Regional News/South: Nurse killed in stabbing rampage at hospital, and other news

A nurse was killed in a stabbing rampage in an East Texas surgery center as she tried to protect her patients from the attacker, according to the CEO of the hospital where it happened.

Four other people were wounded. The police found and arrested a suspect in the parking lot soon after the Nov. 26 incident at Good Shepherd Medical Center's ambulatory surgical center in Longview, Texas.

Nurse Gail Sandidge was fatally injured while “protecting her patients in an act of courage,” Good Shepherd President and CEO Steve Altmiller said in a written statement. “Nurses are protectors by nature, and Gail fit this profile.”

Altmiller said the suspect, identified by Longview police as Kyron Templeton, 22, was the son of one of the surgery center's patients. He was charged with murder and aggravated assault.

A second employee, identified at a news conference as Karen Bobo, was also injured and was treated and released, Altmiller said. Of the three visitors at the center who were wounded, one remained in critical condition Wednesday. Another was reported to be in good condition and a third was treated and released. —Steven Ross Johnson

A federal judge ruled that Halifax Health Medical Center gave prohibited bonuses to at least six doctors in a case that could be a billion-dollar liability for the taxpayer-supported hospital in Daytona Beach, Fla.

A jury will decide the extent of the damages during a trial next spring. The judge deferred to the jury on similar allegations in the same lawsuit involving another group of physicians.

The Halifax lawsuit was filed in 2009 by Elin Baklid-Kunz, a compliance officer at the hospital who alleged that six oncologists and three neurosurgeons took home paychecks that increased when they referred more patients for treatments.

“The encouraging thing for the hospital is that the judge recognized that we have evidence to support our defense—it is encouraging that he thinks it needs to go to trial,” Halifax spokesman John Guthrie said.

In two recent rulings, U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell said the whistleblower had proven that the six oncologists' “productivity bonus” pay violated the federal Stark law's prohibition on paying doctors in ways that encourage them to refer Medicare patients for treatment.

But Presnell left it to a jury to decide how much Medicare oncology revenue was at issue and whether the violations were intentional, which could trigger punitive damages under the False Claims Act. Presnell also ruled that neither side has yet presented enough evidence to determine whether the three neurosurgeons' contracts violated the Stark law or False Claims Act, sending those issues to a jury as well.

U.S. Justice Department lawyers say damages in the case could be as high as $1.1 billion. —Joe Carlson

One month after Baylor Scott & White Health came together to create the largest not-for-profit system in Texas, the challenges of integrating two systems has dragged down the ratings outlook for both systems.

In separate reports, Moody’s Investors Services revised the outlook on Baylor Health Care System and Scott & White—still two distinct obligated groups—to negative.

For Scott & White, the challenges include new hospital construction, a “very weak” operating cash-flow margin compared to its peers, flat volume and an increasingly adverse payer mix. For Baylor, the outlook comes down to execution risk in improving the balance sheet of its new partner.

The deal, which closed Oct. 1, created a system with $8.3 billion in assets and 43 hospitals, including joint ventures. Each organization serves distinct geographic territories. Baylor is in the competitive Dallas market, where it is second in market share to Texas Health Resources. Scott & White’s hospitals are about 100 to 200 miles south, where they see competition from medical centers in Waco and Austin.

In a statement, Scott & White President and CEO Dr. Robert Pryor said certain factors that influenced its rating—including lower utilization, a shift in payer mix and the move to an EHR system—are not unique to the system.

But he acknowledged that Scott & White has incurred significant costs associated with building a new hospital and clinic in College Station and a new children’s hospital and medical office building in Temple.

“Our continued expansion is critical as we work to meet the needs of the growing communities we serve through our population health model,” he said. “While our recent combination with Baylor Health Care System will increase the strength of both organizations, integration takes time.” —Beth Kutscher