Council Connect Articles

Coalition Forms to Address Rural Ambulance Services

Who What A new coalition of legislators, emergency medical professionals, county representatives, and Hospital Council staff met to discuss the prevention of more closures and reduction of rural ambulance services in California. Ambulance providers closing or reducing services has become commonplace in rural areas, with response times in some areas ranging from many hours to […]

San Francisco Health Commission Hearing Discusses Dignity Health Hospital Acquisitions

Who What Recently, the San Francisco Health Commission concluded the second of two Proposition Q (Community Health Care Planning Ordinance) hearings related to UCSF Health’s acquisition of Dignity Health’s Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and Saint Mary’s Medical Center. These mandatory hearings provide oversight and apply to sales, acquisitions, mergers, and other transactions that may impact […]

PHC Holds Symposium on Rural Maternity Care

Who What Partnership HealthPlan of California (PHC) held a one-day symposium on Feb. 12 about the lack of maternity services in rural areas and the threat of additional closures. Hospitals face significant challenges including low volumes of births, difficulty recruiting staff, and the cost of modernizing or adding operating rooms. Held in two locations simultaneously, […]

Workforce Efforts Expanded in Monterey Bay   

Who What Several efforts are underway in Monterey Bay to help build the health care workforce pipeline. In Santa Cruz County, the Health Improvement Partnership is developing listening tours — also called forums or focus groups — with key community stakeholders. Along with these efforts, CSU Monterey Bay, will kick off listening tours in spring […]

Medical Service Line Changes in Santa Clara

Who What The Regional Medical Center of San Jose has notified the Santa Clara County EMSA it plans to close and modify certain service lines: Takeaway/Next Steps Following the news, the Santa Clara County EMSA began conducting an impact study that will be disseminated to the hospitals and other stakeholders in mid-March. The Board of Supervisors […]

Sonoma County Focuses on Behavioral Health Needs 

Who What Sonoma County is progressing toward better serving the behavioral health needs of its community. Continuing a multi-year process of collaboration with hospitals and other health care organizations, the county gathered leaders in February to share updates and note significant progress.   Within the next two years, the county will:   The expansion of behavioral health […]

Vitality Payer Scorecard: Holding Insurers Accountable 

CHA is hosting a complimentary, members-only webinar on Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. (PT) to highlight the American Hospital Association Vitality Payer Scorecard, which was recently endorsed by the CHA board. It captures necessary and normalized data points without sharing protected health information. The automated process is based on de-identified claims and remittance files and eliminates the need for CHA surveys on this issue.