Emergency Department/Trauma

Community Responds to Service Line Adjustments in Santa Clara

Who What In February, Regional Medical Center of San Jose, an HCA hospital, announced plans to close its level two trauma, ST-elevation myocardial infarction program, and downgrade the current comprehensive stroke designation to a primary stroke designation. In late April, the Santa Clara EMSA presented its Health Impact Report to the Santa Clara County Board […]

Addressing Emergency Department Challenges in Northern Sierra

Who What Hospital Council efforts to sustain rural ambulance services continue. The newly formed coalition of state associations, LEMSAs, ambulance providers, county supervisors, and other entities will move next to do an analysis. While all members of the coalition are aware of the rural ambulance service crisis and its potential to worsen, data and patient […]

Addressing Inmate Emergency Department Transport Protocols

Who What At a meeting convened by Hospital Council on March 20, SFD shared concerns about communication and protocols on when the county jail uses emergency medical services (EMS) providers to transport inmates to community hospitals. In 2023, SFD transported over 660 inmates to hospitals, though hospital staff determined many did not need hospital-level care. […]

Hospital Council Engages on Jobs and EMS Access

Who What At a public meeting on Feb. 8, the Sacramento County health officer committed the county to not pursuing financial penalties on hospitals for missing ambulance patient offload time (APOT) targets. This is to ensure a collaborative approach to APOT improvement.   The county hosted an APOT summit on Feb. 13 designed to unite hospital […]

Fearless in the Face of Cancer

“I kept giving her the medicine, but the fevers were not going away,” said Cooley, Peyton’s mother. “I began noticing bruises on her legs and she looked really pale. My mom ‘gut feeling’ told me something was really wrong.”