California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of September 11, 2015
Chinese Hospital, San Francisco
A physician group affiliated with the not-for-profit Chinese Hospital has filed a lawsuit against the Chinese Community Health Plan over alleged unfair practices, the San Francisco Business Times' "Bay Area BizTalk" reports.
The Chinese Community Health Care Association alleges that CCHP has tried to squeeze the physician group out of a more than 30-year alliance with the Chinese Hospital and the health plan. The group filed the suit in San Francisco County Superior Court, alleging breach of contract, unfair business practices and unfair competition (Rauber, "Bay Area BizTalk," San Francisco Business Times, 9/1).
Gardens Regional Hospital and Medical Center, Hawaiian Gardens
A homeless patient with mental health issues who was deemed a suicide risk has filed a lawsuit against Gardens Regional Hospital and Medical Center over alleged patient dumping, KPCC's "KPCC News" reports.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, alleges that the hospital discharged the patient -- who was suffering from auditory hallucinations caused by schizophrenia -- shortly after the initial diagnosis, despite her request to stay or be transferred to another facility. The hospital has denied the allegations (Plevin, "KPCC News," KPCC, 9/4).
Good Samaritan Hospital, San Jose
San Jose residents are opposing the construction of the new three-story Good Samaritan Hospital and its parking garage because of size concerns and the potential to increase traffic, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
In June, Samaritan Medical Center filed a proposal to rezone part of its campus, which would allow it to build a 50-foot-tall medical center, exceeding the area's height limit by 15 feet (Baum, San Jose Mercury News, 8/28).
Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, Valencia
Registered nurses at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital have reached a tentative contract agreement with hospital officials after months of debate, according to a release.
Under the agreement, hospital RNs would not need to comply with a requirement to surrender their ability to report violations of employee rights. The nurses, represented by the California Nurses Association, will vote on the contract next week (CNA release, 9/4).
Marina Del Rey Hospital, Los Angeles
Cedars-Sinai Health System has acquired Marina Del Rey Hospital, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The hospital will operate as an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai and continue to provide its existing services. In addition, all 660 hospital employees will remain in place (Terhune, Los Angeles Times, 9/1).
Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego
Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego has received a $2.5 million challenge grant from the Gordon and Marilyn Macklin Foundation, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Under the grant, the foundation will match gifts to the hospital dollar for dollar for the next five years. The money will be used to research Kawasaki disease, a severe childhood disease that can lead to irreversible heart damage (Hutkin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9/9).
UCLA Health
UCLA Health has notified more than 1,200 patients that an employee's laptop containing medical records and other health information was stolen earlier this summer, AP/KPCC's "KPCC News" reports.
The computer did not contain Social Security numbers, health plan ID numbers, credit card numbers or other financial data. UCLA Health said there is no evidence that any information has been accessed from the password-protected computer ("KPCC News," AP/KPCC, 9/1).
Meanwhile, a California court has cleared UCLA Health in a lawsuit over a separate data breach in 2012, The Hill reports.
The lawsuit alleged a temporary worker in a physician's office affiliated with UCLA accessed a patient's medical record without authorization and shared pictures of the information with another person. The court's decision absolves the health system from paying $1.25 million in damages sought by the affected patient (Williams, The Hill, 9/3).
Valley Medical Center, Santa Clara County
Valley Medical Center's $300 million expansion and seismic upgrade is running two years behind schedule, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The project was scheduled to be finished by Sept. 19.
Santa Clara County officials said the delay is costing the medical center $100,000 per day in lost revenue. As a result, officials announced that they plan to fire the company overseeing the project, Turner Construction (de Sá, San Jose Mercury News, 9/1).
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