Hospital News Roundup for Nov. 2, 2007
Integrated Healthcare Holdings has reached a tentative deal with Anaheim Memorial Medical Center to purchase the 224-bed hospital for $68 million from Prime Healthcare Services, the Orange County Register reports.
Larry Anderson, president of IHHI, said the purchase will be financed by taking on new debt. IHHI also has agreed to invest almost $29 million in improvements to the facility.
The state must approve the sale (Perkes/Galvin, Orange County Register, 10/31).
Prime Healthcare Services has purchased Centinela Hospital Medical Center, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The 369-bed facility was one of the three facilities owned by Centinela Freeman HealthSystem.
The hospital is the ninth facility in the region that Prime has purchased in recent years. Cardiologist Prem Reddy, who owns Prime, said the chain would like to buy several more hospitals in Southern California (Costello/Chang, Los Angeles Times, 11/1).
On Monday, Contra Costa Regional Medical Center plans to hold a hearing on a proposal to use unlicensed social workers instead of licensed clinical specialists in the crisis stabilization unit, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Federal officials have informed the hospital that licensed clinical specialists can no longer work with psychiatric patients. Instead, doctors or psychiatrists must handle evaluation and treatment plans.
Mental health advocates and union leaders oppose the plan, which was approved by county supervisors (Kleffman, Contra Costa Times, 10/31).
Kaiser Permanente has opened a new medical facility in Oceanside, the North County Times reports.
The facility consists of:
- Four primary care physicians;
- Two pediatricians;
- A small pharmacy; and
- Limited radiology and laboratory services (Sisson, North County Times, 10/31).
The Department of Public Health is investigating whether Olive View-UCLA Medical Center neglected the symptoms of a 33-year-old emergency department patient who died outside the waiting room Sunday after complaining of chest pain, the Los Angeles Times reports.
County coroner's officials are conducting more tests on the patient before determining the cause of death.
The department has cited the hospital for patient care violations five times this year. Los Angeles County's Department of Health Services also is investigating the incident (Leonard/Ornstein, Los Angeles Times, 10/31).
On Wednesday, county health officials announced that a nurse has been fired for failing to administer an electrocardiogram for the patient (Rosenblatt, Los Angeles Times, 11/1).
The new 138-room tower at Simi Valley Hospital is scheduled to open next spring, the Ventura County Star reports.
The facility includes all private rooms and an intensive care unit with new technology. More than half of the hospital's 77 beds will be in the tower.
After the tower is open, the hospital will tear down most of its oldest structure and build a new entrance and lobby (Kisken, Ventura County Star, 10/28).
On Tuesday, union members employed by St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center held a protest against the hospital's business ties with O'Connor Woods, a retirement community in a dispute with the employees' union, the Stockton Record reports.
The picketing hospital workers, members of the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, said they wanted to show their support for union members at O'Connor Woods.
The union has been seeking a labor contract with the retirement community for about two years. The labor contract called for higher wages and changes in health benefits.
On Friday, workers at O'Connor Woods are holding a planned decertification vote from SEIU-UHW (Goldeen, Stockton Record, 10/31).
ValleyCare Health System and Valley Medical Oncology Consultants have opened a regional cancer center in Pleasanton, the East Bay Business Times reports.
The facility is affiliated with UC-Davis Cancer Center and will provide the opportunity for physicians to send patient records and diagnostic studies to specialists at the university.
Patients also will be able to consult with UCD physicians through video teleconference and participate in cancer trials (Hogarth, East Bay Business Times, 10/26).
Ventura County Medical Center and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles have jointly appointed a pediatric hematologist/oncologist to treat cancer and blood disorders at a VCMC clinic, the Ventura County Star reports.
Francisco Bracho will work with specialists at Childrens Hospital to reduce the number of visits pediatrics patients currently have to make to Los Angeles because of the lack of services in Ventura County.
Bracho also will monitor children who are being treated primarily at Childrens but develop complications and require immediate attention (Klampe, Ventura County Star, 10/29).