A federal judge has again given the state more time to end its practice of holding mental health patients in emergency departments for prolonged periods. Last year, Judge Landya B. McCafferty ordered the state to end ER boarding by May 2024, saying those patients should not spend more than six hours in the ER before getting into treatment. This spring, McCafferty extended the original deadline through December 2024 when the state said it needed more time to comply. Last month, McCafferty again pushed that deadline back, giving the state until the end of next March.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has conditionally approved the affiliation of Rady Children's Hospital and Health Center, and its subsidiary, Rady Children's Hospital, with Children's HealthCare of California, and its subsidiaries, Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and CHOC at Mission. Rady, CHOC and CHOC at Mission will combine into a single healthcare delivery system and create a single parent entity called Rady Children's Health.
CareTrust REIT and a joint venture partner have reached an agreement to acquire a portfolio of 31 skilled nursing facilities for approximately $500 million, the company's largest acquisition to date. San Clemente, California-based CareTrust anticipates that most of the facilities will be operated by existing partners of the REIT, including The Ensign Group, PACS Group and Links Healthcare Group.
With Orlando's Health's acquisition of three local hospitals from Steward Health Care, officials are hoping for a new beginning for the facilities to go along with their new names, including expanded services and physical upgrades. Orlando Health this month completed its $439 million deal for the 119-bed Melbourne Regional Medical Center. the 298-bed Rockledge Regional Medical Center and the 178-bed Sebastian River Medical Center in Sebastian. The deal also includes related physician practices. The acquisitions were the result of an asset purchase agreement with Steward Health Care that was approved by a bankruptcy court judge.
Walmart will be liable for millions of dollars in civil penalties and costs for allegedly dumping nearly 80 tons of hazardous waste and sensitive customer records in California landfills, according to a stipulated judgment filed this week in Alameda County Superior Court. The judgment would settle a lawsuit brought against Walmart by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and the district attorneys of 12 counties in 2021.
More than 2,400 Kaiser Permanente mental healthcare workers in Southern California began a strike Monday and established picket lines at locations from Los Angeles to San Diego, marking the second strike among Kaiser therapists in a little more than two years. Mental health workers represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers prepared for the strike over the weekend after declining Kaiser’s terms on Friday. Kaiser in a written statement said it is notifying patients whose appointments could be affected by the strike.