Sutter Health executive Brian Alexander took on a new role Monday as CEO of Sutter Roseville Medical Center, replacing Jennifer Maher, who left after seven years with the company. (The Sacramento Bee)
With the dangerous outcomes of untreated mental health conditions dominating the national conversation, area health care providers are stepping up efforts to treat and prevent mental illness. (NorthBay Business Journal)
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford initiated various safety interventions for medication administration. Moving from a daily medication cart fill – once every 24 hours – to multiple fills per day – every 2 to 3 hours – and implementing a barcode verification system for all medication dispensing has resulted in a 21 percent decrease in missed doses, a 66 percent reduction in wasted doses and one of the lowest medication error rates according to incident reporting in the Solutions for Patient Safety Collaborative. (HealthcareITNews)
The city of Roseville, Calif., anticipates a job boom as healthcare giants Kaiser Permanente, Adventist Health and Sutter Health expand in the area, reports The Sacramento Bee.
The area is expected to see about 1,200 more jobs over several years resulting from the projects.
“We are expecting a significant, 11 percent job growth over the next five years, and these expansions play into that,” Laura Matteoli, the city’s acting economic development director, told the publication. (Becker’s Hospital Review)
The Solano Coalition for Better Health, the Vacaville Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club and Dixon Family Services were just some of the Solano County nonprofit organizations that recently received grant funding from Kaiser Permanente.
Kaiser is awarding a total of $956,459 in grants to 38 nonprofit organizations that improve the health of under-served communities in Solano and Napa counties. (The Reporter News)
Valley Children’s Hospital has achieved verification as a Level II Pediatric Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), highlighting its quality of care for injured patients throughout Central California. It is the only pediatric trauma center in the region. (The Madera Tribune)
U.S. News & World Report says eight children’s hospitals in California are among the best in the country across numerous pediatric specialties. The news organization released its 12th annual “Best Children’s Hospitals” rankings Tuesday. (Hollywood Patch)
Doctors and medical technicians will be able to quickly and securely access the medical records of 2.6 million patients in Northern California following the formation of what becomes the geographically largest and fastest growing Health Information Exchange (HIE) in the state. (Cision)
Leaders of Sacramento’s Sutter Medical Center will dedicate their new chapel on Thursday, adding a space that chaplains said they hope will be valued as a space for renewal and contemplation for employees, patients and their loved ones. (The Sacramento Bee)
At Packard Children’s, new surgical and imaging suites will open at the end of June, and the entire second floor of Stanford Hospital, set to open in late 2019, will be devoted to surgery. (Stanford Medicine News Center)
Recent high-profile suicides, including fashion designer Kate Spade and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain have intensified the need to talk about mental health.
We spoke with Enloe Medical Center about a program that offers patient-centered psychiatric care to those with mental health issues,
The Enloe Behavioral Health program is a voluntary mental health program for people 18 and older.
The suicide rate has increased here in the north state in recent years. (Action News Now)
Stroke victims in San Luis Obispo County have a better chance at survival thanks to a new team of specialists at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center who can provide advanced care without airlifting patients out of the county. (The Tribune)
Delano Regional Medical Center (DRMC) is proud to announce the grand opening ceremony and dedication of the new state of the art Outpatient Services Building on Wednesday June 13th, at 5:30 p.m.
DRMC is proud to provide the enhanced medical service to the city of Delano, and surrounding communities. The building is the most advanced and newest imaging center in Kern County. (Bakersfield.com)
The $90 million Berkeley Outpatient Center – a joint venture between John Muir Health and UCSF Health – is opening this month as part of the group’s efforts to build out capacity in the East Bay in the face of increasing competition from new disruptors and traditional business rivals. (San Francisco Business Times)
Voters in Calaveras County are in favor of their local hospital and its clinics entering a new 30-year lease with Dignity Health, the fifth-largest health system in the nation and the largest hospital provider in California. (The Union Democrat)
Doctors say transportation can be a major barrier between patients and their health care. It’s especially difficult for those who live in rural areas, don’t own a car or can’t afford gas.
Hospitals are increasingly trying out rides-hailing companies such as Lyft and Uber to get patients to appointments. A new UC Davis pilot program funded by the Children’s Miracle Network will cover the cost of a Lyft for expectant parents. (Capital Public Radio)
The number of Americans who will die of drug overdose this year is projected to surpass the casualties from the Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined, according to Dr. Jeremy Ernst at Marshall Medical Center, who said about two-thirds of those deaths will be opioid-abuse related. (Mountain Democrat)
In this special Speaker Series, Becker’s Healthcare caught up with Jake Dorst, chief information and innovation officer at Tahoe Forest Hospital District in Truckee, Calif. (Becker’s Hospital Review)
In a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Kaiser Permanente’s Downtown Commons Medical Offices, the health giant’s leaders and public officials touted the facility Friday morning as a cornerstone of the downtown revitalization and a catalyzing force for the local economy.
The Solano Family Justice Center and First 5 Solano are among several organizations to recently receive grants to support education and outreach to help reduce stigma around mental illness, Kaiser Permanente officials announced.
A newly established system that aims to hasten diagnosis and treatment for stroke sufferers in San Joaquin County took effect this month, an event worthy of a “wonderful celebration,” according to Mary Nicholson, an advocate for stroke survivors.
Dr. Amir H. Fathi, an assistant clinical professor of surgery at UC San Francisco-Fresno, writes how some Fresno-area hospitals are working to reduce use of the powerful painkillers. (The Fresno Bee)
Madera Community Hospital’s Board of Trustees has named Karen Paolinelli as the new CEO for the hospital. She served as interim CEO since November. (The Business Journal)
Kaiser Permanente announced a $2 million investment to support community organizations in their work to reduce the stigma around mental illness. Twenty-five Northern California organizations were awarded community health grants, including school districts, youth and family services, and community coalitions that bring together a variety of stakeholders and agencies to serve people that historically shy away from getting mental health services. (Kaiser Permanente)
It’s heartbreaking to see children in poor health, and hospitals around the country recognize that those children are often afraid in difficult situations. Several hospitals are trying to relieve some of that stress for child patients by letting them drive themselves to the operating room in their own remote control cars. (The NewsWheel)
The city’s controversial homeless triage shelter on Railroad Drive will remain open for at least three more months and possibly longer, thanks to financial contributions from Sutter Health and a private foundation, Mayor Darrell Steinberg told The Bee on Monday. (The Sacramento Bee)
Kaiser Permanente is joining forces with the mayors of some of the country’s largest cities to combat homelessness and housing insecurity.
The health system will invest $200 million in initiatives to improve access to affordable housing through a partnership with Mayors and CEOs for U.S. Housing Investment, it announced on Friday. Kaiser Permanente CEO Bernard Tyson said at a press briefing that the investment reflects Kaiser’s commitment to promoting total person and community health. (Fierce Healthcare)
Healdsburg District Hospital (HDH) has acquired a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place May 9, with tours of the new facility. (The Healdsburg Tribune)
In the style of the world’s best soccer players, Monterey County’s safety net hospital will now officially go by a single name — Natividad.
As part of a re-branding effort, county-owned hospital officials announced Wednesday that Natividad Medical Center would drop its middle and last names in favor of a lone moniker. (Monterey Herald)
Dignity Health Sequoia Hospital has received the Healthgrades 2018 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™. This distinction recognizes Sequoia Hospital as among the top 15 percent of hospitals nationwide, according to Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. (Redwood City Patch)
Today the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs released the names of 18 facilities designated VA Whole Health Flagship Sites, which are spread around the country within the VA health-care system and are focused on empowering and equipping Veterans to take charge of their health and well-being. (Newton County Times.com)
The San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport and many community partners will conduct a full-scale airport emergency response exercise from 2-5 p.m., Thursday, May 10. The purpose of the disaster exercise is to test and evaluate the preparedness and capabilities of the airport and local response agencies. (Paso Robles Daily News)
Kaiser Permanente’s locations in Modesto and Manteca have been granted a three-year Accreditation with Commendation from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons.
The Commission on Cancer (CoC) has designated the Kaiser locations as “Comprehensive Community Cancer Programs.” (Central Valley Business Journal)
Sonoma Valley Hospital has been recognized for its environmentally-friendly and sustainability practices by Practice Greenhealth, a national organization promoting environmental stewardship and best practices in the healthcare industry. (Sonoma Index-Tribune)
Patrick Downes and Jessica Kensky say their road to recovery took a dramatic turn when “Rescue,” their service dog, came into their lives. They’re now sharing their journey of struggle and success with children at Shriners Children’s Hospital to show them they’re not alone in their fight. (13 CBS Sacramento)
Adventist Health and St. Joseph Health plan to integrate their Northern California clinical operations through a new joint operating company, the organizations announced Monday. (Modern Healthcare)
Last week, a bill that would dismantle California’s health care delivery system as we know it was introduced in the Legislature. Assembly Bill 3087 would penalize millions of patients through massive cuts in services and result in as many as 175,000 hospital workers losing their jobs. (The Sacramento Bee)
Ninety-years ago, the Willits community came together after recognizing the need for a local hospital to keep this community thriving.
Today, Adventist Health Howard Memorial has become a community treasure and has earned a reputation for quality care and patient experience scores that rival the best in the nation. (Lake County News)
Jordan Herget, a health-care executive with more than 13 years of senior leadership experience in multiple health systems, has been named senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Permanente’s Roseville service area. (Rocklin & Roseville Today)
Valley Children’s Healthcare is on a land-buying spree.
The Madera County-based pediatric health system has bought 4.4 acres at Herndon Avenue and First Street in Fresno for a 50,000-60,000-square-foot specialty clinic, hospital spokeswoman Zara Arboleda said Tuesday. (The Fresno Bee)
Marin General Hospital and the University of California, San Francisco are in the process of finalizing a new, 10-year strategic alliance that could result in UCSF investing millions of dollars in Marin General over the next decade. (marinij.com)
Youth who end up in the hospital after being shot, stabbed or beaten receive medical care — but they don’t always get the resources they need to cope with trauma.
At the UC Davis Medical Center, violence intervention specialists Esmeralda Huerta and Chevist Johnson are determined to intervene. “We send back youth to the community who have no follow up care, no one to talk to, no way of recovering,” Huerta said. “That’s not our goal.” (Capital Public Radio)
In addition to Kaiser Permanente’s normal corporate giving through its Community Benefit Program, the organization enlisted the resources of its Northern California Program to help rebuild and heal communities burned in October. (North Bay Business Journal)
Geared toward helping individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, a new urgent care facility is planned in West Sacramento.
A partnership between the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency and Sutter Health, the First Responders’ Mental Health Urgent Care will open its doors on April 4. The grand opening will be held from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the site — 500 Jefferson Boulevard, Building B in West Sacramento. (Daily Democrat)
The staff of Sutter Davis Hospital say they work tirelessly to deliver top-rated, affordable healthcare — and for that commitment, Sutter Davis was named the Best Hospital in the annual Reader’s Choice Awards. (Davis Enterprise)
Bernard Tyson, the chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente, the integrated health care provider and not-for-profit health plan that serves more than 12 million Americans, agreed that a large part of America’s mental health problem is that we don’t talk about the issue. “Most of us have [a mental health issue], or we’re one degree from it. It’s all around us, but nobody wants to talk about it.” (Fortune)
Sutter Health and Aetna Inc. have named a CEO to lead the companies’ joint health plan, Sutter | Aetna, which will serve Northern California employers starting next month.
Steve Wigginton, who was previously CEO of Chicago-based health care IT and consulting company Valence Health, will join Sutter | Aetna immediately, Sacramento-based Sutter Health said in a news release. (Sacramento Business Journal)
The California attorney general’s office has approved an affiliation agreement between Marysville-based Rideout Health and Roseville-based Adventist Health, providing one of the final regulatory approvals needed for the deal to move forward. (Sacramento Business Journal)
In the past, if a person had a stroke while asleep, or far from a top medical facility like Stanford, they were at a disadvantage. Doctors often wouldn’t initiate any treatment, believing damage to the patient’s brain had already been done. (Scope)
Two Monterey County clinics expanding access to critical care for patients from childhood to adulthood will mark their official openings on the Natividad Medical Center campus in Salinas this week. (Monterey Herald)
Mee Memorial Hospital has received a $2.5 million grant from the Central California Alliance for Health that will go toward the expansion of the hospital’s outpatient clinic in Greenfield.
“We are honored to have been awarded this grant from Central California Alliance for Health,” said Susan Childers, CEO of Mee Memorial Hospital, in a news release. “With the new grant, Mee Memorial will be better able to support local efforts to coordinate care and provide better outcomes for patients throughout our community.” (Greenfield News)
Families on Medi-Cal can now receive free genomic testing to diagnose rare genetic disorders at UC Davis Medical Center, according to an announcement Thursday.
“Children with rare genetic disorders that come to our clinic and many times they don’t have an answer,” said Dr. Suma Shankar, associate professor of pediatrics and director of the Precision Genomics Clinic at UC Davis. (The genomic testing) helps us come to a definite diagnosis.” (The Sacramento Bee)
Sonoma Valley Hospital has made official an affiliation agreement with UCSF Health, the top-ranked medical center in California and one of the top five hospitals nationwide. (Sonoma Valley Sun)
Dignity Health Woodland Memorial Hospital has awarded a $82,717 community grant to two collaborative proposals that will help people in mental health crises and families at risk in Yolo County. (Enterprise)
Twenty-two California hospitals received Healthgrades’ “America’s Best Hospitals Award” for 2018. Ten hospitals that received the award were in the top 1 percent of hospitals in the country and the others were in the top 2 percent of hospitals in the country. Among the recipients – Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland. (Piedmont Patch)
The California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) has announced that Dignity Health Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital was one of 111 hospitals in California who surpassed a federal target aimed at reducing Cesarean births (C-Sections) for first-time mothers with low-risk pregnancies. This achievement marks the second-consecutive year Sierra Nevada Memorial made the honor roll based on 2015 and 2016 discharge data. (YubaNet.com)
Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital (SSRRH) announced today that it has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers. The Gold Seal of Approval® and the Heart-Check mark represent symbols of quality from their respective organizations. (Sutter Health)
Marin General Hospital has once again been recognized for its low cesarean section delivery rates.
The Greenbrae-based hospital earned a Smart Care California Award and was named to the California Health and Human Services Agency’s Hospital C-Section Honor Roll for the second consecutive year. The Honor Roll represents 111 California birthing hospitals that achieved low C-Section deliver rates. (San Rafael Patch)
Sonoma Valley Hospital is set to sign an affiliation agreement with UCSF Health. The hospital’s board approved the agreement at its Thursday meeting while UCSF’s board is expected to approve the agreement at its March meeting.
“I believe this is going to take Sonoma Valley Hospital to the next level,” said Sonoma Valley Hospital CEO Kelly Mather. (Sonoma Index-Tribune)
Valley Children’s Hospital is growing with a focus on patient care. Valley Children’s CEO, Todd Suntrapak, says plans are now coming to life.
“About five or six years ago our board gave direction that we would be within 30 minutes or 30 miles of every family in the Valley.” (abc30 Action News)
San Joaquin General Hospital is now part of the ever-growing list of area hospitals using robotic surgery to enhance patient care.
Recently, the county hospital acquired the da Vinci Xi Surgical System, which offers a variety of surgical uses and is minimally invasive. The system also allows for shorter recovery and less scarring. (Central Valley Business Journal)
Congratulations are in order. Marshall Medical Center was recently given a 5-star rating – the highest possible – by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for Overall Hospital Quality. Marshall was the only hospital in the region (from the North State to the Central Valley and to the Sierras) to receive five stars. Marshall ranks among the top 7% of hospitals in California for Overall Hospital Quality. (Mountain Democrat)
A $105.8-million donation to Montage Health, the local nonprofit parent company of Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, was announced Tuesday during an event at Monterey Conference Center. (KSBW8)
Kern Medical has launched what it claims is the Central Valley’s first adult epilepsy monitoring unit.
The EMU is built to serve the nearly one-third of epilepsy patients who have trouble controlling seizures with medication alone, according to Kern Medical. (BakersfieldNow.com)
The UC Davis Pediatric Telemedicine Program, the first of its kind in the United States, provides physicians and patients real-time remote consultation and evaluation through interactive, high-definition video and audio communication. This enhanced video technology allows UC Davis to offer around the clock 24/7 expertise to Orchard Hospital health-care providers, without the need to transfer a patient to UC Davis Children’s Hospital. (Gridley Herald)
Next to a hospital bed at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, Vivian Sarubbi plucks a 32-string harp, filling the air with soft, soothing harmony. It’s hard to say for how long, because the sound seems to stop time. (Monterey County Weekly)
Adventist Health Feather River has been honored with several Healthgrades Awards for 2018. AHFR receives the Pulmonary Care Excellence Award, the only hospital in the Chico-Redding area to achieve the award for 2018, and is in the top 10% in the nation for Overall Pulmonary Services for 2018. The hospital is a Five-Star recipient for treatment of pneumonia for the 6th year in a row, and a Five-Star recipient for treatment of respiratory failure for the 5th year in a row. (Action News Now)
Soon it will be even easier to see a doctor at the hospital clinics. Dr. Jeff Kepple, the hospital’s chief executive officer, said that he and the leadership team are working on a “prompt care program” that would provide same day service to patients. “To an extent we are already doing that with our express visits, but we want to take it up a notch,” he said. (Plumas County News)
Paradise’s Adventist Health Feather River was recently named as one of America’s Best Stroke Centers by the Women’s Choice Award®, America’s trusted referral source for the best in healthcare. The award means that Adventist Health Feather River is in the top 8 percent of 4,812 U.S. hospitals offering stroke care services. (paradisepost.com)
Cancer patients treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs are less likely to receive excessive end-of-life interventions than those treated through Medicare, according to a study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System. (EurekaAlert!)
Verity Health System, a nonprofit healthcare organization, today announced the appointment of Mark S. Fratzke, DNP, as President and Chief Executive Officer of Seton Medical Center and Seton Coastside, both parts of Verity Health. The dual health care centers serve patients and communities in San Francisco and northern San Mateo Country. (Business Wire)
Glenn Medical Center has been at its location on West Sycamore Street since 1949, but there’s been several times that they’ve almost had to close their doors. But now under new management, that won’t be the case. (Action News Now)
Over a decade in the making, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford is just days away from opening its new Main building and grounds on December 9. The hospital reached the final step to announcing an opening date when it received its license from the California Department of Public Health on December 4. Designed to transform the patient and family experience, the new 521,000-square-foot building more than doubles the size of the existing pediatric and obstetric hospital campus. (MILTECH)
Oakland opened the gates to its first “safe haven” city-sanctioned and operated homeless encampment Monday.
The encampment occupies what was an empty lot between Sixth and Brush streets and Seventh and Castro streets. It features 20 modular units similar to “Tuff Sheds,” designed to house 40 people for up to six months at a time. The encampment will offer a variety of services aimed at getting homeless people into more permanent housing. (East Bay Times)
Finally, there is broad public recognition and a nationwide call to action to fix the deadly opioid epidemic.
Matters surrounding it are complex and expand outside of healthcare to several socioeconomic issues, and many sectors of our society need to come together to address the root causes. However, healthcare leaders have a unique leadership role to play, and we must consider the following questions. (Managed Healthcare Executive)
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center marked a new era Saturday with the unveiling of its new Sobrato Pavilion, a facility boasting cutting-edge technology and innovation that officials say will put the needs of patients first. (The Mercury News)
That was a phrase repeated quite often last week, as Sutter Health hospitals in the Central Valley region dealt with bomb threats, mass casualty events, active shooters, floods and power outages during the latest statewide emergency preparedness exercises. (Central Valley Business Journal)
The University of California at Davis Health System has received a $2 million grant over five years to test a telemedicine program for children with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, spinal cord injuries, and other disabilities. According to the AHRQ database, UC Davis will receive $396,557 for FY 2017. The project is expected to conclude in July 2022. (mobihealthnews)
A hospital emergency department may not seem the most likely place to perform a clinical trial. Loud, stressful and chaotic, the American emergency room offers a tried-and-true backdrop for television and motion picture productions but is not typically considered the domain of painstaking academic research.
However, physicians will attest that important life-saving research can take place amid the chaos.
Several years ago, Kaiser Permanente–the largest nonprofit healthcare system in the United States–set out to rethink the gap in patient care that occurred when nursing staff changed shifts.
You would think nurses could solve the problem simply by paying attention to patients as soon as they came on shift. Yet, they were constantly being pulled away to communicate with nurses ending their shifts or to find patient information. Many patients described hospitals as a “ghost town” during shift changes. (Co.Design)
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to construct an inpatient psychiatric facility for youth in crisis at Valley Medical Center in San Jose.
“This is about teens at risk of doing damage to themselves or others. This is about families struggling through the hardest thing they’ll ever face and being torn apart at precisely the time they need to be together,” said Board President and Supervisor Joe Simitian in a statement. (Fox2 KTVU)
The Hospital Quality Institute (HQI) last week announced Santa Clara Valley Medical Center as the winner of the 2017 C. Duane Dauner Quality Award (formerly known as the Vanguard Award) for its Specialty Care Access Improvement Initiative, an innovative approach to improving patient experience and timely access to quality specialty referrals.
The Joint Commission has recognized Sierra View Medical Center as a 2017 Pioneers in Quality Data Contributor for its contributions to electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) data for quality improvement in health care. (The Porterville Recorder)
A new program by Kaiser Permanente will expand health coverage for uninsured, low-income young adults in the Valley who lack access to other coverage.
Kaiser Permanente’s new Community Health Program extends coverage free of charge to Fresno, Madera and Kings County residents who are not eligible for Medi-Cal and can’t afford to purchase individual health insurance. (The Business Journal)
Late last week, Placerville-based Marshall Medical Center launched its new electronic medical records system after investing $20 million in the initiative.
The new system, which uses a medical record software called Epic, will create a central database for the health system’s hospital, clinical and home health divisions. Previously, these three divisions had separate electronic medical records systems. (Sacramento Business Journal)
MedShare, a 501(c)3 humanitarian aid organization dedicated to global health, today honored Sutter Health with a Global Humanitarian Award, which was accepted by Sutter Health’s President and CEO Sarah Krevans. The event was in recognition of Sutter Health’s outstanding leadership in supporting at-risk communities that require medical supplies and equipment. In addition to Sutter Health’s recognition, the event also recognized local Bay Area supporters who were instrumental in MedShare’s ability to deliver on-demand humanitarian aid.
