Feather River Hospital

Feather River Hospital, Paradise, Calif., recently swung open the doors of its Hospice House, which provides 24-hour nursing care to terminally ill patients in a home-like environment. The 7,200 square-foot building is the first of its kind in Butte County and features six private rooms and other common areas typical of a home setting with adjoining administrative offices.

Simi Valley Hospital

Simi Valley Hospital, Simi Valley, Calif., has completed the first two phases of its new Patient Care Tower, which included utility relocation and the construction of a new employee/patient parking lot. The next phase will encompass demolition of the former administration offices, portions of admitting, the main lobby and the Volunteer Guild gift shop. When completed in 2005, the tower will feature 170 private care rooms, an expanded intensive care unit and a Level II neonatal intensive care unit.

Castle Medical Center

The Noelo Po’okela Award was recently presented to Castle Medical Center by the Hawaii State Award of Excellence program, which is based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. After the hospital submitted a written application, examiners visited the facility and noted that it has a well-established culture of performance excellence, high patient satisfaction, high employee satisfaction and employee empowerment.

Hospitals Receive Prestigious Ratings

St. Helena Hospital, located in the Napa Valley, recently received a five-star rating for cardiac interventions and peripheral vascular bypass surgery from HealthGrades. In addition, the health care quality company awarded Paradise Valley Hospital a five-star rating for clinical performance in both stroke care and obstetrics. The sixth annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America study analyzed and rated procedures and diagnoses in 5,000 hospitals nationwide. Fewer than 15 percent of participating hospitals received five-star ratings. To review the full study, visit www.healthgrades.com.

South Coast Medical Center, Laguna Beach, Calif., earned the highest possible rating in a quality survey published by the Orange County Register. The article profiles an Orange County hospital “report card” and features scores from all 26 area hospitals. The four-star rating was awarded to South Coast Medical Center after a variety of quality indicators were measured. For the full report visit, www.SouthCoastMedCenter.com.

White Memorial Medical Center

White Memorial Medical Center (WMMC) tops the charts for mission and whole person care according to a recent physician satisfaction survey conducted by Professional Research Consultants. The results of the survey indicate that physicians at the East Los Angeles hospital perceive it as being friendly towards people of different faiths, responsive to patients’ spiritual needs, supportive of spiritual care and effective in facilitating communication between chaplains and physicians.

Paradise Valley Hospital

Paradise Valley Hospital kicked off its 100th anniversary celebration by hosting a “Babes of Paradise” party in late January. More than 400 people who were born at the hospital—ranging in age from newborn to 89—responded to invitations. An estimated 1,000 guests attended the event. More than 80,000 babies have been born at the National City, Calif., hospital since it opened in 1904.

Ukiah Valley Medical Center

Ukiah Valley Medical Center recently launched an online health library offering users easy access to reliable health information. Viewers can now browse hundreds of topics including diabetes, cancer, heart health and menopause free of charge by visiting the hospital’s web site at www.uvmc.org and clicking on “Health Library.”