California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of October 12, 2012
Community Hospital of San Bernardino Foundation
The Community Hospital of San Bernardino Foundation has received a $90,000 donation from the hospital's auxiliary board, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
Sandee Zschomler -- vice president and executive director of the foundation -- said the funds "will be used to enhance patient care and support hospital services" (Riverside Press-Enterprise, 10/6).
John Muir Health; Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Palo Alto
John Muir Health and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital have launched a collaborative effort to offer children's specialty services in Contra Costa County and surrounding communities, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Under the partnership, children in the Contra Costa region with certain illnesses will be able to receive care from Lucile Packard specialists through John Muir Health facilities (Kleffman, San Jose Mercury News, 10/8).
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Fontana
Final touches are being added to the $720 million Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fontana, which is expected to open in May 2013, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
The hospital was built to comply with state seismic building requirements and will replace an old Kaiser Permanente hospital built in the 1940s.
The new 490,000 square-foot facility will have 314 beds and 10 operating suites (Zimmerman, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 10/6).
Mills-Peninsula Health Services
The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United has ratified a three-year contract with Mills-Peninsula Health Services that covers about 750 registered nurses, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
The contract was finalized after the hospital decided to withdraw certain proposed reductions and reach an agreement on staffing, according to nurses.
The contract starts retroactively on July 1, 2011, and runs through June 30, 2014 (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 10/8).
Naval Medical Center San Diego
Naval Medical Center San Diego is expanding its prosthetics department to meet the needs of an increasing number of individuals with amputations, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The Comprehensive Combat and Complex Casualty Care facility originally was designed to support 40 patients with single amputations. According to officials, the department now is treating 100 active-duty personnel and 50 retirees, many of whom have multiple amputations.
The expansion -- which costs $240,000 -- includes two additional treatment rooms, a check-in area, a storage space and a second set of parallel bars (Perry, Los Angeles Times, 10/8).
Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Santa Cruz
On Tuesday, the Santa Cruz City Council discussed Palo Alto Medical Foundation's plans to build a new 18,000 square-foot medical facility on Mission Street, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports.
Local residents attending the meeting expressed concern that the new facility could create traffic congestion. Residents asked city leaders to implement "significant calming measures" to ease potential traffic problems.
The city council is scheduled to discuss and vote on traffic issues related to the PAMF project at a future meeting (McCord, Santa Cruz Sentinel, 10/9).
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