Melanie Evans August 17, 2009 Hospitals have always known why patients visit. Increasingly they now know exactly which patients will be able to pay for those visits. Income and credit scores have long been factors when consumers go to buy a car, home or apply for a credit card. Now consumers' financial profiles—credit... ... FULL STORY
Vince Galloro August 17, 2009 Central Connecticut Health Alliance is choosing to walk into the arms of a nearby system—before low margins, lack of capital and healthcare reform make it run. ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 Sparks Health System, Fort Smith, Ark., said its board of trustees has approved a nonbinding letter of intent to be acquired by Health Management Associates, Naples, Fla. The system’s main asset is 303-bed Sparks Regional Medical Center. HMA and Sparks will begin due diligence and negotiating... ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 California will begin terminating health insurance coverage for thousands of children on Oct. 1 as a result of state budget cuts. Children with September enrollment anniversary dates in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, known in California as Healthy Families, will be the first... ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 George Greene will replace Richard Meiers as president and CEO of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, effective Sept. 1. Meiers is retiring after serving for nearly 20 years at the helm of the association, which represents hospitals and long-term-care facilities on the Hawaiian Islands. Greene,... ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 James Madara said he will step down as CEO of the University of Chicago Medical Center on Oct. 1. Madara, an academic pathologist, also will resign as dean of the university’s biological sciences division and Pritzker School of Medicine, though he will remain on faculty. Cancer specialist... ... FULL STORY
Vince Galloro August 17, 2009 Central Connecticut Health Alliance is choosing to walk into the arms of a nearby system—before low margins, lack of capital and healthcare reform make it run. ... FULL STORY
Vince Galloro August 17, 2009 Catholic Health Initiatives wants to close a Kansas hospital and then give just about everything related to it away to its local community—except the one thing the community wants the most. ... FULL STORY
Rebecca Vesely August 17, 2009 Health insurers are continuing to adjust to the weak economy and pending healthcare reform. Last week, two major health plans announced job cuts and the Blues association confirmed it is seeking a buyer for its bank just two years after opening it. ... FULL STORY
Matthew DoBias August 17, 2009 Akey group of Senate lawmakers wants to take a closer look at the business practices of the $60 billion-a-year healthcare group purchasing industry, which survived similar scrutiny earlier this decade with nary a scratch. But this time around, the search for money to help finance healthcare reform... ... FULL STORY
Shawn Rhea August 17, 2009 The Food and Drug Administration is showing signs that an overhaul of its beleaguered medical-products review programs is in the works, observers say. ... FULL STORY
Melanie Evans August 17, 2009 Amid signs that the economy has gained ground after its lengthy slide, two Nashville healthcare companies went to investors last week with initial public offerings, joining the trickle of companies that have ventured into the market since the recession worsened last fall. ... FULL STORY
Melanie Evans August 17, 2009 Fitch Ratings said financial indicators for not-for-profit healthcare dropped last year, though operating margins declined only moderately. The median operating margin dipped to 2.2% in 2008 from 2.6% the prior year, analysts said in a report that analyzed financial performance for 227 tax-exempt... ... FULL STORY
Gregg Blesch August 17, 2009 James Doulgeris spent an unfortunate five months as interim CEO of a failing California hospital in 2003, and his fresh loss in court to the Internal Revenue Service might be instructive to others struggling to make ends meet at cash-strapped facilities. ... FULL STORY
Gregg Blesch August 17, 2009 As the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati moves quickly toward becoming something other than an alliance, President and CEO Kenneth Hanover plans to leave for Massachusetts. ... FULL STORY
Rebecca Vesely August 17, 2009 Phoenix is experiencing a boom in cancer care as providers seek to fill a growing need in the snowbird state. ... FULL STORY
Rebecca Vesely August 17, 2009 Answering questions during a webcast earlier this month, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sought to clear up some confusion about how the Obama administration is proposing to reform healthcare. Would consumers continue to have health insurance choices under the proposed system? “No one will... ... FULL STORY
Melanie Evans August 17, 2009 Hospitals have always known why patients visit. Increasingly they now know exactly which patients will be able to pay for those visits. Income and credit scores have long been factors when consumers go to buy a car, home or apply for a credit card. Now consumers' financial profiles—credit... ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 FALLS CITY, Neb.—The new Community Medical Center is set to open this November. Construction began April 20, 2008, on the $22 million, 58,000-square-foot facility that replaces a 25-bed facility originally built in 1918. The new facility is being built on a 70-acre property on the... ... FULL STORY
Vince Galloro August 17, 2009 BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The city of Irondale, Ala., sued Community Health Systems, Franklin, Tenn., and a real estate developer over Community's decision to relocate a hospital replacement project from Irondale to the former “digital hospital” site that HealthSouth Corp. was... ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 SAN FRANCISCO—A new campus of UCSF Medical Center is getting a helipad, the city board of supervisors has agreed unanimously. UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay, scheduled to open in 2014, will be a state-of-the-art 289-bed, 869,000-square-foot complex for children, women and cancer... ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—At about 9 a.m. ET on July 14, obstetrician Irwin Landau delivered the last baby at the 42-year-old, 324-bed Florida Hospital-Ormond Memorial in Ormond Beach, Fla. Less than four hours later, Landau delivered the first baby at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical... ... FULL STORY
Denise Brooks-Williams August 17, 2009 The U.S. is entering a new phase of health reform. This presents challenges and opportunities for professional organizations that represent and advocate for various constituencies. The National Association of Health Services Executives is one such organization. ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 With the great need for nurses, we cannot afford to lose any registered nurses, especially recent graduates. To improve job satisfaction for RNs, nursing ratios need to be improved but healthcare organizations are already stressed to find nursing talent in a constrained nursing market (“Job... ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 A list of the nation's largest medical schools ranked by total active enrollment for the 2008-09 school year. Source: Association of American Medical Colleges. Published Aug. 17, 2009. ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 Ray Woodham took control of the Southwest Presbyterian Sanatorium in 1952, a time when the Albuquerque hospital faced such dire financial straits that it was buying supplies through cash-on-delivery instead of paying in advance, as one longtime physician recalls. ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 Colleen Blye, CFO and executive vice president of finance and integrated services at Catholic Health Initiatives, Denver, left her employment with the Roman Catholic provider after having worked there since its founding in 1996. A CHI spokesman said Blye decided it was not in her best... ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 Medtronic, Minneapolis, tapped Cameron Findlay, 49, to take over as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, according to a news release. He will replace retiring general counsel Terrance Carlson. In addition to overseeing Medtronic’s global legal... ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 The American College of Chest Physicians announced that Paul Markowski will become the fourth executive vice president and CEO in the 75-year history of the Northbrook, Ill.-based organization. Markowski, 53, is scheduled to join the college on Oct. 19, and then assume his new post Nov. 6... ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 Sure, you could choose a hospital or clinic based on its quality ratings, your doctor’s recommendation or (most likely) if it’s included in your health plan. But what if you’re looking for a more aesthetic experience? Why, you’d want a beautiful hospital. ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 “I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS. I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived.” ... FULL STORY
August 17, 2009 In an article in the Aug. 10 issue, “August Showdown,” (p. 6), James Mongan, president and CEO of Partners HealthCare System, was incorrectly quoted. The paraphrase and quote should read: The national “system is currently not set up to do these types of reimbursement, because who... ... FULL STORY
