Chino Valley Medical Hospital

The City of Chino’s 6th Annual Family Fitness Day will be held Saturday, May 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Walnut Avenue Elementary School, located at 5550 Walnut Avenue in Chino. The health and wellness event encourages healthy eating and physical activity as forms of fun and entertainment for Chino children and their families, from toddlers to seniors. More than 20 vendors will participate and will offer free healthy food tastings; health screenings; fun fitness activities; entertainment; and more. The first 100 families to arrive will receive goodie bags. A bicycle and Wii Fit will also be raffled.

The Prime Healthcare Services Foundation takes its roots back to1989 when a generous donation of 1 million dollars from its Founder and the Chairman of the Board, Prem Reddy, MD, FACC, FCCP established a long running tradition of giving. “Lend a Helping Hand” has become its mantra for helping those in need.

In January of this year the Foundation added Montclair Hospital Medical Center to its growing chain of not-for-profit hospitals which includes Encino Hospital Medical Center which was donated to the Foundation in 2009. Montclair Hospital Medical Center was originally founded by a group of community physicians in 1973. It changed ownership several times before becoming a part of the Prime hospital network in 2006. It is a 102-bed acute care facility located in Montclair, California, offering a wide range of healthcare services to the Inland Empire area. Encino Hospital Medical Center is a 150-bed, state of the art hospital located in the Encino, California with a multi-disciplinary staff comprised of 330 physicians and 520 professional support staff. It serves a diverse population and with a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services.

Among the Foundation’s charitable activities are generous educational scholarships for students pursuing careers in health care at various institutions of higher learning. The Kelly Lukart’s Vision for the Future Program provides free eye glasses to elementary school children. Numerous community education programs are funded through the Foundation.

The Dr. Prem Reddy Family Foundation also donated a free Public Health Library was established for the general public providing books, journals, magazines, videos and internet access for immediate access to the most current medical publications. The Circle of Care Foundation was established to help seniors, and the Circle of Care Leeza’s Place in Sherman Oaks, CA, provides assistance to individuals and their caregivers who are affected with memory disorders. The Circle of Friends program in Orange County, CA, supports the Senior Community through a free community health clinic in Huntington Beach. A Senior Wellness Center was recently opened in Apple Valley, CA, designed specifically with seniors in mind.

The Prime Healthcare Services Foundation is another vehicle for Dr. Prem Reddy’s well documented philanthropic endeavors, which have touched tens of thousands of lives throughout the past two decades, and will continue to do so as the Prime organization grows.

This week Prime Healthcare Services hospitals celebrate National Hospital Week (May 8-14), the nation’s largest healthcare event.

It’s a celebration of the history, technology and the dedicated professionals who make our facilities a beacon of confidence and care. It’s also a celebration of our hospitals ongoing commitment to providing quality care to the communities we serve.

The past year has seen many awards and accolades bestowed on our hospitals. Prime Healthcare Services is recognized as the top rated hospital network in California and our hospitals regularly appear on Reuters Top 100 Hospitals in the Nation list.

The Prime spirit continues to thrive thanks to the thousands of highly qualified professionals who are dedicated to our mission of providing quality care in a cost-effective manner.

With over 9,000 employees, and 14 hospitals throughout the Sate of California Prime continues to be an innovator in hospital management while providing a work environment that nurtures cooperation and opportunity.

Chino, Calif., April 16, 2012 – Chino Valley Medical Center today was named a “100 Top Hospital” by Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of healthcare.

“This reflects the outstanding hard work, dedication and excellent patient care that our hospital provides,” said James Lally, DO, MMM, President and Chief Medical Officer of Chino Valley Medical Center. “We are proud to be acknowledged as a leader in health care with this prestigious award.”

With nearly 3,000 U.S. hospitals surveyed, the hospitals demonstrated that high-quality patient outcomes can be achieved while improving efficiency.  According to Thomson Reuters, if all hospitals performed at the same level as the 100 Top Hospitals award winners:

•    More than 186,000 additional lives could be saved.
•    Approximately 56,000 additional patients could be complication-free.
•    More than $4.3 billion could be saved.
•    The average patient stay would decrease by nearly half a day.
•    The typical winning hospital charges $464 less per discharge than the typical non-winner.

“This prestigious recognition speaks volumes to our commitment to quality patient care,” said Prem Reddy, MD, FACC, FCCP, Chairman, President and CEO of Prime Healthcare Services. “I congratulate the physicians, nurses and staff at these hospitals for their deep devotion to the highest standards of quality care in the country.”

Five of the nine California community hospitals that earned the Thomson Reuters “100 Top Hospitals: National Benchmarks for Success, 2012” were Prime Healthcare hospitals: Centinela Hospital Medical Center, among the large community hospitals, Chino Valley Medical Center, Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center, West Anaheim Medical Center [three-time winner], among the medium community hospitals, and Desert Valley Hospital [six-time winner], among the small community hospitals. This is the thirteenth time a Prime Healthcare hospital has been recognized with this honor.

The Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals study evaluates performance in 10 areas: mortality; medical complications; patient safety; average patient stay; expenses; profitability; patient satisfaction; adherence to clinical standards of care; post-discharge mortality; and readmission rates for acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), heart failure, and pneumonia. The study has been conducted annually since 1993. Hospitals do not apply, and winners do not pay to market this honor.

What is the real story behind the SEIU fueled criticism of Prime Healthcare Services (PHS), a top-rated healthcare network based in Ontario, CA?

You may have read about the the alleged improprieties which are being played out in the media. The SEIU, one of the Nation’s most powerful unions, uses any means possible to intimidate PHS in order to influence ongoing labor negotiations. It puts PHS in the unenviable position of constantly defending its reputation as an operator of 14 hospitals throughout California.

Let’s examine the facts one by one. According to SEIU propaganda, PHS uses aggressive legal and financial tactics to seize control of ‘poor’ hospitals over local objections, and then proceeds to profit at the expense of patients, caregivers and communities.

Let’s look at the SEIU accusation that PHS is guilty of cutting needed services. The fact is, PHS carefully evaluates the needs of the community before considering any cuts in service. Required services are never eliminated and in some cases even marginal programs remain on an outpatient basis.

All surgery programs remain intact and existing heart programs are enhanced. For example, the recently acquired Alvarado Hospital in San Diego has an open heart surgery program and a newly renovated cath lab. Expensive programs, like mammograms, which require the maintenance of extremely costly equipment, may also be moved to an outpatient basis.

In order to make a newly acquired hospital financially viable, PHS must identify the programs that are placing an untenable strain on finances. This can involve eliminating certain programs and the commensurate staffing cuts. PHS does not slash the pay and benefits of experienced caregivers. It merely evaluates what is in the best interests for the long-term viability of the facility. PHS’s employee compensation is competitive, and it also offers a self-funded health plan to all of its 9,000 plus employees.

Our current healthcare system dictates that every patient walking into the ER is entitled to the best possible treatment regardless of their ability to pay. PHS offers more ‘charity care’ than any other hospital network in California. In addition, many PHS hospitals treat a disproportionate share of Medicare patients including Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, CA, and Paradise Valley, near San Diego CA.

Existing healthcare contracts are re-evaluated and eliminated if they threaten the economic viability of the hospital. Other reimbursement options are assessed and implemented if they meet PHS’s strategic management criteria. A hospital that goes out of business through mismanagement can not continue to serve its patients.

PHS also focuses on its ERs. This is where lives are saves and patients can count on receiving treatment in a timely manner. Throughout the PHS system, its hospitals are setting a new standard of efficiency in emergency medicine, with wait times reduced to 20 minutes. Paramedics experience less ‘wall time’ (the period between their arrival and departure from the ER) and there is no diverting of patients to other hospitals.

SEIU will no doubt continue to berate PHS in spite of the constant stream of accolades and accreditations its hospitals continue to receive for their quality of care.

Unions often resort to intimidation and extortion to influence its negotiations with management. SEIU continues to file fabricated complaints triggering mandatory investigations in an effort to taint PHS’s reputation.

When you examine the facts, PHS’s only crime is in standing up to SEIU while creating a healthcare management model that has meant hospitals can survive and be profitable without compromising the quality of care.