County readies Regional Medical Center for April 1 opening as Valley Medical Center reports sharp ED and trauma increases

County officials told the Health and Hospital Committee that preparations are on track for the county to operate the Regional Medical Center (RMC) starting April 1, while Valley Medical Center and other county hospitals are experiencing unusually high emergency-department (ED) and trauma volumes.

The county reported that roughly 10,070 job offers were made to RMC employees and about 98% have accepted, “around 10,050 employees,” as the system prepares for Day 1 operations. Health system staff said electronic health record (EPIC) implementation has a 45-day go‑live readiness sign‑off from the county technology team, licensing steps are underway with state regulators and procurement and contracting to supply equipment are progressing.

The readiness work matters because hospital leaders said the county health system is already experiencing sustained high volume. Valley Medical Center’s ED volume was reported up about 12% November–January, with daily highs near 300 patients and an average of about 270 patients per day. O’Connor Hospital’s ED volume rose about 10% over the same period. Trauma volume for the county jumped sharply: staff reported an 87% increase in trauma cases in January compared with the prior year and said “major traumas are up 200 percent for the month.”

Those increases have strained throughput. County health leaders described operational steps taken to relieve ED bottlenecks, including adding eight medical‑surgical beds and four ICU beds at Valley, and adding 15 medical‑surgical beds at O’Connor to increase inpatient capacity and move patients out of the ED. The system also contracted with skilled‑nursing facilities to improve discharges and is exploring a conversion of 12 express‑care beds to ED beds; that change would require a waiver from the California Department of Public Health.

County staff said they are monitoring other readiness items for April 1: finalizing licenses with the California Department of Health Care Services (change‑of‑ownership and pharmacy licensing), completing dozens of operating contracts, and integrating 40–50 ancillary IT systems with EPIC. Officials said they have submitted initial documentation to the local emergency medical services agency and expect on‑site readiness reviews in early March.

Officials also noted some longer‑term capacity benefits: Regional Medical Center has already been expanding its ED waiting room and clinical capacity, and staff said the seller’s planned construction work will continue after the county’s acquisition, potentially bringing another roughly 25% of additional ED capacity to the system in coming months.

Committee members pressed staff about unexpected problems; county leaders said “every day there is an issue” but that teams have contingency plans. Officials emphasized that although wait times have lengthened, patients receive an initial medical evaluation on arrival and staff continuously monitor the most acute patients during extended waits.

The committee asked staff to report back after April 1 on changes in ED and trauma volumes to track whether the addition of RMC capacity eases pressure at Valley and other county hospitals.