Glendale Adventist, Galleria hook up for healthy kids.

GLENDALE Adventist Medical Center and the Glendale Galleria have entered into a four-year agreement to allow the hospital to construct a children's play area inside the mall aimed at providing space for parents to rest and give kids a break, but also focused on promoting healthy lifestyle habits for youngsters.

The new child's play center opens Friday November 14 on the second level of the mall outside JC Penney. Hospital officials declined to say how much the play center is costing, nor would they disclose the value of the four-year sponsorship.

GAMC's agreement with the Galleria will also allow the hospital to hold a series of events, seminars and other programs inside the mall promoting health care and the services offered at the hospital, including free health screenings. Roughly 46 million visitors come through the mall each year.

Another feature of the four-year agreement allows GAMC to run a "walking for health" program inside the mall. That program gives participants early morning access to the Galleria, where they are led by hospital staff in a walking exercise course.

The program, sponsored by the hospital's cardiology and orthopedic departments, will also launch Nov. 14 inside the food court on the Galleria's ground level.

Visitors to the Galleria will also be able to access information about health care services and other programs offered at GAMC: the sponsorship also gives GAMC clearance to set up a kiosk inside the mall, where users can log onto a touch screen computer to access the hospital's website.

Separately, Glendale Adventist will break ground Nov. 17 on a planned $100 million renovation project that will include a new acute care building and emergency room.

The construction marks the beginning of phase two of GAMC's "Campus 2000" master plan. The first phase included construction of the hospital's new O.B. Pavilion and the closure of 19 in-patient beds.

Advances in new technology since the first phase was completed in the late 1990s, however, as well as the growing aging population and higher managed care cases, officials say, have created a need for 165 more beds hospital-wide and construction of new buildings.

The project also includes plans for a new roadway that will cut across the entire GAMC campus, making it easier for patients to more more quickly from one side to another. Currently, the only way to get from the south end of the campus to the north is to circle the entire facility.

Health Net Settles Suit

Woodland Hills-based Health Net Inc. announced Oct. 23 that it has agreed to pay $137 million to settle all outstanding claims in a lawsuit brought by Superior National Insurance Group Inc.

Health Net will take the loss as an extraordinary expense (net of taxes) for its third quarter ending Sept. 30 and company officials say they plan to announce earnings for the quarter on November 4.

The settlement releases Health Net from all claims stemming from an April 28, 2000 lawsuit related to the 1998 sale of Business Insurance Group Inc., a holding company of workers' compensation insurance companies operating primarily in California, by Foundation Health Corporation to Superior National.

The case was scheduled to go to trial in November.

In another matter, Health Net of California, a Health Net subsidiary, has reached a new multi-year agreement with Sacramento-based Sutter Health, one of the largest networks of non-profit health care providers covering the Northern California Region.

The new contract with Sutter will take effect in January and covers roughly 150,000 Health Net members who now access Sutter hospitals and utilize its medical groups.

Appeal From Schiff

Sen. Adam Schiff, whose 29th Congressional District includes portions of the east Valley, is pressuring Gov. elect Arnold Schwarzenegger to urge the Bush administration's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to approve a State Plan Amendment that would allow the county to toss in matching funds to help release federal dollars for California's Healthy Families Program.

Due to the state's budget crisis, the state Legislature has not been able to offer up enough funds needed to draw down matching federal dollars for the program, so much of that money is going unused.

In response to the crisis, lawmakers introduced Assembly Bill 495 earlier this year authorizing California counties to work with the state to use local funds. But that plan cannot be implemented until the CMS approves a state plan amendment allowing for the use of non-state funds for the federal matching program.

If approved, the program would allow for the creation of healthcare programs for children who do not qualify for either MediCal or the Healthy Families programs.

Addressing the Shortage

Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center, through its parent company Santa Barbara-based Tenet HealthCare's foundation, presented a $50,000 grant to Pierce College Nursing School Oct. 23.

The grant was presented to Pierce President Darroch "Rocky" Young by Encino-Tarzana's CEO Dale Surowitz.

The grant funds will be used to pay for education costs for 12 licensed vocational nurses to earn higher degrees as registered nurses and is viewed as a beginning step in several Valley efforts to help stem the shortage of registered nurses here and countywide.

Rite Stuff

Pharmavite LLC, which manufactures Nature Made vitamins and other nutritional supplements, was recently awarded the 2003 Rite Aid Front End Supplier Award, beating out five other contenders for the award.

Rite Aid's criteria for handing out the award evaluated sales, business-building practices and marketing initiatives.

WellPoint Division Names CEO

WellPoint Health Networks Inc. has appointed Rebecca A. Kapustay chief executive officer of its Milwaukee-based subsidiary, Cobalt Corporation, which it acquire earlier this year, as well as president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin, also owned by WellPoint.

Stephen Bablitch will remain as chairman of Cobalt Corp. and serve as an adviser to WellPoint's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Leonard Schaeffer, assisting with acquisitions and other related issues.

Business Journal Reporter Jacqueline Fox can be reached at [phone] or at [e-mail]