Council Connect Articles

Workforce Issues Are Impacting Rural Hospitals

Hospitals in California are facing multiple challenges that impact patients’ ability to access quality care. One of the most significant is a shortage of health care workers, with 22% of Californians living in areas without enough primary care providers. Shortages are particularly prevalent in rural areas, where patients struggle to access care because there aren’t enough nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and other health care workers to keep up with demand. 

Corporate Associate Member PointClickCare to Hold Conference on October 1

Hospital Council welcomes PointClickCare as a corporate associate member, recently transitioned from the Endorsed Business Partner program. PointClickCare is a leading health care technology platform enabling meaningful collaboration and access to real‐time insights at every stage of the patient health care journey. With an expanded Care Collaboration Network in California, 55% of acute hospitals and […]

Northern Sierra CEOs Share Challenges and Opportunities 

Who CEOs and other hospital leadership in the Northern Sierra Section What At a section meeting in late August, Northern Sierra CEOs discussed a wide range of critical issues including the continued increase of patients being held on 5150s in the emergency departments (EDs), as well as shortages of behavioral health workforce across the region. […]

Alternate Destination Strategy Approved in Sacramento

Who Sacramento County Emergency Medical Services Agency (SCEMSA)  Behavioral health facilities in Sacramento County  911/Emergency medical service providers in the SCEMSA territory   What SCEMSA’s medical director recently reported that the California Emergency Medical Services Authority approved the agency’s application for a triage-to-alternate-destination policy.   Three facilities are now contracted to serve as receiving sites for mental […]

Protecting Our Rural Hospitals

Hospital Council works to support the advocacy agenda of the California Hospital Association (CHA), and one of the top advocacy priorities for both our organizations is rural health care. About 2 million people live in and visit California’s rural communities, and the lifesaving and life-changing hospital care they rely on is at risk of being lost due to financial instability. California has roughly five dozen rural and critical access hospitals (CAHs), but many of these hospitals are on the financial brink, reducing services just to stay open or facing the possibility of closure.

Putting Our Community First as Fire Season Continues

This fire season — especially last month — has been exceptionally challenging for our hospitals and the communities they support. From July 2023 to July 2024, Cal Fire’s number of reported fires spanning more than 20 acres increased from 38 to 174. In many Hospital Council sections, particularly in rural areas impacted by previous fires, the numbers have been even more dramatic as fires continue to grow. The Park Fire alone has spread to more than 429,000 acres, affecting Butte, Tehama, Shasta, and Plumas counties. Combined with other fires in the Hospital Council region — such as the Borel Fire, the Blue Fire, and the Crozier Fire — the number of acres affected in a short time frame is inconceivable.