The newsroom includes access to Council Connect, our twice-monthly newsletter on Hospital Council’s work. Key articles and issues of interest, along with the President’s Message, are included below.
Newsroom
Sacramento Hospitals Reduce APOT, Push for Further Reduction
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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 remarkable 29 minutes in November 2024.
Northern Sierra Maintains Focus on Ambulance Access
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Nor-CAL Rural Ambulance Coalition meetings to explore opportunities to retain (and in some cases restore) ambulance services to rural northern Sierra communities continue. At these meetings, the energy is positive and coalition stakeholders — which include ambulance providers, local Emergency Medical Services Authorities, hospitals, county supervisors and agencies, and Partnership HealthPlan of California — are engaged participants.
Complementary Tool Allows Hospitals to Self-Assess PSSM Compliance
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently unveiled a new Patient Safety Structural Measure (PSSM), asking hospitals to attest to the use of 25 practices that support a culture of safety. Mandatory reporting starts with calendar year 2025, and a new, complementary tool can help hospitals with compliance.
Corporate Associate Member | Mood Health Welcomed
Hospital Council welcomes Mood Health as a Corporate Associate Member, supporting member hospitals in extending their portfolio of offerings to patients in need of psychiatric services.
Hospital Leaders Meet with CDPH Fresno Office
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On Oct. 22, RVPs David Bacci and Brian Jensen co-hosted a CDPH meeting for all hospitals covered by CDPH’s Fresno office.
CEOs and Other Hospital Leaders in Redwood Coast Meet
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On Nov. 6, the Redwood Coast section convened to discuss several key topics:
Seismic Rebuild Approved in San Jose
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On Nov. 19, Good Samaritan Hospital of San Jose, which is part of the HCA Healthcare system, went before the San Jose City Council seeking approval for its renewal and rebuild project to meet the 2030 seismic guidelines.
Sacramento County Adopts Jan. 1, 2025, as SB 43 Implementation Date
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When Senate Bill (SB) 43 was signed on Oct. 10, 2023, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, along with all but two counties in the state, chose to postpone the Jan. 1, 2024, implementation date — this way, the counties could assess their overall readiness from a behavioral health standpoint to accommodate expanding the definition of “gravely disabled” for purposes of placing a person on an involuntary psychiatric hold or a conservatorship.