California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of October 19, 2012
Children's Hospital Central California, Madera
Taco Bell is donating $250,000 to Children's Hospital Central California as part of an eight-year campaign involving the sale of icons to benefit the facility, The Business Journal reports.Taco Bell raised the latest sum over a five-week period.
Since 2005, the hospital has received more than $1.7 million from icon campaigns, golf tournaments and grants from the Taco Bell Foundation (The Business Journal, 10/17).
Memorial Medical Center, Modesto
Employees at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto are preparing for the possibility of staff reductions or job relocations to Roseville, the Modesto Bee reports.
For the past several months, Sutter Health -- Memorial's parent company -- has been working to streamline its operations and open a new administrative services center in Roseville.
Bill Gleason, a Sutter spokesperson, said it is not yet known how many positions could be eliminated at Memorial or other Central Valley-area facilities when operations shift to the Roseville center.
Craig Baize, a Memorial spokesperson, in an email said that "there has been no announcement about any layoffs" at the hospital (Carlson, Modesto Bee, 10/11).
Seton Medical Center, Daly City
Seton Medical Center and its parent organization, Daughters of Charity Health System, have contributed a total of $885,868 to a campaign supporting Measure A, a Nov. 6 ballot initiative that would implement a half-cent sales tax increase in San Mateo County, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Although county officials say they have not yet decided how to distribute the $60 million that would be generated annually if the measure passes, hospital officials say they could use a portion of the funding to pay for seismic safety renovations at the facility (Eslinger, San Jose Mercury News, 10/11).
Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento
Sutter Medical Center will stop offering kidney transplants after Nov. 9 so it can focus more on its advanced cardiovascular services, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Ceasing kidney transplants will affect 11 jobs. Sutter said that it will try to place affected employees in positions related to heart transplant services.
There currently are 332 patients on the hospital's kidney transplant list. Last week, the hospital sent letters notifying patients about the changes and offering information about being placed on the transplant list at other centers (Glover, Sacramento Bee, 10/12). 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.