As we head into a new year, we want to take a moment to reflect on everything our hospital members have accomplished this past year. 2024 has shown us the importance of adapting to change, and one major unplanned challenge was an unprecedented fire season in the Hospital Council service area: Wildfires saw a nearly 240% increase from last year to this year (308,761 to 1,049,398 acres), according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE).
Hospital Council, in partnership with the California Hospital Association (CHA), continues to be vigilant in ensuring hospitals have access to state officials, CAL FIRE, local law enforcement, and the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) when dealing with fire events experiencing multiple shelter-in-place and evacuation orders.
Our engagement, communication, and coordination with PG&E leadership have continued throughout 2024. Thanks to these efforts, zero public safety power shutoff hours impacted hospitals in 2024, hospitals are receiving priority restoration for unplanned outages, and the continued placement of PG&E-supplied generators are available to hospitals on an as-needed basis. Our continued proactive communication is crucial to staying prepared and adapting to events.
In addition, regional advocacy and member services remain Hospital Council’s core mission. These services are developed, coordinated, and implemented in partnership with CHA’s state and federal advocacy agenda. This coordination allows for a nationally recognized effort in representing our hospital members with a unified regional, state, and federal advocacy strategy. We saw a significant increase in direct member engagement (in-person meetings) in 2022 and 2023, and we continued that trend with an 11% increase in direct member engagement in 2024, despite significant CEO turnover.
More work awaits us in 2025, and your Hospital Council team remains committed to ensuring the highest quality of care is and will continue to be provided to all Californians. On behalf of the entire Hospital Council team, we wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy holiday season.