• 09/10 - Silicon Valley Round Table
• 09/11 - San Francisco Round Table
• 09/12 - East Bay Round Table
• 09/20 - Los Angeles Round Table
• 10/02 - Orange County Round Table

• Two-thirds of Consumers Are Interested in Telehealth, but Few Have Tried It
• Most 2020 Democrats Want a Public Option; L.A. Already Has One
• Health Insurers Set to Expand Offerings Under the ACA
• Medicare Decides a Cost-Saving Strategy Costs Too Much
• Rehospitalization Rare Following Kaiser Permanente/Samsung Digital Cardiac Rehab Program
• On-Demand Ride Services Improve Seniors' Access to Care, Reduce Social Isolation
• Therapies Using Gamification, Augmented Reality to Treat Children
• Blue Shield of Calif. Aims to Help Independent Doctors with Value-Based Care
• NIH Funds Genetic Counseling Resource Ahead of Million-Person Sequencing Effort
• On the Opioid Lawsuits Front. . .
• 61 Health Tech Companies on Inc. 5000 List
• California Health Workers Split on Whether to Be Independent Contractors or Employees
• Not a Ban, but a Suggestion from the FDA: Replace Infection-Prone Scopes with Safer Models

PIH Health and Good Samaritan Hospital, where Andy Leeka is President and CEO, announced today that they have signed an affiliation agreement that will align the two mission-driven healthcare organizations. Good Samaritan will be fully integrated into the PIH Health system in a manner that will permanently maintain and enhance Good Samaritan's ability to provide outstanding patient care to the thousands of patients it serves each week. "PIH Health and Good Samaritan share a common commitment to the health and wellness of the residents of Southern California. We plan to expand services that will benefit even more members of our community," said Andrew B. Leeka, Good Samaritan President and CEO. "We believe that combining the resources and expertise of two of Southern California's outstanding health systems will result in enhanced care and services." "The affiliation with PIH Health will allow us to continue our 134-year-old tradition of service and innovation with a new and sustainable model well suited for our current healthcare environment," added Charles T. Munger, Good Samaritan Board of Trustees Chair. With 408 beds, and two medical office towers - including a state-of-the-art ambulatory surgery center, Good Sam will be joining the PIH system, which currently has two hospitals located in Whittier and Downey, with 732 licensed beds, 28 clinics and outpatient centers, a home care agency and hospice, and a joint venture imaging center. Governmental review and approval is expected to take about four months. (Read more here.)

An eight-week Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan Community Art Therapy program was recently held in collaboration with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Los Angeles, Challengers Clubhouse, and Wellnest. The project helped local youth deal with everyday trauma they face by using their creativity to help design a mural based on their hopes and aspirations. Each week, social workers and behavioral health specialists joined an accomplished artist who encouraged youth to lend their creativity as they participated in the program. Art was used as a tool to help the program participants share their feelings and talk about difficult issues in a safe, nurturing space. Meanwhile, the Plan has also announced a joint venture with LA Care to build/renovate a total of 14 Community Resource Centers throughout LA County, with each organization investing $73 million in the project. By the first quarter of 2021, the two health plans plan to open seven new community resource centers and co-brand all 14 centers with both logos. (Greg Buchert, MD)

CareAcademy has been chosen for use at Home Helpers Home Care locations, whose CEO pointed to CareAcademy's mobile-friendly, online caregiver training platform, particularly noting the automated assignment of the right classes on the correct schedule to meet annual training compliance. Home Helpers consists of independently owned and operated offices in 1000+ communities across the U.S. (Helen Adeosun)

Six Partners from Nelson Hardiman, including Harry Nelson, were selected by their peers for inclusion in "The Best Lawyers in America 2020," and Harry was a Finalist for a Los Angeles Business Journal "Health Care Leadership Award." Meanwhile, Harry has been recently interviewed by, and written for, a variety of publications, news programs, and podcasts on the subject of the opioid crisis and lawsuits. (Harry Nelson, JD)

Recent blog posts from Axene Health Partners include: "Should You Be Concerned About Low Rate Increases?" "Measuring ROI for a Pediatric Care Intervention Program;" "An Actuarial View of Health Care Public Policy Proposals;" "An Actuary Looks at 50;" "Gun Violence: A Public Health Issue;" "The Lionfish in ACA Markets;" and "Health Reimbursement Arrangements: Will Employers Fund Individual Market Coverage?" They can all be read here. (John Price)

Debbie Toth, CEO of Choice in Aging (CiA), has been asked to serve on California Governor Newsom's Master Plan for Aging Stakeholder Advisory Committee, which will advise the Cabinet Workgroup on Aging in the development of the Master Plan. The diverse group of stakeholders will help to develop components of the Plan, to guide the work of state government, local communities, private organizations, and philanthropy to build environments that promote healthy aging. Meanwhile, CiA's 2nd annual Bedford Block Party will take place September 21, in Antioch, an event which supports the Bedford Center for Adult Day Health Care, the only adult day center serving East Contra Costa County. (Debbie Toth)

On November 7-9, Health Coach Institute will present HCI Live: The Must-Attend Event for Coaches & Health Practitioners, in Dallas, TX. Speakers will include Eric Neuner, CEO of HCI, and topics will cover the hottest trends in the health coaching industry; emerging, lucrative coaching opportunities; and what HCI is doing to support and advocate for coaches. (Eric Neuner)

HumanGood has been named one of the 2019 "Best Workplaces for Aging Services" by Great Place to Work and FORTUNE. The ranking considered feedback representing 223,183 employees, and factors included the extent to which employees trust leaders, the respect with which people are treated, the fairness of workplace decisions, and how much camaraderie there is among the team. Meanwhile, HumanGood recently hosted Bay Area and Northern California-based policy makers and homeless advocates for its symposium addressing the challenges of delivering affordable housing and services that meet the needs of low-income older adults. (Tara McGuinness)

More than 30 Kaiser Permanente hospitals were recognized as "high performing" in U.S. News & World Report's 2019-20 Best Hospitals study, which analyzes 25 specialties, procedures, and common conditions to assess hospital performance. High performers are based on evaluation of the 4,500+ medical centers and designate the top 90th percentile of hospitals nationwide. Twelve KP hospitals in California are ranked among the state's best for overall care: Anaheim, Irvine, Baldwin Park, Downey, Fontana, Ontario, Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento, Santa Clara, South Bay, and South Sacramento. Meanwhile, KP has demonstrated promising results in reducing secondary cardiac events and rehospitalizations by creating a virtual cardiac rehabilitation program. Increasing rates of program enrollment and completion have been key factors in the improved outcomes. (Walt Meyers)

On September 12, from 10-11 a.m. Pacific, King & Spalding (K&S) will present a webinar - Open Borders for Rx Drugs? The Trump Administration's Move to Authorize Prescription Drug Importation. And, on September 23, K&S will present a webinar - Healthcare Fraud Enforcement Priorities in 2019 and Beyond, from 10-11 a.m. Pacific. You do not have to be a client to attend these webinars, and there is no charge. (Marcia Augsburger, JD, & Travis Jackson, JD)

KMD Architects recently celebrated the ribbon cutting for a new 16-bed inpatient care facility, located in McCleary, WA, for individuals experiencing substance abuse or an acute behavioral health crisis. KMD worked with Great Rivers Behavioral Health Organization and Telecare Corporation to remodel the 1950s-era Mark Reed Hospital to serve as a new Evaluation and Treatment Center. And, KMD reports that its expansion and renovation of MultiCare Allenmore Hospital's Emergency Department in Tacoma, WA, is underway and that services will be shared with the new Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital crisis intervention unit. (Rob Matthew)

East Bay Community Recovery Project (EBCRP) has joined LifeLong Medical Care's family of services, in order to offer a fuller array of medical, behavioral health, substance-use treatment, case management, and dental services to Alameda County residents. Lifelong Medical is an innovative, non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center, and EBCRP provides comprehensive substance-use and co-occurring disorder care. (Mike Stacey, MD)

On the evening of September 27, On Lok will present an evening of dining, dancing, auction, and entertainment, celebrating the 40th anniversary of its 30th Street Senior Center, San Francisco's largest multipurpose senior center with programs serving 6,000+ individuals per year. Proceeds from the gala will benefit the Mission Nutrition community and home-delivered meal programs. (Grace Li)

Mazzetti's Sextant Foundation is organizing a Reimagining Critical Care Workshop, to be held on September 19-20, in conjunction with the Healthcare Facilities Symposium in Boston. Leading clinicians and representatives from healthcare-focused architecture, engineering, and design firms will gather to use process thinking and human-centered-design-inspired techniques to reimagine critical care spaces and how they are designed. Suggestions will be submitted to the Facility Guidelines Institute to potentially inform future fundamental guidelines requirements and "beyond fundamentals" ideas and insights. (Walt Vernon)

Mission Hospice & Home Care, together with Hospice of Santa Cruz County and The Elizabeth Hospice in San Diego, have formed the California Hospice Network, a strategic partnership committed to sustaining local, nonprofit, community-based hospice care throughout California. These organizations are committed to working, sharing, and planning together to further enhance their delivery of exemplary patient care and end-of-life services. Mission Hospice will continue to operate as a distinct and independent nonprofit, mission-driven hospice and palliative care organization, while working with California Hospice Network partners to share best practices, maximize operational economies and efficiencies, and ensure long-term viability within a changing healthcare environment. (Lisa Deal, ScD)

On September 10-12, Wipfli will present Critical Access Hospital and Rural Health Clinic Conference in Reno, NV, where Jeff Johnson and Steve Rousso will be speakers. Sessions are intended for all levels of critical access hospital and rural health clinic professionals. And, on September 24, Wipfli will host a webinar - Thinking about selling your healthcare facility? - to discuss the prudent assessment actions to take in preparation for a sale. Meanwhile, Wipfli has been ranked #19 on INSIDE Public Accounting's rankings of the nation's largest 400 accounting firms. (Jeff Johnson, Larry Blitz, Tony Taddey & Steve Rousso)

Bayer AG plans to fully acquire BlueRock Therapeutics, a privately held, U.S.-headquartered biotechnology company focused on developing engineered cell therapies in the fields of neurology, cardiology, and immunology, using a proprietary induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) platform. Following a 2016 joint venture with Versant Ventures to establish BlueRock Therapeutics, Bayer will now acquire the remaining stake for approximately $240 million in cash to be paid upfront at closing and an additional $360 million payable upon achievement of pre-defined development milestones. The closing of the transaction is expected during the third quarter of 2019. (Dirk Schapeler)

MayView Community Health Center has received a $1.7 million grant from the El Camino Healthcare District - the largest provided through the program to date - which will pay for doctors, nurses, and clinic staff needed to support an increasing number of patients in need of affordable healthcare. MayView is the "essential safety net" for primary care within the district's boundaries, providing services for 9,000+ primarily low-income patients. (Ken Graham)

Steve Grau, CEO of Royal Ambulance, has been named to Glassdoor's "Top CEOs 2019 - Employees' Choice" list, coming in at #25 for all SMBs in the U.S. And, he has been featured in Forbes, in 5 Strategies for Increasing Employee Engagement in a Competitive Industry; and on the HIMSS National Blog, in Removing Patient Transport Barriers with Innovative Partnerships. Also, in Q&A: How to encourage employee growth and maintain high standards, Eve Grau, co-founder of Royal, shares the company's philosophy for cultivating highly motivated employees. (Steve Grau)

Alvaka Networks will host a live and interactive webinar - Software Security Patching: "Why you are struggling with this essential task?!", on multiple dates in September and October. This webinar will take a deep dive into this complex security dilemma, what the risks are, and how you can start to solve this problem. (Oli Thordarson)

Recent blog posts from SAVI Group include How to Implement Lean Management into Your Medical Practice, a process that eliminates waste and improves quality; and Patient Payment Collection Mistakes Your Practice Should Avoid, which discusses limited payment options; inaccurate or incomplete patient information; subpar customer service; lack of staff training; and software systems. (Sumit Mahendru)

Select Data provides educational webinars and training resources designed to assist clinicians with documentation requirements for ICD-10 and PDGM. Their on-demand webinars include: "Preparing Field Clinicians for PDGM;" "Understanding the HH CAHPS Survey and How it Impacts Your Home Health Agency;" "The Clinician's Role in Conditions of Participation (CoPs) Compliance;" "Developing a Thorough and Compliant Plan of Care;" and "STAR Ratings and OASIS Accuracy." The webinars are available here. (Ed Buckley & Ted Schulte)

On the evening of October 11, in Huntington Beach, Share Our Selves (SOS) will present its 29th Annual SOS Celebrity Chef Dinner, a fundraising event to benefit the many services SOS provides to meet the basic needs of homeless and low-income residents of Orange County. Take in stunning ocean views while enjoying hors d'oeuvres, beer and wine tastings, live music, silent and live auctions, and a three-course dinner in the ballroom with outstanding chefs pairing up to prepare each course. (Karen McGlinn)

Catasys, Inc., a leading AI and technology-enabled healthcare company that solves the hidden, high-cost problem of untreated behavioral health conditions, has been added to the Russell 3000 and 2000 Indexes, effective July 1, 2019. The annual Russell Indexes reconstitution captures the 4,000 largest U.S. stocks at the close of the market on May 10, 2019, ranking them by total market capitalization. Approximately $9 trillion in assets are benchmarked against Russell U.S. Indexes. (Rick Anderson, West Los Angeles Technology)