TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Recent Blogs

1. 

   San Joaquin Community Hospital names new CEO

   BY RACHEL COOK Californian staff writer

   Wednesday, Jun 19 2013 05:27 PM

   Florida hospital executive Doug Duffield will take the top post at San Joaquin Community Hospital, as its new president and CEO starting July 15.

   Duffield's hiring comes four months after former CEO Robert Beehler left the hospital for a corporate position with Adventist Health amid an ongoing Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services investigation that threatened San Joaquin's agreement to treat Medicare patients.

   The investigation, paired with construction delays, held up the opening of The AIS Cancer Center at San Joaquin Community Hospital, which began seeing patients in April.

   Duffield, 43 and the father of two girls, has worked as president and CEO of Florida Hospital Zephyrhills near Tampa for the last four years, according to...

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2. 

   Health roundup: Heart Hospital seeking applicants to lead support group

   Bakersfield Heart Hospital is seeking women living with heart disease to attend a national training program and in turn lead a local support group for other women. The hospital will choose two applicants to attend the WomenHeart's annual...
3. 

   Houchin low on blood, calls for donors to step up

   Houchin Community Blood Bank’s supplies are suffering as the summer unfolds, dwindling to the point that the blood bank has had to request blood from other facilities. The blood bank has tapped sister blood banks around the state for O-...
4. 

   Thirteen employers picked for national workplace health program

   After a long wait, 13 Kern County employers large and small have been picked for a national worksite wellness program tied to health care reform. Kern is one of only eight counties in the nation that was selected for the Centers for...
5. 

   Health roundup: Data compares local hospitals; valley avoids air violations despite heat

   The California Office of Statewide Health Planning & Development is releasing reports today comparing more than 300 hospitals' quality of care based on a dozen different conditions and procedures. The report titled "Hospital Inpatient...
6. 

   Cancer fund announces board, highlights patients helped

   When Deanna Brown lost her job and thus her health insurance last December following a year of chemotherapy, she feared her cancer treatments would end as well. What Brown had thought was strep throat two years ago turned out to be Hodgkin...
7. 

   KMC residents protest low pay, slowed negotiations with county

   Physician residents at Kern Medical Center, who have been hailed as key to securing new doctors for the community, protested canceled labor negotiation meetings and low pay Tuesday. "Kern County is unfair, all we want is our fair share,"...

9. Health roundup: Officials caution of Hepatitis A outbreak related to brand of frozen berries

   Kern County Public Health officials advised people to check their freezers for a certain brand of frozen berries after a Hepatitis A outbreak that's sickened people -- but not in Kern County. About 30 cases of Hepatitis A in five...
10. 

    SJCH opens new cancer center

    With the snip of a giant red ribbon, San Joaquin Community Hospital celebrated the long-awaited opening of its new cancer and outpatient surgery center Tuesday morning. The AIS Cancer Center at San Joaquin Community Hospital has been open...

11. Health caution issued for blowing dust

    Air pollution officials issued a health caution for blowing dust effective Tuesday evening through Wednesday night. The warning applies to the Kern County valley, as well as San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Tulare, Kings and Fresno...
12. 

    Medicare rule change to cost local hospitals

    A new Medicare program that punishes hospitals with high patient readmission rates is forcing administrators to reach out and improve how patients are cared for even after they're wheeled out the hospital doors. Working to reduce runaway...
13. 

    Health roundup: Doctors highlight effect of "spice" on pregnancy

    Two local doctors' case study of pregnancy and the synthetic drug spice got attention last week at an annual meeting of obstetricians and gynecologists. Dr. Cindy S. Lee and Dr. Sally Nalesnik detailed the case in a poster called "Spice...

14. Obamacare's insurance requirement: Where do you fit?

    Q: I've heard that some people won't be required to have health insurance under Obamacare. Is this true? A: You're right. Millions of people won't have to comply with a signature piece of the new health law. Officially known as the...