Melanie Evans and Vince Galloro September 21, 2009 The financial tremors that rocked the world as giants fell a year ago continues to be felt in the administration offices of healthcare systems nationwide ... FULL STORY
David Burda September 21, 2009 It's funny how a big anniversary coming up can motivate people to do the right thing. Nov. 1 will mark the 10-year anniversary of the release of the Institute of Medicine's To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System report. The report's conclusion that an estimated 98,000 people die... ... FULL STORY
Jessica Zigmond September 21, 2009 For long-term-care providers, changing the culture in nursing homes can also mean changing an operation's bottom line. ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 The Environmental Protection Agency issued a revised set of standards for hospital, medical and infectious waste incinerators that will require facilities to reduce their emissions. ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 Stand-alone Northwest Hospital and Medical Center, Seattle, will become a unit of the University of Washington’s UW Medicine health system in a deal that administrators say will not involve a financial transaction. The 187-bed Northwest will become the third acute-care hospital to merge into... ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 A $1 billion expansion project for the Ohio State University Medical Center’s Columbus campus received final approval from the Ohio State University board of trustees. The school plans to issue $925 million in bonds and will solicit donations and “public partnership investments”... ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 House and Senate Democrats introduced bills that would eliminate a federal antitrust exemption for health insurance and medical malpractice insurance companies. The legislation targets the McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945, which generally established that regulation of “the business of... ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 The Harris County Hospital District in Houston terminated its plans to purchase a 469-bed hospital and much of the surrounding medical campus in southwest Houston from Memorial Hermann Healthcare System just one month after a letter of intent between the two providers was announced. Administrators... ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 The Memorial Hermann Healthcare System named Keith Alexander as CEO of Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center, Houston. With the system since 2007, Alexander, 47, was named a 1998 Modern Healthcare Up & Comer and served previously as COO of the 343-bed hospital, where he oversaw... ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 The White House announced $25 million in grants for states and health systems that carry out and evaluate evidence-based patient-safety and medical-liability demonstrations, following up on President Barack Obama’s nod to malpractice reform in his recent speech to Congress. In a memorandum,... ... FULL STORY
Melanie Evans and Vince Galloro September 21, 2009 The financial tremors that rocked the world as giants fell a year ago continues to be felt in the administration offices of healthcare systems nationwide ... FULL STORY
Jennifer Lubell September 21, 2009 Hospitals and others in the healthcare industry are expressing trepidation over a provision in the newly released Senate Finance Committee reform bill to expand a controversial Medicare audit program. ... FULL STORY
Matthew DoBias September 21, 2009 There’s an old saying in Washington that goes like this: If no one is happy with a piece of legislation, then you know you’ve crafted a good bill. ... FULL STORY
Rebecca Vesely September 21, 2009 A prominent disease-management official is blaming a lack of leadership at the CMS for the failure of a key demonstration project that last week culminated in one participating firm declaring bankruptcy. ... FULL STORY
Jessica Zigmond September 21, 2009 Preparing for a mid-November public comment period deadline, renal-care providers last week wasted no time analyzing the CMS' newly proposed prospective payment system for facilities that provide dialysis services to Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease. At first look, providers... ... FULL STORY
Joe Carlson September 21, 2009 A boost in membership dues could not prevent the American College of Healthcare Executives from posting a $1 million loss in 2008, but officials with the Chicago-based not-for-profit say the organization actually was profitable if their closely related foundation is included in the calculations. ... FULL STORY
Shawn Rhea September 21, 2009 Early adopters of proton beam radiation technology say a new comparative-effectiveness report compiled by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is unlikely to affect demand for the cutting-edge cancer treatment or sway plans in the works for opening new facilities. ... FULL STORY
Melanie Evans September 21, 2009 A new look at hospital and health system investment returns in 2008 contains yet another grim snapshot of last year’s economic upheaval. ... FULL STORY
Rebecca Vesely September 21, 2009 A San Francisco Bay Area hospital is in limbo as three parties and irate community members disagree over its future. ... FULL STORY
Jennifer Lubell September 21, 2009 As members of Congress roll up their sleeves to complete the huge task of reforming the healthcare system, there's little confidence that the final package will contain a permanent fix to Medicare's formula that sets payments for physicians. ... FULL STORY
Jessica Zigmond September 21, 2009 For long-term-care providers, changing the culture in nursing homes can also mean changing an operation's bottom line. ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 LANSING, Mich.—Blue Care Network of Michigan, Southfield, struck a deal to acquire the membership of Physicians Health Plan of Mid-Michigan from Sparrow Health System, Lansing. Mid-Michigan was founded in 1980 as an HMO and now has 80,000 members, including 18,000 in Medicaid managed... ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 ALBANY, N.Y.—New York Gov. David Paterson last week signed into law a bill that forces hospitals to publicly report nurse-patient staffing data along with information on patient outcomes. Officials with the New York State Nurses Association said the data could someday lay the... ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 TORRINGTON, Wyo.—Banner Health said it admitted residents this summer to the Alzheimer's care unit at its Goshen Care Center in Torrington. Proposed about five years ago, the new $4.3 million wing can accommodate up to 28 patients with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. According to... ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—The University of North Carolina Health Care System, Chapel Hill, conducted a grand opening for its North Carolina Cancer Hospital and medical office building on Sept. 15. The 315,000-square-foot hospital cost $178 million to build. It includes 50 inpatient beds, 72... ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 “The overwhelming majority of patients who suffer from physician errors never get any compensation, and the much-publicized cases with million-dollar judgments do not lead to safer, higher-quality care. The Institute of Medicine has estimated that medical errors of all kinds, not just by... ... FULL STORY
David Burda September 21, 2009 It's funny how a big anniversary coming up can motivate people to do the right thing. Nov. 1 will mark the 10-year anniversary of the release of the Institute of Medicine's To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System report. The report's conclusion that an estimated 98,000 people die... ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 The Obama administration requested and Congress approved $1.1 billion in economic stimulus funding for research to investigate the effectiveness of comparable treatment approaches. With Congress, they are also working to mandate that all Medicare payments be tied to so-called “quality... ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 In response to the “Above and beyond” Special Feature article concerning group purchasing organizations in your Aug. 31 issue (p. S1), Amerinet would like to commend Modern Healthcare for highlighting the critical role GPOs play in reducing costs and improving efficiencies on a... ... FULL STORY
V. William Hunt September 21, 2009 Amid the national healthcare reform debate, it's also important to keep the need to improve the quality of care and patient safety at healthcare organizations in the forefront. Physicians, nurses and clinical staff at hospitals understand this emphasis, but top-level leadership—including the... ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 Former acting CMS Administrator Kerry Weems was hired by Vangent, an Arlington, Va.-based provider of information management and business-processing outsourcing services, to the new position of senior vice... ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 Physician Roberta Luskin-Hawk is the new CEO of St. Joseph Hospital, Chicago, part of Resurrection Health Care system. Luskin-Hawk, 55, is the founder of Lakeshore Infectious Disease Associates and since 1985 has been on staff at St. Joseph, becoming chairwoman of its department of medicine. ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 “This partisan proposal cuts Medicare by nearly a half-trillion dollars, and puts massive new tax burdens on families and small businesses, to create yet another thousand-page, trillion-dollar government program. Only in Washington would anyone think that makes sense, especially in this... ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 “The Baucus framework is just an absolute joke. It is an absolute gift to the industry. And if that is what we see in the legislation, (America's Health Insurance Plans chief) Karen Ignagni will surely get a huge bonus.” ... FULL STORY
September 21, 2009 As an unfortunate Florida cable worker, a man in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., and an Iraqi girl discovered last month, when bit by a venomous snake, antidote or expertise might not come from a hospital, but rather the Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue Department. ... FULL STORY
