sacramento bee news from FierceHealthcare

Virtually every hospital faces at least some issues in working with immigrants who don't speak English. That's particularly true in states that face a particularly large flow of new immigrants, like California. Hospitals there are responding with new programs to meet the steadily increasing demand.

At UC Davis Medical Center, for example, they're handling the problem by establishing a special program designed to connect bilingual nurses with patients who need them. Under the …

It's hardly surprising, but still sobering. According to new state projections, California could see a shortfall of 12,000 full-time registered nurses over the next seven years if things don't change. This is, in part, because there are far fewer slots in nursing schools than there are interested applicants. Last year, only 11,000 out of 28,410 applicants were accepted into the state's nursing programs. What's more, those that enter the programs often drop out. In fact, a full 25 percent …

A Medicare auditing firm part-owned by the husband of a U.S. Senator has come under intense scrutiny by the California state legislature, dogged by claims that it's rejecting claims unfairly just to make profits for itself. The company, PRG-Schultz International, is contracted with CMS to examine reimbursements and identify inappropriate payouts. PRG-Schultz gets 30 percent of any overcharges it finds. The California Hospital Association has said that PRG-Schultz is on a rampage, …

After months of negotiations, northern California's Sutter Health has gotten final state approval for a $910 million bond issue, but only after the health system agreed to substantial donations to rural hospitals and clinics. Sutter will use $750 million for facility upgrades and new construction, including major expansion of its Sutter Roseville Medical Center and Sutter Amador Hospital. The remaining $160 million will go to refinancing long-term debt at more favorable interest rates. …

In the Sacramento Bee, Dr. Michael Wilkes argues that EMRs won't prove to be as useful as many in the healthcare industry assume they'll be. The primary problem, he says, is that medicine won't benefit from computerization the same way other industries will. "In medicine, our fundamental activity is not stocking warehouse shelves or ordering merchandise from vendors. Medicine involves one human listening to, talking with and examining another."

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The National Labor Relations Board has found that Sutter Roseville Medical Center must pay workers back wages interest after locking them out for four days in 2002. The ruling upholds the decision made by an administrative law judge in 2004. The NLRB finding will affect about 450 workers, each of whom should get an average of $444, for a total payout of about $200,000, according to The Sacramento Bee. Workers, including nurses and operating room techs, had staged a …

Jumping on a trend that seems to be gathering momentum, the UC Davis Health System may be the next medical center to strictly limit how much pharma company swag doctors are allowed to accept. Interestingly, the initiative is being driven by Garen Wintemute, an emergency doctor and UC Davis professor, rather than a bioethics think tank or executive board looking to polish its reputation. The effort is also endorsed by many UC Davis medical students.

While the restrictions are only …

In an internal review of its finances, UC Davis Medical Center has found $2.2 million in physician benefits that weren't properly taxed dating back to 1994. About 200 doctors never received W-2 forms for such things as continuing-education payroll deductions, insurance coverage and retirement buyouts. The center will have to pay $220,000 in overdue taxes and some docs will owe back taxes, though the three-year statute of limitations has ran out on many of the personal income tax …

The Hospital industry is running a full court press in California to convince Sacramento that tough seismic retrofitting rules aren't really necessary. Industry lobbyists are arguing that a computer simulation developed by FEMA is a more effective way of predicting possible seismic risks than simple inspections. FEMA's program takes into account variables such as soil conditions, proximity to earthquake faults and the area's history of seismic activity. If the move succeeds, many …

A new Field Poll finds that the majority of Californians support a bill that would allow terminally-ill patients to end their own lives with a lethal prescription. The bill, drafted by Patty Berg (D) and Lloyd Levine (D), would allow a doctor to prescribe a lethal prescription if a person is found legally competent and declared terminally ill by two physicians. Supporters believe the recent Supreme Court Decision upholding Oregon's physician-assisted suicide law will help attract support …