As the clinic enters its centennial year on the heels of an extraordinary 2020, CEO Dr. Tom Mihaljevic gave his annual address virtually this year. Mihaljevic focused on telling the stories of caregivers' battle against COVID-19 and looking to the system's future.

The region's not-for-profit hospitals expect that number to have grown again in 2020 due to the pandemic and economic fallout.

Humana announced partnerships with several Ohio community service organizations to address social determinants of health, which are particularly acute during the COVID-19 pandemic and the related economic downturn, according to a news release.

The relationship with HealthSpan Partners, a division of Bon Secours Mercy Health, was to have expired in 2023 if not extended. Dr. Cliff Deveny, president and CEO of Summa, said the health system paid HealthSpan an undisclosed amount to end the partnership early.

Ohio's Lake Health said completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval, and that the move "will assure convenient access to the most advanced healthcare and services for patients in Lake County and surrounding communities now and in the future."

The 37-member coalition, called OneTen, said it will connect employers with 'talent partners, leading nonprofits and other skill-credentialing organizations that support the development of diverse talent.' It has raised more than $100 million in seed funding for a project that expands existing corporate vows to increase minority employment.

Disparities can affect access to education, healthcare, economic opportunities and more — which are all especially critical during the ongoing pandemic as people search for jobs, use telehealth services, participate in remote education and connect with loved ones virtually.

The health system's operating income improved substantially in the third quarter of 2020, but not enough to make up the loss it reported earlier in the year, leaving the Clinic with a $107 million operating loss for the nine-month period ending Sept. 30.

The mix of hospital ownership in the Akron market has shifted this month with University Hospitals gaining a minority interest in Western Reserve Hospital, an independent, physician-owned hospital in Cuyahoga Falls.

The two bring decades of experience to the company, which was formed last year to offer virtual access to Cleveland Clinic experts through the technology platform from Amwell (then known as American Well). The joint venture company, which does not have a formal name, aims to provide broad access to comprehensive, high-acuity care via telehealth.

The clinic is postponing nonessential surgical cases requiring an inpatient stay at most of its Ohio hospitals that were set for Nov. 13 and Nov. 16 to preserve resources. MetroHealth, University Hospitals and Summa Health are not postponing surgeries.

With weeks to go before the holidays bring families together, winter break sends students home from college campuses and colder weather forces people inside, Ohio already is setting record after record for newly reported COVID-19 cases as hospitalizations and fatalities climb.

With the Howley Foundation's gift, the clinic will partner with Ursuline College to expand the Aspire Nursing Scholars Program to offer college scholarships to underrepresented students interested in becoming registered nurses.

The network will expand UH's geographic footprint in Northern Ohio for surgical care, focusing initially on orthopedic surgery and targeting hip and knee replacement, the health system said.

Steris said acquisition of the U.S. hospital supplier will be made through a U.S. subsidiary and is expected to 'qualify for a tax benefit related to tax deductible goodwill' that will effectively reduce the purchase price to about $810 million.