California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of November 20, 2015
Antelope Valley Hospital, Lancaster
Antelope Valley Hospital's board of directors has voted 3-2 to have Alecto Healthcare Services take over management of the hospital, Payers & Providers reports.
The board selected Alecto -- which already owns four hospitals, including two in California -- over Tennessee-based Quorum Health Services and two CEO candidates. The hospital has been without a CEO since last July (Shinkman, Payers & Providers, 11/12).
Daughters of Charity Health System
Experts are skeptical of BlueMountain Capital Management's proposed acquisition of the Daughters of Charity Health System, the San Jose Mercury News reports (Seipel, San Jose Mercury News, 11/18).
In July, BlueMountain agreed to make an initial $250 million investment in DCHS and offered to keep the safety-net hospitals open for at least five years (California Healthline, 10/16).
Some stakeholders say the structure of the deal could allow BlueMountain to take advantage of laws that exempt not-for-profits from taxes. Further, industry experts say it could allow the hedge fund to use tax-exempt bonds to finance the acquisition, which means BlueMountain could gain millions of dollars in tax benefits if the hospital chain sells its hospital real estate (San Jose Mercury News, 11/18).
Meanwhile, California Attorney General Kamala Harris (D) has delayed until Dec. 3 a decision on whether to approve the proposed acquisition (Seipel, San Jose Mercury News, 11/19).
Dignity Health
Dignity Health reported an operating loss in the first quarter of 2016, despite growth in revenue, Becker's Hospital CFO reports.
The health system reported $3.1 billion in revenue during Q1 2016, up by 16% from the same period last year. However, Dignity Health reported an operating loss of $47.5 million in Q1 2016, compared with a loss of $15.2 million during Q1 2015 (Ellison, Becker's Hospital CFO, 11/17).
Sharp Grossmont Hospital
The Grossmont Hospital Foundation has received a $2 million pledge from private donors, according to a release.
With the pledge, the foundation has reached its $10 million capital campaign goal. The money will be used to purchase technology for Sharp Grossmont Hospital's Heart and Vascular Center, which is scheduled to open in 2017 (Sharp Grossmont Hospital release, 11/16).
Sutter Health
Sutter Health has received Disability Rights Advocates' Eagle Award, according to a release.
The award recognizes hospitals and health systems for efforts to improve access to care for patients with mobility, vision, hearing and speech disabilities (Sutter Health release, 11/18).
Valley Medical Center
An effort to build a renovated Valley Medical Center has been set back by issues hidden by Santa Clara County, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
The new facility, which is several years behind schedule and costing nearly $100 million more than expected, is slated to replace a seismically ineligible hospital next door.
According to the Mercury News, county officials have kept secret their concerns about the project, including workmanship and safety issues, as well as delays. Experts now are questioning whether poor oversight practices led to delays and costly problems (Kurhi, San Jose Mercury News, 11/14).
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.