California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of September 13, 2013
California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco
On Sept. 5, the California Nurses Association asked the National Labor Relations Board to schedule a secret-ballot union representation election at California Pacific Medical Center, which the union calls “one of the few hospitals in San Francisco where the RNs remain non-union,” San Francisco Business Times’ "Bay Area BizTalk" reports.
According to “BizTalk,” CPMC’s 600 nurses were scheduled to rally outside the hospital this week in support of the election (Rauber, “Bay Area BizTalk,” San Francisco Business Times, 9/6).
Children's Hospital & Research Center, Oakland
In an email sent to Oakland City Council Member Dan Kalb on Sept. 3, over 20 city residents protested Children's Hospital's plans to rebuild its campus, San Francisco Business Times' "Bay Area BizTalk" reports.
Residents in the email wrote they are particularly concerned with plans to position a new entrance to the hospital along the main street of a "historical neighborhood," which could bring "increased helicopter noise, traffic, trash, parking problems and other impacts" to the area.
Some residents have suggested that Children's Hospital instead build a larger and taller tower where its original structure sits (Rauber, "Bay Area BizTalk," San Francisco Business Times, 9/10).
Riverside Community Hospital
On Tuesday, Riverside Community Hospital displayed architectural drawings and shared details of a $315 million expansion project at a public town hall meeting, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
The expansion includes a seven-story building, along with additional space for a parking garage, office buildings and more laboratory space.
Construction already is under way and is scheduled to conclude by 2018 (Robinson, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 9/5).
Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla
On Sept. 4, officials at Scripps Memorial Hospital celebrated the midway point of construction on the hospital’s new Prebys Cardiovascular Institute, which is scheduled for completion by 2015, U-T San Diego reports. The $456 million, seven-story building eventually will house 167 beds in single-patient rooms and six cardiovascular-specific operating rooms.
Hospital officials also announced that Jerry Sanders -- CEO of San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce -- will lead efforts to raise the remaining $60 million of a $180 million public fundraising campaign (Sisson [1], U-T San Diego, 9/5).
Tri-City Hospital
On Sept. 4, the Tri-City Hospital Board of Directors voted to put hospital CEO Larry Anderson on paid administrative leave, U-T San Diego reports. Board Chair Larry Shallock said the decision was a "personnel matter" and declined to say how many board members voted to put Anderson on leave, how long Anderson’s hiatus would last or whether the hospital had launched an investigation.
Shallock announced that the hospital's COO Casey Fatch would act as interim CEO (Sisson [2], U-T San Diego, 9/5).
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