James Gauss, president and CEO, Witt/Kieffer September 14, 2009 Who will be running the healthcare systems of the future? Perhaps many of the 12 recipients of Modern Healthcare’s 23rd annual Up & Comers recognition program. The award, which drew a near-record 139 nominees, honors rising young stars in the healthcare management field. ... FULL STORY
Matthew DoBias September 14, 2009 Elected in part because of his pledge to overhaul the nation's healthcare system, yet politically scarred after a tough August, President Barack Obama used the most visible platform available to try to reclaim the upper hand on health reform. ... FULL STORY
Neil McLaughlin September 14, 2009 Last week's events, including President Barack Obama's address to Congress, made me think that the U.S. healthcare system is a lot like many uninsured patients. The system hasn't received treatment in so long that now acute care is needed. ... FULL STORY
September 14, 2009 Ascension Health, St. Louis, named David Erickson to the newly created role of chief investment officer, effective Sept. 16. Erickson joins Ascension, the nation’s largest private, not-for-profit health system, from the University of Wisconsin Foundation, where he also served as investment... ... FULL STORY
September 14, 2009 Preliminary results from clinical trials show that protection against the deadly H1N1 virus might be possible in adults after one dose of vaccine, scientific experts said in a news briefing. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said it now appears that adults who had received the vaccine in trials had a... ... FULL STORY
September 14, 2009 Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) asked the Government Accountability Office to examine the use of $10 billion in stimulus funds received by the National Institutes of Health. Last year, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee heard testimony from witnesses who talked of the... ... FULL STORY
September 14, 2009 Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), a strong proponent of preventive-care and wellness efforts, will take the reins as chairman of the Senate’s health panel, replacing the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.). In the process, Harkin said he would step down from his current leadership post on the... ... FULL STORY
September 14, 2009 The Indian Health Service awarded a $90.5 million construction contract for a replacement facility at 21-bed Norton Sound Regional Hospital, Nome, Alaska, using federal stimulus dollars. The contract went to Inuit-NCI JV, which is a partnership between Inuit Services and Neeser Construction of... ... FULL STORY
September 14, 2009 Abbott Laboratories, a pharmaceutical and medical device company in Abbott Park, Ill., agreed to pay as much as $410 million in cash to acquire all outstanding shares of cardiac-device maker Evalve, Menlo Park, Calif., according to a news release. The agreement includes an upfront payment of $320... ... FULL STORY
Matthew DoBias September 14, 2009 Elected in part because of his pledge to overhaul the nation's healthcare system, yet politically scarred after a tough August, President Barack Obama used the most visible platform available to try to reclaim the upper hand on health reform. ... FULL STORY
Rebecca Vesely September 14, 2009 Providers, consumer groups and policy analysts expressed dismay over the news last week from the U.S. Census Bureau that the ranks of the uninsured grew by 682,000 people nationwide to 46.3 million uninsured, and said that the figures show the urgency of enacting healthcare reform. ... FULL STORY
Jean DerGurahian September 14, 2009 A new center established by the Joint Commission could lead to bigger changes for the accreditation organization and standards requirements for hospitals down the road. ... FULL STORY
Gregg Blesch September 14, 2009 Three national healthcare associations want the U.S. Supreme Court to close the door on False Claims Act whistle-blowers who get their dirt by dredging state and local reports and audits. ... FULL STORY
Andis Robeznieks September 14, 2009 In the face of large operating deficits and huge investment losses, Catholic Health Initiatives has tightened its belt and is divesting itself of several hospitals. CHI officials say it's just following standard operating procedures, and one expert not only agrees but also says CHI is following a... ... FULL STORY
Shawn Rhea September 14, 2009 In what appears to be the first public-private hospital partnership between a U.S. provider and the Chinese government, Nashville-based China Healthcare Corp. recently announced it has received approval to build and operate a 500-bed, acute-care hospital in Cixi City, China. ... FULL STORY
James Gauss, president and CEO, Witt/Kieffer September 14, 2009 Who will be running the healthcare systems of the future? Perhaps many of the 12 recipients of Modern Healthcare’s 23rd annual Up & Comers recognition program. The award, which drew a near-record 139 nominees, honors rising young stars in the healthcare management field. ... FULL STORY
Melanie Evans September 14, 2009 In late 2006, Peter Bergmann's career brought him home to Buffalo, N.Y. A little more than two years later, a promotion put him at the helm of the hospital where his mother worked as an anesthesiologist for 23 years. As a native, Bergmann, 38, can (and does) speak frankly, and with affection, of... ... FULL STORY
Vince Galloro September 14, 2009 When Damond Boatwright took the job as CEO of Lee's Summit (Mo.) Medical Center, he was fulfilling a long-term goal. Whether that goal relates to his career plan or the barbecue that Kansas City is famous for is open to question. ... FULL STORY
Joe Carlson September 14, 2009 When Stephanie Conners became chief nursing officer at Hahnemann University Hospital in 2004, the downtown Philadelphia provider had too many vacant nursing jobs and was spending too much money on costly contract labor. ... FULL STORY
Jessica Zigmond September 14, 2009 George Gaston understands the important role healthcare workers play in the lives of patients and their families. That's because Gaston has been on the receiving end of patient care, an experience the 38-year-old says changed him as a leader. ... FULL STORY
Tracey Fuller September 14, 2009 For many, one's career is decided during college. Barbara Walczyk Joers has known what she wanted to do since her childhood. After having ear surgery for impaired hearing when she was just 5 years old, a career in healthcare became her lifetime goal. She participated in health organizations and... ... FULL STORY
Shawn Rhea September 14, 2009 If Catholic Health Initiatives was in search of a fresh perspective to help turn around its tiny, financially troubled facility Albany (Minn.) Area Hospital and Medical Center, the provider no doubt received that in the form of Ben Koppelman. The hospital executive was just 22 and fresh out of... ... FULL STORY
Joseph Conn September 14, 2009 J. Michael Kramer brought an abundance of training, skills and passion to Trinity Health. He joined the Novi, Mich.-based system in August 2005 when he was named vice president and chief medical information officer, a newly created position at the time. ... FULL STORY
Tracey Fuller September 14, 2009 Since becoming president and CEO of Carolinas Medical Center-Union in Monroe, N.C., Michael Lutes has made it apparent when his employees are happy, hospital productivity and employee satisfaction increases. ... FULL STORY
Andis Robeznieks September 14, 2009 Julie Norton had a perfect 4.0 grade-point average with a double major in accounting and math at the University of South Dakota, but—compared with implementing an electronic health-record system “built from scratch”—making straight A's was achieved with very little pressure. ... FULL STORY
Gregg Blesch September 14, 2009 As a college football player in 1992, Clarence Sevillian caught passes totaling 222 yards in a single game as a receiver for Vanderbilt University, a school record he held until 2007. ... FULL STORY
Jean DerGurahian September 14, 2009 Like many Chicagoland natives, Douglas Winkelhake is a diehard Cubs fan, a feeling he was able to transfer to his eldest son. His younger, more rebellious son became a fan of the Chicago baseball team's archrival, the St. Louis Cardinals—something sure to strike the heart of a Cubs fan. But... ... FULL STORY
Rebecca Vesely September 14, 2009 Sometimes in life, you have to take risks. That's what Kamille Wright told herself four years ago, when at age 36 she left a secure job at Kings County Hospital Center, New York, to work for one of the most troubled hospitals in the nation: Martin Luther King/Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles. ... FULL STORY
September 14, 2009 Modern Healthcare issued a call for nominations for its 23rd annual Up & Comers recognition program on May 4 and ran a series of advertisements soliciting nominations through the July 3 submission deadline. This year, we received 139 nominations, up from last year's 134 nominations. An... ... FULL STORY
Neil McLaughlin September 14, 2009 Last week's events, including President Barack Obama's address to Congress, made me think that the U.S. healthcare system is a lot like many uninsured patients. The system hasn't received treatment in so long that now acute care is needed. ... FULL STORY
September 14, 2009 Great article (“From tragedy to advocacy,” Sept. 7, p. 6). When you step back and look at the unexplainable mystery of patient advocates, it is quite reassuring. ... FULL STORY
September 14, 2009 A list of the nation's largest post-acute-care companies, ranked by 2008 net revenue. Source: Modern Healthcare's 10th annual Post-Acute-Care Survey. Published Sept. 14, 2009. ... FULL STORY
Elizabeth Gardner September 14, 2009 George M. Rapier III became a gerontologist because he liked old people. And he became an entrepreneur, somewhat inadvertently, because he thought there was a better way to take care of them. ... FULL STORY
September 14, 2009 For scientists, the flash of inspiration that leads to discovery is sometimes called the “a ha moment.” But political scientists trying to discover something about an until-recently obscure GOP congressman from South Carolina (Hey, there's only one mention of him in the Modern... ... FULL STORY
September 14, 2009 We've all heard of the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Tooth Fairy and, of course, Tinkerbell. But do you believe in the Shotfairy? ... FULL STORY
September 14, 2009 When it comes to the seasonal and H1N1 viruses, Dale Sargent doesn't want Wellmont Health System employees to be “Flirtin' with Disaster,” as Southern rockers Molly Hatchet sang. To promote vaccination, which requires three shots, Sargent, the chief medical officer of the Kingsport,... ... FULL STORY
September 14, 2009 FiLife, a joint venture of Dow Jones and Internet company IAC, is betting on a “less is more” approach to help solve the nation’s healthcare problems. ... FULL STORY
