California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of November 30, 2012
Clovis Community Medical Center
On Wednesday, Clovis Community Medical Center workers transferred about 85 patients into a new five-story facility that includes 144 private rooms, the Fresno Bee reports.
Officials say that the transfer will make more beds available to emergency department patients.
Meanwhile, Clovis also opened seven new operating rooms and made additional intensive care beds available this week (Anderson, Fresno Bee, 11/20).
Dameron Hospital, Stockton; UC-Davis Medical Center, Sacramento
Earlier this month, University of California regents approved an affiliation between UC-Davis Medical Center and Dameron Hospital, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
The two hospitals will form a limited liability company that will own and operate Dameron, a not-for-profit hospital. UC-Davis will have a 29% interest in the venture, and Dameron will have a 71% interest.
The venture will launch next spring (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 11/16).
Mark Twain St. Joseph's Hospital, San Andreas
Last month, Mark Twain St. Joseph's Hospital in San Andreas began connecting stroke patients with neurologists at the Mercy Neurological Institute in Sacramento via the Mercy Telehealth Network, the Stockton Record reports.
The network allows physicians to use wireless robots to remotely examine patients.
Patients with stroke symptoms who visit Mark Twain's ED now are immediately evaluated by a stroke specialist at Mercy (Stockton Record, 11/27).
Rancho Springs Medical Center, Murrieta; Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego
On Monday, Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta opened Southwest Riverside County's first neonatal intensive care unit through an agreement with Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
The new 11-bed unit will be equipped to monitor, stabilize and resuscitate seriously ill newborns, according to Rady officials.
Rady will hold the unit's operating license, and the unit will be staffed by workers from both hospitals (Hill, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 11/26).
Riverside Community Hospital
Earlier this month, the Riverside City Council approved a $4.5 million, 15-year tax-sharing agreement to help fund a $315 million expansion of Riverside Community Hospital, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
Expansion plans include a seven-story facility that would add 72 private patient rooms and space for up to 105 additional beds, as well as a three-floor medical office building.
County officials hope that the expansion will help address a shortage of patient beds and physicians in the region (Robinson, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 11/21).
Temecula Valley Hospital
Construction on Temecula Valley Hospital is 60% complete, and the facility now is officially incorporated, according to hospital executives, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
The 140-bed, 178,000 square-foot facility will be the first hospital in Temecula.
It will include private patient rooms, a 20-bed intensive care unit and six surgical suites. The total construction will cost about $150 million (Rodriguez, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 11/16). Â
UC-San Diego
Earlier this month, Thomas McAfee -- dean of clinical affairs at UC-San Diego Health Sciences -- said that UCSD would not shut down its Nevada Cancer Institute, U-T San Diego reports.
Earlier reports indicated that UCSD was planning to shut down the facility by the end of the year because of cost concerns.
McAfee said that the clinic would remain open under management by the Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, a large oncology clinic in the Las Vegas region (Sisson, U-T San Diego, 11/16).
UC-San Francisco Medical Center; Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland
On Wednesday, officials with the UC-San Francisco Medical Center and the Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland announced that they have signed a formal letter of intent to merge the two facilities, the San Francisco Business Times' "Biz Talk" reports (Rauber, "Biz Talk," San Francisco Business Times, 11/28).
Children's has struggled financially in recent years in part because it lacks resources that are available to hospitals that are part of a larger health system (Kleffman, San Jose Mercury News, 11/29).
According to a memo sent to employees at both hospitals, a merger between the facilities would create "one of the most comprehensive providers of care, reaching children ... throughout the Bay Area, Northern California and beyond" ("Biz Talk," San Francisco Business Times, 11/28). 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.