California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of October 17, 2008
Catholic Healthcare West, Ventura County
Registered nurses at three hospitals in Ventura County that are owned by Catholic Healthcare West have canceled plans for a five-day strike, the Ventura County Star reports.Â
The strike at St. John's Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, St. John's Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo, and Northridge Medical Center was scheduled to begin on Sunday.
Union representative Chris Slane said the nurses withdrew the strike notice because hospital management pledged to continue contract negotiations (Ventura County Star, 10/16).
Healdsburg District Hospital
Officials with Healdsburg District Hospital said that UnitedHealth Group has agreed to buy $10.1 million in tax-exempt bonds that the hospital placed on the market last month, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
Hospital CEO Evan Rayner said the hospital will use money from the bonds to repay loans from Sonoma County and make capital improvements (Hay, Press Democrat, 10/11).
Kingsburg District Hospital
Kingsburg District Hospital has contracted with Adventist Health for management and financial advice, the Fresno Bee reports.Â
Adventist officials said they would work with Kingsburg District Hospital's board of directors to evaluate services and explore options to collaborate on medical services (Correa, Fresno Bee, 10/15).
St. Joseph Hospital/Redwood Memorial Hospital, Eureka
St. Joseph Hospital reported first-quarter earnings of $1.397 million, up from a loss of $1.5 million in the same period in 2007, according to the Eureka Reporter.
Redwood Hospital posted a first-quarter profit of $724,000 after posting a loss of $168,000 in the same quarter a year earlier (Harrison, Eureka Reporter, 10/15).
UC-Davis Medical Center
The Muscular Dystrophy Association announced that the UC Davis Medical Center has been selected as one of the 10 clinical research centers across the country, the Sacramento Bee reports (Calvan, Sacramento Bee, 10/11).
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