Antelope Valley Hospital and Kentucky-based Kindred Healthcare have entered into a joint venture to build and operate a new specialty hospital in Lancaster, the organizations said.
The 125,000-square-foot, two-story hospital dedicated to behavioral health and rehabilitation will have 121 beds, with 96 for behavioral health patients and 25 for acute inpatient rehabilitation, AV Hospital said, all with private rooms.
The organizations have not yet disclosed a timeline for construction or estimated cost.
“AVH’s mental health unit has seen over 500 patients just this year. For this reason, it’s important to provide a multidisciplinary approach to this growing health problem,” Edward Mirzabegian, chief executive of Antelope Valley Hospital, said in a statement. “This unique facility will also allow AVH to expand its rehabilitation services to ensure patient safety and enhance patients’ functional level prior to discharge from the hospital.”
After Los Angeles County experienced its darkest day in coronavirus figures Wednesday, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital officials administered their first batch of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine Thursday to the hospital’s frontline workers.
Kathy Brady, a senior clinical registered nurse in the hospital’s intensive care unit, was the first to be inoculated. She has been caring for coronavirus patients since the onset of the pandemic and is one of many medical professionals who have adjusted their daily lives by “taking so many showers before and after work” and thinking about their loved ones at home. For Brady, it’s her husband, a cancer survivor.
California officials order 5,000 body bags as state’s intensive care units near full capacity
On Tuesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that state officials had ordered 5,000 additional body bags and 63 refrigerated trailers to store the exploding numbers of dead from COVID-19.
Across California, a public health catastrophe is now unfolding, with coronavirus infections growing exponentially. On Wednesday, the California Department of Public Health reported over 61,000 new daily cases and 407 deaths, by far the highest rates of the pandemic.
California Governor Gavin Newsom speaking on Tuesday (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, Pool, File)
The average number of daily cases in California has more than quadrupled over the last month while the number of hospitalizations has more than tripled. With the virus spreading unchecked, hospitalizations will likely double again over the next month, putting unprecedented pressure on entire health care system.
When Erick Fernandez’s alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m., the stress begins.
As an emergency room nurse at Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, Fernandez said his 6 a.m. shift marks the start of a long day. The hospital is home to one of the busiest ERs in the state, and like many, it has been overrun by COVID-19.
“The surge is definitely in full force,” Fernandez said. “Sometimes we come in in the morning, and a lot of the areas are just full of COVID patients already.”
In the last week, California has averaged more than 32,000 coronavirus cases each day, according to
When Erick Fernandez’s alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m., the stress begins.
As an emergency room nurse at Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, Fernandez said his 6 a.m. shift marks the start of a long day. The hospital is home to one of the busiest ERs in the state, and like many, it has been overrun by COVID-19.
“The surge is definitely in full force,” Fernandez said. “Sometimes we come in in the morning, and a lot of the areas are just full of COVID patients already.”
In the last week, California has averaged more than 32,000 coronavirus cases each day, according to