Tenet settles Fla. cardiac-care suits

Tenet Healthcare Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif., said it reached its second settlement of patient-care-related lawsuits this week by agreeing to pay $31 million to resolve 106 lawsuits filed against Tenet's 204-bed Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) Medical Center between 1997 and 2002. Cardiac surgery patients had accused the hospital of negligence that resulted in postsurgical infections. Tenet said it anticipates that the plaintiffs will sign the settlement within 30 days, then the lawsuits will be dismissed. Earlier this week, Tenet agreed to pay $395 million to settle about 750 lawsuits alleging that unnecessary cardiac procedures were performed at Redding (Calif.) Medical Center, which Tenet sold earlier this year to Hospital Partners of America, Charlotte, N.C. Tenet also said today that it has completed the sale of two St. Louis hospitals to Argilla Healthcare, a new privately held, investor-owned company. -- by Vince Galloro