California Hospital Roundup for the Week of July 31, 2009
San Jacinto Physicians' Hospital
The Development Advisory Group and orthopedic surgeon Allen Gustafson have announced plans to build medical offices and a hospital in the San Jacinto Gateway area that they hope will attract residents who currently seek medical care outside the valley, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
The medical offices would be built first, in about 2011, while the proposed hospital would be built by 2013 because of complex state licensing and certification processes, DAG President William Arsenault said.
He said the medical offices would be three stories and 79,800 square feet, and the hospital would include six operating rooms and other preparation and recovery rooms (Wesson, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 7/28).
San Joaquin General Hospital
In a July 28 presentation to the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors, a consulting firm reported that San Joaquin General Hospital is expected to record a total loss of $14.7 million for fiscal year 2009, which ended in June, the Stockton Record reports.
The loss is $2.8 million more than the $11.9 million loss originally projected in the budget, but it is less than losses in previous years when deficits ranged from $21 million to more than $30 million, the presentation showed.
The report was prepared by the Camden Group, with which the county contracts to advise on the operation of the hospital and to hire key positions (Johnson, Stockton Record, 7/29).
Sutter General Hospital, San Francisco
On July 23, the contracting firm Boldt took over the $665 million renovation of Sutter General Hospital in Sacramento, after Sutter Health and Turner Construction parted ways citing scheduling and budget concerns, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
According to Larry Mass, the Sutter executive in charge of the project, Sutter's decision to split with Turner was "mutual," and Turner is assisting with the transition.
The project includes a renovation of the hospital and construction of a new power plant, medical office building, and a children's and women's center.
Sutter expects the project to be completed by November 2011, despite missing some early deadlines, the Business Times reports (Shaw, San Francisco Business Times, 7/23).
UC-Davis Medical Center, Sacramento
On July 24, the House passed its 2010 Labor-HHS appropriations bill, which will direct $375,000 to UC-Davis Medical Center for the purchase of equipment for its emergency department, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
The funding was secured by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento), who said that the bill "demonstrates this Congress' commitment to investing in our medical infrastructure," adding that the funding "will help us continue to build a medical infrastructure that benefits our region on a daily basis."
California State University-Sacramento also will receive $350,000 for research equipment through the bill, the Business Journal reports (Anderson, Sacramento Business Journal, 7/24).
UC-San Francisco Medical Center
On July 28, San Francisco's Board of Supervisors voted 11-0 to approve a resolution allowing UC-San Francisco Medical Center to operate a helipad at its proposed women's, children's and cancer specialty hospital, according to the university, the Business Times reports.
The nearly $2 billion facility is scheduled to open in 2014, so long as funding can be secured (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 7/28).
Valley Health System, Riverside
On July 27, Valley Health System's board of directors voted 5-2 to begin negotiations with the group Physicians for a Healthy Hospital to sell the hospital district, which includes Hemet Valley Medical Center and Menifee Valley Medical Center, the Press-Enterprise reports.
The agreement calls for 90 days of exclusive negotiations with the group, which includes about 125 doctors and claims to have about $1 million in an escrow account (Hines, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 7/27). 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.