The Mercury Times is reporting on changes to the San Mateo emergency room services:
SAN MATEO -- Mills-Peninsula Health Services will close its standby emergency room in downtown San Mateo and convert it to an urgent care clinic to avoid a state-mandated seismic upgrade that could cost as much as $80 million, the health care group announced.
The standby emergency department at Mills Health Center will close Dec. 1 and be replaced late next year with a facility that provides many of the same services as well as primary care, Mills-Peninsula officials said this week. The new Mills-Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame, which opened in 2011, has enough capacity to handle any extra emergency visits that arise from now on, they said.
This is never an easy decision--$80 million or make adjustments to fit under the letter of the law regarding what constitutes an ER. Keep this in mind the next time you have to go to one.
Acute Rehab, Dialysis, Skilled Nursing Facilities, and now the Mills Emergency Room. What services will be removed, subcontracted or relocated out of county next? You can count on the helicoptor landing pad going unreplaced on the Peninsula/Trousdale campus when Sutter applies to rebuild the back parking lot.
If you have questions, attend the Peninsula Health Care District meeting:
Thursday, Sept. 27, 5:45
B'game City Hall Council Chambers
Speak up at Item 4--Oral Communications and get 3 minutes to ask "What Next?" Because of the Brown Act, the Directors can't answer or engage in dialog. So stick around for Item 6--Committee Reports, B. Sutter Oversight/Building Committee and ask Dr. Newman what next service is slated for the ax. Ask if it's possible that Mills could be shuttered without Sutter going into paramount default on the Peninsula Campus. Don't be shy; raise a hand or call out to make your comment before the Chair moves on to the next item. There are generally no speakers cards available. In fact, you might want to note in Oral Communication that you wish to be heard later on Item 6.
It is time to think about hospital service Now, before you really need it.
Posted by: pat giorni | September 25, 2012 at 11:47 AM
Though not on a par with the aforementioned topics, wasn't there supposed to be a piece of art (sculpture) placed in the front landscaping?
Posted by: jennifer | September 25, 2012 at 02:56 PM
I have asked Councilman Brownrigg to look into it, as well as asking the Planning Commission whatever happened to the proposed installation. It is also on Jim Nantell's radar.
Posted by: pat giorni | September 25, 2012 at 03:14 PM
From today's DJ...more union meddling that really has nothing to do with charity but rather union pay. While we are at it, how much tax do unions pay?????
SACRAMENTO — Some of California’s most powerful unions are pressuring nonprofit hospitals to prove that they provide enough charitable care to justify their tax-exempt status.
The California Nurses Association is pushing legislation that would set statewide standards for what hospitals can count as charity care. Under the bill, a hospital would have to show why it should keep its nonprofit status if revenue exceeds spending by more than 10 percent.
Hospitals also would be fined if they fail to submit timely reports detailing their charity care.
The nurses and other labor groups supporting the bill say the tax benefits the hospitals receive as nonprofit organizations are far larger than the value of their charitable work. The groups also say hospitals currently count their charity care in different ways, making it difficult to compare the efforts.
“It’s so broadly defined, it’s extremely hard to actually measure precisely how much community benefit or lack thereof the hospitals are putting back in the community,” said Bonnie Castillo, legislative director for the nurses union.
The California Labor Federation, the California Teamsters Public Affairs Council and the California Domestic Workers Coalition also support the bill.
The organization representing hospitals in the state says it’s unfair to look solely at a hospital’s costs and revenue because a wider margin in a given year might be needed to cover updates to a facility or subsidize a struggling clinic under the same ownership.
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?type=wnews&title=Hospitals’ nonprofit status questioned by large unions&id=1766271
Posted by: Joe | April 08, 2013 at 05:34 PM
Here's an news item that goes to the staffing issue:
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2013-08-22/patient-files-lawsuit-after-hospital-fall-suit-claims-understaffing-at-mills-peninsula-medical-center-led-to-injury/1774008.html
Posted by: Joe | August 22, 2013 at 04:01 PM
A new nursing contract wins the vote:
Registered nurses at Mills-Peninsula Health Services hospitals in San Mateo and Burlingame overwhelmingly approved a new four-year contract Wednesday after negotiating with Sutter Health for more than 18 months.
The contract affects 700 nurses at the two facilities.
The agreement provides across-the-board pay increases for all Mills-Peninsula registered nurses of at least 20 percent over the next four years, with additional pay based on years of service, that can bring the increases up to 25 percent, according to the California Nurses Association.
About 92 percent of the Sutter nurses voted in favor of the collective bargaining agreement.
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2016-01-15/nurses-approve-contract-registered-nurses-at-mills-peninsula-ratify-four-year-deal/1776425156817.html
Posted by: Joe | January 15, 2016 at 06:19 PM