SANDUSKY, Ohio—Cleveland Clinic has acquired North Coast Cancer Care, a 70-employee cancer treatment center based in Sandusky. The center now joins Cleveland Clinic as a department within the Taussig Cancer Institute.

Former North Coast President Dr. Steven Roshon will report to Taussig Chairman Dr. Brian Bolwell. “By linking NCCC's services with Cleveland Clinic, patients will have access to the latest clinical trials and an electronic health record that will help bring coordinated, cutting-edge care close to home,” Bolwell said in a news release. North Coast has a location in Clyde, Ohio, in addition to the Sandusky location, which now will be called the North Coast Cancer Campus. North Coast physicians also practice at the 77-bed Fisher-Titus Medical Center in Norwalk, Ohio.

ST. PAUL, Minn.—The Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety named a former hospital-system quality official to become its first executive director as the 11-year-old organization expands its mission. Nancy Kielhofner, the former executive director of quality, safety and accreditation at Allina Hospital & Clinics, Minneapolis, took on her new role at the patient-safety alliance Nov. 14, according to a news release from the alliance. Kielhofner is working out of the Bloomington office of Stratis Health, one of more than 50 members of the alliance. The alliance was initially founded by a partnership of the Minnesota Hospital Association, Minnesota Medical Association and Minnesota Health Department, and today its members include providers, payers, regulators, associations, consumers and academic experts. Formerly, the organization was supported by voluntary donations from members, but a news release from the organization stated that Kielhofner's hiring coincides with a change in governance structure to make the alliance an independent organization that can carry out its own programs rather than relying on in-kind contributions from members. The changes also bring annual dues funding from members. The alliance hosts a biennial patient-safety conference and works to disseminate best-practices and support measurement and transparency in safety, among other goals, according to the news release.

TOPEKA, Kan.—Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback announced plans to seek a waiver from the federal government to revamp the state's Medicaid program around patient-centered models of care in order to save an estimated $853.1 million in fiscal years 2013-17 compared with current projected spending levels, according to the governor's website. Brownback's proposal is similar to the Medicaid models used in states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas, according to the governor's office. The proposal is the product of a task force Brownback, a Republican, launched in January under Lt. Gov. Dr. Jeff Colyer. It envisions a request for proposals for three statewide contractors to coordinate care for beneficiaries. The contractors would be measured on population-specific and statewide outcomes linked to financial incentives; 3% to 5% of total payments would be in the form of quality and performance incentives. The contractors also would be subject to penalties for poor performance or a lack of reporting. Beneficiaries would get a health-risk assessment and health literacy education. They would be locked into a provider for one year, in order to ensure continuity in treatment. Some state agency duties will be reorganized to streamline interaction between the agencies and the Medicaid program. The Medicaid program would be renamed KanCare. The contractors also would serve patients with disabilities and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

CHICAGO—Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios is taking steps to put Northwestern Memorial HealthCare's Prentice Women's Hospital on the property tax rolls, a move that could mean a $66 million bill for the hospital for the past four years, reported Crain's Chicago Business, a sister publication to Modern Healthcare. Berrios' office served Northwestern Memorial with notices to place Prentice on the tax rolls beginning in 2008 and issued a proposed assessment for 2011. The move came after the Illinois Revenue Department denied an application for tax-exempt status for Prentice, along with Edward Hospital & Health Services in Naperville and Decatur Memorial Hospital. All are appealing the decisions. Gov. Pat Quinn issued a moratorium on further tax-exemption rulings by the department. Quinn said the Illinois General Assembly should enact legislation better defining charity-care requirements. A spokeswoman for Berrios said assessor's office is following the advice of the Cook County state's attorney. The assessor's office in October sent notices of intent to list omitted assessments for Prentice for 2008, 2009 and 2010, and has issued assessments for 2011, according to a quarterly report released by Northwestern. Northwestern Memorial “will vigorously contest both the denial of its exemption application and the assessments for the Prentice pavilion,” a spokeswoman said. “We believe that those dollars need to stay in healthcare. It would be taking money from investment in doctors, new technology and research and innovation.”