California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of September 12, 2014
John Muir Health - Concord, Walnut Creek
On Monday, the electronic health record system at John Muir Health's Concord and Walnut Creek facilities was intermittently down, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
John Muir spokesperson Ben Drew said the EHR problems did not affect patient care or admissions.
He said the hospitals relied on paper health records while the EHR system was offline and ambulances were told to divert patients from the facilities for a short time.
Drew said information from paper records will be added to the EHR system (Tsai, San Jose Mercury News, 9/9)
Marin General Hospital
On Wednesday, a Marin Superior Court judge rejected a bid to remove or alter a measure on the Marin County November ballot that would lease publically owned Marin General Hospital to a private, not-for-profit group, the Marin News reports.
Specifically, Measure R would seek approval from voters in the Marin Healthcare District to lease Marin General Hospital for 30 years to Marin General Hospital Corporation, a private, not-for-profit group created to oversee the facility's daily operations. Former Marin Healthcare District Board Member Nancy McCarthy filed the bid, which alleged that several statements contained in the ballot measure are erroneous (Halstead, Marin News, 9/10).
Scripps Health, San Diego
Scripps Health has launched a short pilot project that will enable remote monitoring of some patients through smartphones and other electronic devices given to its medical staff, Payers & Providers reports.
Patients participating in the project will include individuals with critical conditions, in intensive care or who have had heart surgery (Payers & Providers, 9/10).
St. Joseph Hoag Health, Children's Hospital of Orange County
Last month, St. Joseph Hoag Health announced that it has partnered with the Children's Hospital of Orange County to form an accountable care organization, according to a release from St. Joseph Health.
The organizations will share financial and medical responsibilities for managing and providing care to the ACO's patients. The ACO aims to improve care quality, enhance patients' experiences and boost efficiency (St. Joseph Health release, 8/4).
University of Southern California's Verdugo Hills Hospital
On Monday, nurses at the University of Southern California's Verdugo Hills Hospital petitioned upper management officials for additional funding to help improve patient care, the Glendale News-Press reports.
The petition, which was signed by 27 nurses, alleges several lapses in care at the facility, including a lack of appropriate resources, staffing deficiencies and a need for improved benefits to retain staff and recruit additional nurses (Mikailian, Glendale News-Press, 9/10).
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.