Santa Clara County (SCC) has kicked off a workgroup to implement Senate Bill (SB) 43 (2023), which expands the definition of “gravely disabled” to include individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs). In late March, the county behavioral health department will update the SCC Board of Supervisors on its plans for this effort.
On March 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 with the public health department.
On Feb. 11, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie appointed Dan Tsai as the new public health director, replacing Grant Colfax, MD.
Following the November 2024 election, the East Bay section’s priorities are to build relationships with newly elected officials throughout the section, as well as continue to educate and connect with our long-standing legislators and county supervisors on the critical issues facing hospitals. All three East Bay counties have new county health department leaders, so it is imperative to establish relationships with this important group.
The shift to a Republican-led administration in Washington, D.C., increases the influence of California’s nine Republican U.S. Representatives. Many hospitals in the Northern Sierra have long-standing relationships with two of these nine: Reps. Kiley and LaMalfa.
After being closed for six months, Sonoma County’s crisis stabilization unit (CSU) reopened for patient care on Feb. 8.
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.
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 accountability efforts, and she led a discussion on post-acute care needs in Humboldt County.
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 Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA).
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 a 12-month period, dropping to 27 minutes in December 2024.