Newsroom

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.

Hospital Council Engages on Jobs and EMS Access

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Who Hospitals and emergency medical services (EMS) providers in Sacramento and Placer counties  Sacramento County Emergency Medical Services Agency (SCEMSA)  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...

APOT Time Discussions Continue in Sacramento Area

This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.

Who Hospitals and emergency medical services (EMS) providers in Sacramento and Placer counties  Sacramento County Emergency Medical Services Agency (SCEMSA)  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...

Contra Costa Fire Protection District to Implement New APOT Policy in March  

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Who Contra Costa Fire Protection District   American Medical Response (AMR)  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...

Orchestrating Health Care Accessibility in Rural California

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Who Adventist Health, North State region  Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma counties  Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma County member hospitals  Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma County community organizations and federally qualified health centers  What As member hospitals and Humboldt County progress toward the construction of a behavioral health crisis triage center (a...

San Mateo Health Department and Hospitals Collaborate to Better Understand the Opioid Crisis

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Who San Mateo County hospitals San Mateo County Health Department 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...

Working Together to Break the Cycle

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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.

City of Berkeley Fair Workweek Ordinance Becomes Effective Jan. 12 

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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...

Northern Sierra’s New Year Starts with Reflections on Behavioral Health Care  

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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...

East Bay Counties Delay Implementation of SB 43 To January 2026  

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Who

Board of Supervisors in East Bay counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano)   

What

Senate Bill (SB) 43, which was signed into law in October, expands the definition of the term “gravely disabled” for the involuntary detention, treatment, or conservatorship of individuals with behavioral health conditions to include those living with severe substance use disorders.

HQI Will Facilitate Community of Practice on Workplace Violence In 2024

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The Hospital Quality Institute (HQI) will facilitate a Community of Practice on Eliminating Hospital Workplace Violence from January to December 2024. The purpose of the Community of Practice is to connect individuals working on the issue of workplace violence in hospitals through a collaborative network designed for peer-to-peer learning and exchange.   

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CEO Message

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