VALLEJO, Calif.Kaiser Permanente has opened a new hospital, Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center. The 457,000-square-foot facility has five stories and includes 120 medical/surgical beds, 38 emergency room bays and expanded emergency, radiology and surgery services. The hospital is fully wired for Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect, the Oakland, Calif., managed-care giant's electronic health-record system. The hospital, about 40 miles northeast of San Francisco, cost an estimated $450 million. It was originally slated to open in November 2009 but was delayed.
LOS ANGELESThe former chairman and co-owner of a Los Angeles hospital was sentenced last month to three years in prison for paying kickbacks for patients recruited from an area known as Skid Row for unnecessary treatment that was billed to Medicare and Medicaid. 'Society must know that those who abuse the healthcare system must answer for that conduct in court, U.S. District Judge George King said during Robert Bourseau's sentencing hearing, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles. Bourseau was ordered to pay $4.1 million in restitution, a sum that reflects what prosecutors say the state and federal health programs paid as a result of the fraud. Bourseau, 75, pleaded guilty last June to his role and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, who are conducting an ongoing investigation of the scheme beyond Bourseau's hospital, City of Angels Medical Center. Rudra Sabaratnam, the other owner and CEO of City of Angels, and Dante Nicholson, a senior vice president, also pleaded guilty and await sentencing. Estill Mitts, who ran a phony assessment center that directed people from Skid Row's streets and shelters to the hospital, pleaded guilty as well and has yet to be sentenced. The U.S. attorney's office recently secured a plea agreement with Vincent Rubio, a former chief financial officer of Tustin (Calif.) Hospital and Medical Center who likewise admitted paying kickbacks to Mitts and another recruiter for patients.
MILL CREEK, Wash.Swedish Health Services is poised to begin construction this month on a $30 million facility in Mill Creek, Wash., about 25 miles northeast of Seattle. The 86,000-square-foot facility on nearly five acres will include an emergency room with 18 exam rooms, primary and specialty care and advanced diagnostic imaging. The Hammes Co., a development partner, will manage and own the building project, investing about $25.5 million. Swedish, based in Seattle, estimates that the ER will have about 35,000 patient visits a year. The facility is expected to be completed by the end of 2010 and will create 130 healthcare jobs and 200 construction jobs.
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