Community Hospital, Salinas
The Joint Commission has given a gold seal of approval to Community Hospital in Salinas for providing advanced inpatient diabetes care, HealthyCal reports.
The recognition comes after the health care accreditation organization visited the hospital in December 2011 to conduct an on-site survey of the hospital's compliance with diabetes care standards. Community Hospital is one of six hospitals in California and one of 41 nationwide to receive the designation (Flores, HealthyCal, 2/14).
Dameron Hospital and St. Joseph's Medical Center, Stockton
Two acute care hospitals in Stockton -- Dameron Hospital and St. Joseph's Medical Center -- both have passed site surveys to be designated as preferred destinations for certain heart attack patients, the Stockton Record reports.
The San Joaquin County Emergency Medical Services Agency recently visited the hospitals and determined that they met criteria to receive patients experiencing a kind of heart attack known as STEMI, or ST segment elevation myocardial infarction.
The STEMI designation is expected to become final next month after the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors determines whether to approve an agreement between the hospitals and the county (Goldeen, Stockton Record, 2/11).
Fontana Medical Center
Construction on the new 314-bed Fontana Medical Center is 95% complete, the San Bernardino County Sun reports.
The hospital is expected to open in 2013 and will offer medical specialty services such as cardiac surgery, inpatient dialysis, an intensive care unit, a neonatal intensive care unit, and labor and delivery.
The facility is being built with environmentally friendly and energy efficient features (Steinberg, San Bernardino County Sun, 2/8).
Highland Hospital, Oakland
Highland Hospital has been designated as a "baby friendly" hospital in recognition of its promotion of breast feeding, the Oakland Tribune reports.
The recognition comes from the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative USA, which administers the program for the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
To earn the designation, birthing centers and hospitals must implement 10 steps that lead to successful breast feeding (Woodall, Oakland Tribune, 2/10).
San Francisco General Hospital Foundation
The San Francisco General Hospital Foundation recently raised $1.5 million during its seventh Heroes & Hearts Luncheon and Hearts After Dark party, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The funds raised will go toward research, education and critical care programs at San Francisco General Hospital.
During the event, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee (D) praised the hospital's planned expansion project. The project calls for the construction of a new nine-story, seismically safe hospital and the expansion of the hospital's emergency department and trauma center (Bigelow, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/15).
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center
State officials have halted construction at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, which was undergoing a multimillion dollar expansion and earthquake retrofit, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
In 2008, voters approved $840 million in bonds to bring the hospital into compliance with state seismic building mandates.
David Byrnes -- a spokesperson for California's Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development -- said construction was halted because the hospital "kept changing the building plans," even though changes cannot be made without permission.
However, hospital spokesperson Amy Cornell cited a dispute about whether the proper documents were on the construction site as the reason construction was stopped (Rodriguez, San Jose Mercury News, 2/10).