California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of September 14, 2012

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Berkeley and Oakland

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center plans to eliminate a total of about 370 jobs at campuses in Oakland and Berkeley because of declines in patient volume, revenue and profits, the San Francisco Business Times reports.

Carolyn Kemp -- spokesperson for Alta Bates -- said that layoffs are needed in part because certain procedures are being moved to less-costly outpatient facilities, resulting in steep drops in inpatient volume. According to Kemp, the number of beds occupied by patients decreased by 4% from 2010 to 2011 and fell another 7% through mid-May of this year (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 9/7).

Kaiser Permanente, Anaheim

On Wednesday, Kaiser Permanente transferred more than 60 patients from its facility on Lakeview Avenue to the new Anaheim Medical Center on La Palma Avenue, the Orange County Register reports.

The new $425 million facility is part of a 27-acre campus that includes two medical office buildings and a three-acre garden with an area for outdoor physical therapy. The new emergency department includes rooms designed specifically for cardiology, pediatrics and trauma patients.

According to Kaiser officials, the old facility will undergo seismic retrofitting and then will be used for other medical purposes (Langhorne, Orange County Register, 9/12).

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Palo Alto

Last week, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital held a groundbreaking ceremony for a $1.2 billion expansion that will double the size of the facility, the San Francisco Business Times reports (San Francisco Business Times, 9/7).

The expansion will add 150 patient rooms and new space for diagnostic and treatment therapies (Krieger, San Jose Mercury News, 9/6).

Marshall Medical Center, Placerville

On Saturday, Marshall Medical Center will debut its new $70 million south wing that includes a birthing center and emergency department, the Sacramento Bee reports.

The center, which has been under construction for four years, will not officially accept patients for another four to six weeks.

The project will expand the number of ED beds at the hospital from 12 to 26.

James Whipple, CEO of Marshall, said that as new funding becomes available, the hospital plans to add an intensive care unit, a medical surgical department and a cafeteria to the new wing (Sacramento Bee, 9/11).

Methodist Hospital of Sacramento

On Monday, public health officials in Sacramento said they were considering whether to administer antibiotics to eight infants who were exposed to tuberculosis in the neonatal intensive care unit at Methodist Hospital of Sacramento, the Sacramento Bee reports.

According to the public health officials, an individual with active TB spent time in the neonatal unit from Aug. 23 to Sept. 3. They said that as of Monday afternoon, none of the infants were exhibiting any symptoms of the infection.

The officials are working with the California Department of Public Health to assess other individuals who might have been exposed to the disease (Craft, Sacramento Bee, 9/11).

St. John's Pleasant Valley Hospital, Camarillo

Officials at St. John's Pleasant Valley Hospital have said that the hospital could open a new center for women's health care services next year, the Ventura County Star reports.

The center would provide services such as hormonal replacement therapy, mammograms and pain management, according to officials.

Laurie Eberst -- president and CEO of the hospital -- said, "We are in the process of meeting with interested physicians and have identified space, but we won't have a budget or square footage until the plan is further developed."