Children's Hospital of Orange County
The Children's Hospital of Orange County has announced that it will name its new seven-story tower after Bill Holmes, an Orange County resident who donated $27 million to the hospital, KPCC's "KPCC News" reports.
Hospital officials say that the donation is the largest ever provided by a living donor.
The facility will open in early February and will include a pediatric emergency department with operating rooms and a laboratory, among other features ("KPCC News," KPCC, 1/21).
Marin General Hospital, Greenbrae
Marin General Hospital has won an additional $11 million from Sutter Health in a legal dispute, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
In June 2012, a court-appointed arbitrator awarded Marin General $21.5 million after examining allegations that Sutter illegally took more than $100 million in revenue from the hospital before giving control of it to the Marin Healthcare District in 2010.
Marin General officials said the arbitrator awarded the extra money to pay for attorneys' fees and pre-judgment interest (Rauber, Sacramento Business Journal, 1/17).
San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital, Banning
Last week, San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital dedicated its new $28.6 million facility that will house an emergency department and an intensive care unit, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
The two-story structure includes 23 private patient rooms and five beds that will be used for short-term examinations.
The hospital expects to open the facility to patients in April (Waldner, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 1/18).
San Joaquin General Hospital, French Camp
On Jan. 16, San Joaquin General Hospital's advisory board recommended allowing collection agencies to bid on $250 million of hospital debt, the Stockton Record reports.
The facility has accumulated $381 million in debt over the years from patients not paying their medical bills.
Don Wiley -- a board trustee -- said that even if a collection agency will only pay a few cents on the dollar, the hospital still could put the money to use. He said, "Those would be dollars that would sustain the mission of the hospital and allow us ... to continue to operate" (Johnson, Stockton Record, 1/21).
Sutter Solano Medical Center, Vallejo
On Tuesday, registered nurses at Sutter Solano Medical Center held a rally to protest alleged threats of disciplinary action by the hospital against nurses who participate in strikes, the Vallejo Times-Herald reports.
In December 2012, Sutter Solano officials said that they did not believe that a series of one-day strikes organized by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United was protected by law.
Union officials said that before a strike on Christmas Eve, hospital officials "sent out illegal threats of discipline, up to suspensions or firing, to nurses."
The Times-Herald reports that the hospital issued written disciplinary action against the nurses for not reporting to work during the Christmas Eve strike.
Nancy Turner -- a Sutter Solano spokesperson -- said that no one was fired for participating in the strike and that "details around discipline are private and we will not discuss" them (Raskin-Zrihen, Vallego Times-Herald, 1/22).
UC-San Francisco Medical Center; Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland
Last week, UC-San Francisco Medical Center officials told staffers in an email that UC regents have approved efforts to develop a formal affiliation with Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
The email said that the regents' approval is a "critical milestone" in the affiliation process (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 1/17).
Bertram Lubin -- president and CEO of Children's -- said that a partnership between the two facilities could make equipment purchases and upgrades easier, which would help improve the hospitals' financial performances (Kleffman, Contra Costa Times, 1/18).