October 26, 2009 SPOKANE, Wash.—Community Health Systems, Franklin, Tenn., signed a nonbinding letter of intent to form an integrated healthcare delivery system in Spokane with Rockwood Clinic, a 133-physician multispecialty clinic based in Spokane, the clinic said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Rockwood has 32 clinical sites throughout eastern Washington and Idaho. Community entered the Spokane market last year with its $148 million purchase of two-hospital Empire Health Services. Rockwood Clinic would become a subsidiary of the integrated system, but would retain its brand name,... ... FULL STORY
October 19, 2009 DOWNEY, Calif.—Downey Regional Medical Center debt was downgraded to C from CCC by Standard & Poor’s and the ratings agency suspended the hospital’s rating after the facility filed for bankruptcy last month and failed to release financial statements for the past three years. Management at the 181-bed hospital told the New York ratings agency that financial statements for fiscal 2009 and the previous two years, would not be available until January 2010, said Ken Gacka, a Standard & Poor’s analyst. The lack of information prompted the agency to temporarily suspend... ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 TORRINGTON, Wyo.—Banner Health said it admitted residents this summer to the Alzheimer's care unit at its Goshen Care Center in Torrington. Proposed about five years ago, the new $4.3 million wing can accommodate up to 28 patients with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. According to Banner, it follows the Eden Alternative model of care, which emphasizes family and a homelike atmosphere. The unit is attached to the 75-bed Goshen Care Center, which is divided into three halls with 25 residents in each. Fully staffed with registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and certified... ... FULL STORY
August 31, 2009 SAN FRANCISCO—San Franciscans participating in the city's unique health access program report high levels of satisfaction, though a quarter said they delayed or skipped care because of cost or coverage issues, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report. Healthy San Francisco, launched in 2006, offers uninsured adult residents access to care on a sliding scale through participating city clinics and hospitals. As of August, more than 45,000 people were enrolled. The program is funded by city dollars, premiums and employer contributions. Some 94% of enrollees said they are... ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 SAN FRANCISCO—A new campus of UCSF Medical Center is getting a helipad, the city board of supervisors has agreed unanimously. UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay, scheduled to open in 2014, will be a state-of-the-art 289-bed, 869,000-square-foot complex for children, women and cancer patients located in the eastern part of the city. The first phase of the project will cost about $1.6 billion. The helipad will bring critically ill newborns, children and pregnant women to UCSF from outlying community hospitals. The hospital estimates that 500 helicopter trips will occur each year,... ... FULL STORY
May 18, 2009 LOS ANGELES—Prospect Medical Holdings said last month that it increased its stake in 399-bed Brotman Medical Center, Culver City, Calif., to 72% as part of the hospital’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection. Brotman, which used to be owned by Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp., filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles in October 2007. Prospect bought a 33.1% stake in Brotman in 2005 for $1 million. Under the bankruptcy reorganization plan, the company paid $1.8 million for an added 38.9% stake in the hospital and committed to invest another... ... FULL STORY
March 02, 2009 MOLOKAI, Hawaii—The only hospital on the tiny Hawaiian island of Molokai, Molokai General Hospital, has undergone an extensive makeover. The $16.5 million renovation and expansion project, completed in January, will allow the island’s 7,000 residents to receive more services locally. The project took place in two phases over four years so services could remain open. Existing facilities, dating back to the 1960s, were upgraded and made room for laboratory space, a chapel and new computer systems. The Women’s Health Center, including labor and delivery, moved to a new space. The first... ... FULL STORY
February 02, 2009 OAKLAND, Calif.—As many as half of California hospital buildings at risk of earthquake damage or collapse won’t meet state construction mandates because of changing economic conditions and other factors, according to a new policy brief from the California HealthCare Foundation. Under a 1994 state law, hospitals at risk of compromising public safety during a seismic event were required to retrofit or rebuild by 2008 or face closure. Extensions pushed back deadlines to 2013, or in special cases, 2015 or 2020 (Sept. 1, 2008, p. 17). Buildings with less risk face a 2030 deadline. Some... ... FULL STORY
January 12, 2009 SAN DIEGO—Sharp Memorial Hospital plans to open a $194 million expansion facility on Jan. 14. The new 334-bed, 315,000-square-foot, seven-story structure, called the Stephen Birch Healthcare Center, includes 46 emergency/trauma beds; 10 surgery suites; 48 intensive-care unit beds; private patient rooms; 12 family support spaces; natural lighting; a jade garden; and more than 700 pieces of artwork. The hospital, which is part of Sharp HealthCare, has also fully implemented electronic health records. ... FULL STORY
December 22, 2008 OAKLAND, Calif.—A new not-for-profit center dedicated to telehealth adoption in California is launching Jan. 1, 2009, and will be led by the former director of the state’s Health Care Services Department. The California Center for Connected Health will be a strategy and planning organization working with telecommunications companies, providers, payers and others to push for widespread adoption of telehealth technologies and services. Sandra Shewry will be president and chief executive officer of the telehealth center. Shewry, 53, leaves the state agency that oversees Medicaid and other... ... FULL STORY
December 01, 2008 LAGUNA BEACH, Calif.—St. Joseph Health System last month won the bid on South Coast Medical Center in Laguna Beach, which Adventist Health put up for sale in September. Adventist Health will now enter into confidential negotiations with St. Joseph Health System of Orange, Calif., to define the terms of the agreement, officials announced. Both organizations are not-for-profit and faith-based. “We ... look forward to working out the terms of the sale with St. Joseph Health System,” said Robert Carmen, president and chief executive officer of Adventist Health, Roseville, Calif., in a... ... FULL STORY
