Section Update

Santa Clara Hospitals Build Relationships with Incoming Supervisor

Who Santa Clara County hospitals  Santa Clara Supervisor Betty Duong What Hospitals in Santa Clara County met with the newly elected member of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, Betty Duong — the first relationship-building opportunity with Supervisor Duong and her staff. Conversation topics included ambulance patient offload times, Senate Bill 43 (2023), and the […]

Redwood Coast Members Meet, Discuss Rural Hospitals’ Financial Stability and More

Who Redwood Coast CEOs What The Redwood Coast CEOs held their first section meeting of the year, centering discussions on the financial stability of rural hospitals amid potential changes to government reimbursement. Pat Blaisdell, vice president, policy, for the California Hospital Association (CHA), provided an overview of the Vitality Index Payer Scorecard and CHA’s insurer […]

Central Valley Hospital Incident Command System Liaison Officers to Meet

Who Member hospitals and public health leaders in Fresno, Madera, Tulare, and Kings counties What On Feb. 12, Hospital Council is hosting its regular meeting of Central Valley liaison officers, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic as a method for hospital incident command system liaison officers to share information to the public health department.    Hospital […]

Sonoma County Crisis Stabilization Unit Reopens

Who Hospital and county leaders in Sonoma County What After being closed for six months, Sonoma County’s crisis stabilization unit (CSU) reopened for patient care on Feb. 8. Following the CSU’s August 2024 closure, hospital and county leaders engaged in a series of conversations about the closure’s immediate and long-term impacts. In the short term, hospitals stepped […]

APOT Standard Adjusted in Sacramento County

Who Sacramento County Emergency Medical Services Agency (SCEMSA)   Sacramento area hospitals, fire departments, and private emergency medical services (EMS) providers  What Hospitals have worked diligently, innovatively, and collaboratively to improve ambulance patient offload times (APOT) in 2024. With a state-highest collective APOT of 73 minutes in December 2023, area hospitals achieved a dramatic improvement over […]

San Francisco Health Director Grant Colfax Resigns

Who San Francisco mayor’s office  San Francisco Department of Health (SFDPH) and member hospitals  What San Francisco Public Health Director Grant Colfax, MD, announced his resignation, effective Feb. 7. Deputy Director of Health Naveena Bobba, MD, MPH, will serve as acting director in the interim. In his note to the section CEOs, Dr. Colfax expressed […]

MCO Tax Raises Questions, Opportunities

Who Rural ambulance providers and hospitals that depend on them  Northern Sierra hospitals  What The managed care organization (MCO) tax will bring billions to Medi-Cal providers for years to come, and with the passage of Proposition 35, the dollars will go where intended.   It’s uncertain when the funding will come, how much hospitals will receive, […]

Hospitals Host New Elected Officials

Who Assemblymember Catherine Stefani  South Bay Hospitals, specifically Seton Hospital What As we enter the new year, we have experienced turnover not only in hospital leadership, but also in county and state government. Over the next few months, hospital leaders throughout the South Bay will focus on meeting several new county supervisors and elected officials.   […]

Central Valley’s Regional Approach to Community Health Needs Reduces Cost, Burden

Who Hospitals and public health departments in Fresno, Madera, Tulare, and Kings counties What Hospital Council is coordinating a joint Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA) report for Fresno, Madera, Tulare, and Kings counties.   This is the second time Hospital Council has connected hospitals and local public health departments for this work that aims to improve […]

Eureka Police Department Leads the Way in Decriminalizing Mental Illness

Who Commander Leonard LaFrance and the Eureka Police Department What Through innovative de-escalation techniques and structural changes in its approach to crisis intervention, the Eureka Police Department (EPD) is transforming how law enforcement handles mental illness and substance abuse crises, effectively reducing 5150 (involuntary psychiatric) holds by 68% since 2018 and diverting nearly 93% of […]