Much-Hyped Deal Has Turned East Bay Hospital Into Second-Class Facility, Doctors Say
Doctors at the Children’s Hospital Oakland say UCSF has prioritized the Benioff Children’s Hospital in San Francisco. “There’s a lot of anger. The anger is palpable,” said Dr. Stephen Long, a pediatric anesthesiologist who has worked at the Oakland hospital for four years.
The Mercury News:
Children’s Hospital Oakland Doctors Revolt Against UCSF Partnership
Doctors in Oakland are revolting against the much-hyped partnership that combined UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital Oakland, saying the four-year-old deal is turning the world-renowned East Bay hospital into a second-class facility to its San Francisco sibling. Doctors are fleeing the East Bay hospital, claiming UCSF has prioritized San Francisco, locating most of its specialists and leadership at its new Mission Bay campus over the Oakland facility. Fewer kids are being hospitalized in Oakland, down about 11 percent since the 2014 merger, according to doctors. Currently, no new patients can get routine psychiatric appointments or can see a lung specialist in Oakland, a community with the highest rate of asthma in Alameda County, the doctors say. (Gafni, 5/10)
And in other news —
Sacramento Bee:
Nurses Strike In Support Of Workers At UC Medical Center
More than 550 nurses and members of the California Nurses Association turned out Wednesday for the second day of the sympathy strike at UC Davis Medical Center. ... After more than a year of negotiations, the patient-care and service workers, represented by AFSCME 3299, rejected the university's last-and-best offer of 3 percent across-the-board wage increases and a prorated, lump-sum payment of $750. AFSCME 3299 negotiators have sought wage increases of 6 percent, a freeze on health care premiums and job security that eliminates contracting out jobs for which its members are trained. (Sullivan, 5/9)
Fresno Bee:
Clovis Doctor College, Assemi Project, New Building CHSU
A medical school broke ground in northeast Clovis on Wednesday, becoming the latest privately funded health care project spearheaded by the Assemi family. Known for success in real estate and agriculture, the Assemi family has made improving the Valley's health-care system one of their philanthropic missions. The family, led by Farid Assemi, is behind the California Health Sciences University's College of Pharmacy that will be graduating its first class on May 18. (Rodriguez, 5/9)