California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of October 30, 2015
Adventist Medical Center, Glendale
Adventist Medical Center has been certified as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by DNV GL Healthcare USA, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The certification and accreditation organization selected Adventist for exceeding patient safety standards set by CMS, the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association (Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 10/29).
Community Health Systems
The National Labor Relation Board's Office of General Counsel has issued a consolidated complaint against the parent company of three California hospitals, alleging unfair labor practices, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports.
The complaint against Community Health Systems consolidates 29 charges against Watsonville Community Hospital, Fallbrook Hospital and Barstow Community Hospital in California and four other hospitals across the country.
The complaint alleges that CHS maintained a rule that infringes on employees' rights to discuss wages, hours and working conditions with other workers. The complaint also alleges that CHS took action against employees participating in union activities and failed to engage in good-faith bargaining.
The complaint seeks a corporate-wide cease-and-desist order against unfair labor practices, the reinstatement of employees discharged prior to bargaining and reimbursement for negotiation expenses (Gumz, Santa Cruz Sentinel, 10/21).
Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital
Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital received primary stroke certification from the Joint Commission, the Times reports.
The hospital was awarded the certification for meeting specific criteria, including a designated stroke unit, a 24/7 stroke acute team, several education requirements and eight core clinical performance measures for diagnosing and treating stroke patients (Los Angeles Times, 10/29).
Encino Hospital Medical Center
The former chief nursing officer at Prime Healthcare Services' Encino Hospital Medical Center has been awarded $1 million in a wrongful-termination case, the Los Angeles Times reports.
In the case, Vilma Dinham alleged that she was let go because she had complained about an affair between the facility's CMO and a female supervisor.
Prime said it plans to appeal the decision and that Dinham was fired for poor performance (Pfeifer, Los Angeles Times, 10/24).
St. John's Health Center, Santa Monica
St. John's Health Center temporarily closed its cafeteria after a health inspector found an infestation of at least 10 cockroaches in its kitchen, the Los Angeles Times' "L.A. Now" reports.
The closure did not disrupt in-patient meals, which are prepared in a different part of the hospital, and visitors were directed to local restaurants.
Hospital operator Providence Health & Services, which was expected to reopen the cafeteria days later, said the infestation was caused by "prolonged hot weather" (Hamilton, "L.A. Now," Los Angeles Times, 10/22).
UC-San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital, Oakland
UC-San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital has broken ground on a new medical center on its campus, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The new $50 million building will house neurology, rehabilitation, cardiology and other services currently located in the hospital. The new location will free up space for extra patient beds and care facilities in the main hospital building (Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/27).
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