CEO Messages

Reflections on 2022

It’s hard to believe, but it is already mid-December and the new year is just around the corner. As I look back on 2022, it feels like it was just yesterday that hospitals were dealing with the impacts of the omicron surge. Now, with some hospitals at or near capacity and emergency department and inpatient rates equal to or higher than what you experienced during omicron, your hospitals have — once again — stepped up to meet the health care needs of Californians as COVID-19, flu, and RSV collide to create a “tripledemic.”  

After Years of Meeting Virtually, a Chance to Gather In-Person

Earlier this week, the Hospital Council Board of Trustees held its first in-person meeting since January 2020. While the board continued to meet regularly yet virtually throughout the pandemic, it was great to have both our current board members and our new incoming board members in-person for this occasion.

CHPAC Vital to Our Success

At all levels of government — local, state, and federal — decisions are made that will dramatically impact how hospitals deliver first-in-class care. For this reason, it’s vital to help elect candidates who share hospital values.  

Shining the Spotlight on Health Equity

While COVID-19 may have brought to light many health care inequities, they are nothing new. Disparate health outcomes for minorities, individuals experiencing homelessness, LGBTQ+, and other segments of California’s population have been documented for decades and reflect longstanding structural and systemic inequities that are rooted in racism and discrimination. Today, the disparities have risen to the level of a public health crisis in California, and your hospitals are on the front lines of addressing these inequities.

Recent Heatwave May Have Subsided but Work on Energy-Related Issues Continues  

From fires and floods to earthquakes — and now record-setting high temperatures — your hospitals have seen it all. The recent heatwave posed unique challenges to the state’s energy grid, and although hospitals were specifically exempted from any potential rotating outages, Hospital Council truly thanks you for conserving power when possible while ensuring patient safety was never compromised.