The newsroom includes access to Council Connect, our twice-monthly newsletter on Hospital Council’s work. Media statements and press releases can also be found here.
Newsroom
UCSF Health Reaches Agreement with Dignity Health to Acquire Two San Francisco Hospitals
Who What UCSF Health has signed a definitive agreement with Dignity Health to acquire Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center, along with associated outpatient clinics in San Francisco. UCSF Health hopes to close the transaction this spring. UCSF Health has committed to maintaining Saint Francis and St. Mary’s existing services, ensuring patients have […]
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 […]
APOT Time Discussions Continue in Sacramento Area
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 […]
Contra Costa Fire Protection District to Implement New APOT Policy in March
Who What The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and its ambulance subcontractor, AMR, plan to implement a new ambulance patient offload time (APOT) policy in March. Under the new policy, ambulance personnel who have been waiting for 60 minutes to transfer patients in need of hospital emergency department (ED) services may “immediately mov[e] the […]
Orchestrating Health Care Accessibility in Rural California
Who What As member hospitals and Humboldt County progress toward the construction of a behavioral health crisis triage center (a plan developed with Hospital Council in 2022), 2024 is shaping up to be a year of community collaboratives. Sonoma County has announced a multi-county behavioral health collaborative day on May 30, Adventist Health’s Ukiah Valley Incubate […]
San Mateo Health Department and Hospitals Collaborate to Better Understand the Opioid Crisis
Who What San Mateo County Health Officer Kismet Baldwin-Santana, MD, is interested in more collaboration with hospitals on public health issues in emergency rooms. Dr. Baldwin-Santana has been with San Mateo County for a little over six months and would like to gain a better understanding of opioid use in the county. The first meeting with […]
Working Together to Break the Cycle
In the 1993 film Groundhog Day, Bill Murray plays a man who repeats the same day over and over, hoping for a different outcome. As Groundhog Day approaches next week on Feb. 2, it may seem a little like the movie as many issues our hospitals previously faced are once again front and center this year. From seismic issues to ambulance patient offload times, regulatory oversight and overreach issues, to challenges with payers, many issues are repeating. The reality is they are resurfacing in a different environment, as hospitals confront escalating financial challenges, worsening workforce shortages, and an ever-increasing demand for health care services.
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.”
City of Berkeley Fair Workweek Ordinance Becomes Effective Jan. 12
Who
Hospitals with health care facilities located in the city of Berkeley
What
The city of Berkeley’s Fair Workweek Ordinance goes into effect on Jan. 12. Passed in 2022, the ordinance requires employers in Berkeley to adhere to certain scheduling and notification requirements for shifts, provide predictability pay to all employees, and offer work to existing employees first.
Northern Sierra’s New Year Starts with Reflections on Behavioral Health Care
Who
Behavioral health care, hospital, and county leadership from across California
What
With its time for reflection and goal setting, CHA’s annual Behavioral Health Care Symposium on Dec. 12-13 was an ideal prelude to the new year. Representatives from 75 hospitals and 20 counties attended, including many from the Northern Sierra. It is clear from many presentations that the behavioral health landscape in California is entirely different than it was five years ago. There is a heightened sense of urgency among stakeholders, significant legislative action, and funding allocated by the state to address behavioral health care needs through counties and state projects. In the words of one speaker, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, “We have come very far and have very far to go.”