to expand the facility's emergency department and intensive care unit because of the poor economic climate, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
The hospital attributed its decision to:
- The destabilization in the credit markets;
- A reduction in reimbursements from Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program; and
- Fundraising problems (McCallum, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 11/6).
Scripps Mercy Hospital, Hillcrest
Scripps Mercy Hospital has announced a $203 million renovation and expansion, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
The project will double the size of the hospital's emergency department, expand the intensive care unit and centralize cancer services (Darcé, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11/12).
Seton Medical Center, Daly City
Seton Medical Center has implemented the da Vinci Surgical System, a robotic surgical tool, the San Mateo County Times reports.
The system was installed in an operating room used for cardiac, urological and gynecological procedures (Morente, San Mateo County Times, 11/9).
South Coast Medical Center, Laguna Beach
South Coast Medical Center has opened an inpatient eating disorder treatment program, the Orange County Register reports.
The eight-bed inpatient program treats adults suffering from
- Anorexia nervosa;
- Binge eating disorder; and
- Bulimia nervosa.
It is the only inpatient treatment program for eating disorders in Orange and San Diego counties (Hart, Orange County Register, 11/10).
Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento
Sutter Medical Center has introduced the Moms of Multiples program for women delivering multiple children, the Sacramento Bee reports. The program aims to help women throughout their pregnancies.
The program's aim is to improve the birthing experience and to help women carry the fetuses closer to term (Sacramento Bee, 11/8).
UCLA Medical Center
Through a program called "Operation Mend," UCLA Medical Center is providing plastic and reconstructive surgery to service members who experienced disfiguring injuries in Iraq or Afghanistan, the Los Angeles Times reports.
UCLA provides plastic and reconstructive services after the service members are treated initially at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Philanthropist Ronald Katz has donated $1 million to the program and has helped raise $10 million for it (Perry, Los Angeles Times, 11/10).
ValleyCare Health System
Pleasanton-based ValleyCare Health System has become the first hospital chain on the West Coast to use a high-tech hand scan patient identification security system, the Contra Costa Times reports
The hospital is leasing the technology system for $6,000 monthly and is using it at its Pleasanton and Livermore campuses (Jordan, Contra Costa Times, 11/9). 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.