Modern Healthcare articles from December 2007

Modern Healthcare archives from December 2007

Everyone's seeking value; CMS payment reform plan has merit, but the debate is just beginning.(Opinions Editorials)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Todd Sloane After many years of policymaker indifference, it is pleasing to find that costs have inched onto center stage in the healthcare reform debate. As health policy researchers and this page have so long argued, you can't...

Now that's the Spirit; '07 Excellence competition received 110 entries.(Special Feature)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Ed Finkel Modern Healthcare congratulates the winners and honorable mentions of the 15th annual Spirit of Excellence Awards, co-sponsored by Sodexho Health Care Services. This year's winners and runners-up are profiled on the...

Taking the lead; Hospital administrators can make a big difference in encouraging organ donation.(Opinions Commentary)(Organ Procurement Organization )(Viewpoint essay)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Thomas Mone Hospital administrators are in a position to save thousands of lives every year-without having to practice medicine. By actively supporting the donation of organs and tissues, administrators could make possible the...

OSF St. Joseph cleans up; Environmental initiative boosts Press Ganey scores.(Special Feature)
December 3, 2007... In 2003, patient satisfaction with the Environmental Services Department at 157-bed OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington, Ill., ranked at the 83rd percentile for friendliness and the 69th percentile for cleanliness, according to the...

Peer-review showdown; High court review could lead to opening records.(The Week in Healthcare)(Houston Medical Center )
December 3, 2007... Byline: Gregg Blesch A lawsuit possibly headed to the U.S. Supreme Court may bring a definitive ruling on whether hospitals' peer-review records enjoy any protection in federal courts. A Georgia urologist's civil rights complaint led...

A friend in need; Character counts when someone near and dear is ill.(Charles S. Lauer)(Personal account)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Charles S. Lauer I remember well my first meeting with my friend. At the time, I was president of the local high school's dad's club. We raised all kinds of money for various projects, including lights for the football and soccer...

Protecting children; Good Samaritan uses puppets to teach.(Special Feature)(Hospital Medical Center )(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... More than 17,000 children at more than 80 schools and organizations have benefited from the life skills learned through the Stranger Safety Program provided by the Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip, N.Y. Aimed at...

Clarian's call; `Be the ONE' leads the way.(Special Feature)(Clarian West Medical Center )(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... No one at Clarian West Medical Center in Avon, Ind., regards patients' needs as being someone else's "area.'' The 101-bed facility's "Be the ONE'' campaign, launched in June, is a call to action for all employees to pitch in whenever possible....

Harnessing hearts, finances; St. John's Clinic's campaign aims to `right wrongs'.(Special Feature)(St. John's Mercy Medical Center provides finance to not-for-profit organizations )
December 3, 2007... The Force for Good at St. John's Clinic in Springfield, Mo., has raised more than $500,000 for not-for-profit organizations in the past four years. Physicians and staff at the multispecialty, 470-doctor outpatient facility contribute to two...

Creating a `magnetic culture'; System in Norman, Okla., boosts its staff retention.(Special Feature)(Regional Healthcare Inc.)
December 3, 2007... Norman (Okla.) Regional Health System has spent the past seven years striving to create a "magnetic culture'' to which employees would be attracted-and retained. When the 374-bed, two-hospital facility began the initiative in 2000,...

Easing glucose levels; Toledo employs intensive management.(Special Feature)(Toledo Hospital)
December 3, 2007... Intensive-care patients at the Toledo (Ohio) Hospital have seen average daily glucose counts drop significantly during the past two years since the 480-bed facility implemented a glycemic management initiative. Knowing that many critically...

Analyzing Tenet's discards; Life after divestiture has meant profits for some, bankruptcy, another sale for others.(Strictly Finance)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Vince Galloro The divestitures made by Tenet Healthcare Corp. over the past four years comprise a disparate group of 48 hospitals from 10 states, but some broad themes emerge from the Medicare cost reports filed by those hospitals....

Sepsis showdown; Kansas City hospital starts campaign.(Special Feature)(University of Kansas Hospital)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Your mother knows that heart attacks and strokes are time-sensitive events requiring immediate attention to prevent loss of life. But she probably doesn't know that mortality rates for sepsis are significantly higher, says Chad Cannon, an...

Rehab patients `dine out' in cafeteria; HealthSouth Harmarville encourages independence during rehabilitation.(Special Feature)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... To help ease the transition back to living at home, the 202-bed medical rehabilitation facility HealthSouth Harmarville (Pa.) launched an initiative in September to enable patients with severe disabilities to mix with the general population at...

Center for Miracles tackles child abuse; Christus Santa Rosa aims for prompt and accurate response to problem.(Special Feature)
December 3, 2007... A series of high-profile child-abuse deaths capped by a preschooler who died on Christmas 2003 inspired 196-bed Christus Santa Rosa Children's Hospital in San Antonio to directly address the issue. In surrounding Bexar County, Child Protective...

Section 508 hits expiration date; Hospitals begin layoffs as wage reclassification ends.(The Week in Healthcare)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Lubell Layoffs and other cutbacks have begun at hospitals that are no longer able to take advantage of a special wage-index reclassification that boosts Medicare reimbursement through Section 508 of the Medicare...

St. John's smart choice; Schedule flexibility a boon to staffing.(Special Feature)(St. John Health Corp.)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Until a year ago, St. John Health in Warren, Mich., had been using approximately 75 full-time equivalents of agency nurses. Now the seven-hospital system, which has 2,340 licensed beds, is out of the agency business, having started what's...

Outliers; Asides & insides.(Insurance agents sell Medicare Advantage private fee-for-service plans )
December 3, 2007... Watch out, salespeople: That `senior' may be Kerry Weems Insurance agents trying to sell Medicare Advantage private fee-for-service plans may be walking on eggshells these days. They never know if a CMS "mole'' may be listening to every...

The big get bigger; Cigna to buy Great-West; Inverness still shopping.(The Week in Healthcare)(CIGNA Corp. acquires Great-West Healthcare)(Inverness Medical Innovations acquires ParadigmHealth)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Rebecca Vesely Two growing healthcare companies last week announced they were gobbling up smaller businesses in key sectors-part of a strategic effort to boost market share in an increasingly competitive environment. Cigna...

New deadline for trustees.(The Week in Healthcare)
December 3, 2007... The deadline for nominations for Modern Healthcare's 2008 Trustee of the Year competition has been extended to Dec. 7. The awards, co-sponsored by executive search firm Witt/Kieffer, honor two outstanding trustees for their contributions to...

High-risk proposition; With CMS' 'value-based purchasing' model, struggling hospitals are wondering if they can afford the IT needed to make it work.(Rush North Shore)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Cinda Becker Despite its relatively small size and challenged balance sheet, Rush North Shore Medical Center has enthusiastically boarded the quality improvement train with some impressive results. Last March, the 224-bed...

Gloom at RSNA; Radiologists feeling pain from Deficit Reduction Act.(The Week in Healthcare)(Radiological Society of North America)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Shawn Rhea Despite a host of technological advances, recent cuts in Medicare reimbursement and greater scrutiny of imaging bills by private payers have placed a cloud over the radiology industry, according to attendees at the 2007...

Capella moves to establish itself; Deal also helps Community's goal of cutting portfolio.(The Week in Healthcare)(Community Health Systems deals with Capella Healthcare)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Vince Galloro For Community Health Systems, the deal is about culling an overgrown herd. For Capella Healthcare, it's about establishing itself as a herder. Founded in April 2005, Capella is taking a major step forward in...

N.J. ASC ruling dings doctors.(The Week in Healthcare)(New Jersey Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Andis Robeznieks A New Jersey trial judge's ruling is sending ripples throughout the state's medical community for its contention that the physician-owners of an ambulatory surgery center are in violation of the state's Codey Act,...

MRSA, other staph infections are now endemic: report.(Late News)(Report)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Staph infections, particularly the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain, are now endemic in hospitals, according to a study published in the December issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases. Hospitalizations related to MRSA more...

54 nursing homes make the CMS' `worst of' list.(Late News)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Fifty-four nursing homes in 34 states and the District of Columbia have made the federal government's "worst of'' list, with 19 states having unsafe facilities on the list for almost three years, according to data released publicly for the...

Fresenius acquires Renal Solutions in $190 million deal.(Late News)(Fresenius Medical Care AG)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Dialysis provider Fresenius Medical Care & Co., Bad Homburg, Germany, said it has acquired Warrendale, Pa.-based Renal Solutions for a total value of about $190 million. The acquisition agreement consists of $100 million at the deal's closing,...

CHI tabs Beth O'Brien as group executive officer.(Late News)(appointment of Beth O'Brien at Catholic Health Initiatives)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Catholic Health Initiatives, Denver, named Beth O'Brien senior vice president and group executive officer, effective Dec. 10. O'Brien will oversee operations at five CHI hospitals: 542-bed St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center, Little Rock,...

Members of ASC groups agree to merger in 2008.(Late News)(ambulatory surgery center)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Members of the two largest ambulatory surgery center organizations approved previously announced plans to merge. As a result, on Jan. 1, 2008, FASA and the American Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers will become the Ambulatory Surgery...

The cost of quality: Part 1.(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... This cover story on Medicare's proposed pay-for-performance reimbursement program for hospitals is the first of a three-part series examining the connection between finance and patient care. The series will continue in upcoming issues, with the...

Corrections & clarifications.(Correction notice)
December 3, 2007... A Nov. 12 regional brief (p. 28) incorrectly stated the current number of licensed beds at University of Rochester (N.Y) Medical Center. The center currently is licensed for 739 beds. Also in the Nov. 12 issue (p. 4), Rod Laughlin's ongoing...

Other voices.(Opinions Editorials)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... "Of the leading Democratic candidates for president, only Sen. Barack Obama doesn't pretend that his healthcare plan is a panacea. He resists the temptation to promise the impossible -- provide universal coverage and control costs -- and for...

Bulletin of the National Center for Healthcare Leadership; December 2007.(Educational and Advertising Supplement)
December 3, 2007... Page Title 3 Meeting the demands for improved healthcare 5 Transformational excellence: the key to tomorrow's healthcare leaders 9 The foundation of leadership in Baldrige winning organzations 21 Commentaries on the foundation...

Changing of the guard; Centura, Carondelet, Wis. get new chief executives.(The Week in Healthcare)(Katen-Bahensky resigned from University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics)(Gregory Burfitt and Arlen Reynolds appointed at Centura Health)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Melanie Evans and Andis Robeznieks One prominent health system announced an abrupt chief executive officer departure last week and two others named incoming CEOs. Last week's announcements were merely the result of healthcare's...

Few docs report peers' errors; Fears abound of litigation, ruining careers: survey.(The Week in Healthcare)(Survey)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Lubell A survey released last week indicated that less than half of physicians report incompetent behavior or medical errors among their peers, with industry experts pointing to a host of reasons as to why that may be the...

Transparency in practice; Why we chose to give public all of our quality data.(Opinions Commentary)(New York City Health and Hospitals Corp.)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Alan Aviles My organization, New York City Health and Hospitals Corp.-the largest public hospital system in the U.S.-last month voluntarily released safety and quality data, including our individual facility mortality and...

The sharing game; Ann Arbor group boosts outcomes, P4P income.(Physician Affairs)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Jay Greene The Ann Arbor (Mich.) Area Health Information Exchange is accomplishing what many voluntary consortiums of independent medical groups have only dreamed of doing: earning pay-for-performance dollars and improving patient...

Moody's blues: Five at risk; Ratings agency may downgrade bond insurers.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Cinda Becker The impact on hospitals of a potential downgrade of municipal bond insurers by Moody's Investors Service is unclear. In light of "deteriorating conditions'' in the U.S. mortgage market, Moody's last week outlined...

After the elections ... ... the time for reform plans with bipartisan appeal will arrive.(Opinions Editorials)(The Healthy Americans Act )(Editorial)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Todd Sloane With a report out from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealing that one in five Americans can't get the healthcare they need, a major physicians group seriously entertaining the idea of a single-payer...

Medtronic reveals investigation; Devicemaker joins list of companies feeling federal heat.(The Week in Healthcare)(Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Shawn Rhea In what may be a sign of continuing investigations, Minneapolis-based Medtronic said last week that it has since September received four letters from federal officials and lawmakers investigating whether consulting...

McGuire drama not over; $600 million settlement reached, feds still probing.(Late News)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Rebecca Vesely The landmark settlement of more than $600 million reached late last week between William McGuire and UnitedHealth Group-as well as a separate settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission-isn't the end of...

Hall of Fame nominees sought.(Health Care Hall of Fame)
December 10, 2007... Modern Healthcare is inviting readers to submit nominations for the 2008 Health Care Hall of Fame induction. The program recognizes luminaries who have made outstanding contributions to healthcare nationally and internationally. A panel of...

States' rights and wrongs; Hospitals and their state associations are trying to move their nonbilling policies for adverse events past the talking phase.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Jean DerGurahian A growing number of hospitals across the country are making promises to stop billing patients and payers for care related to certain medical errors, but the efforts appear to be more of a public relations move than...

LETTERS.(Opinions Letters)
December 10, 2007... Canada, U.S. face challenges Regarding a single-payer system, which is mentioned frequently in your "Guide to Healthcare in the 2008 Presidential Campaign'' (Nov. 26 issue): As a physician who worked in both Canada and the U.S., I can...

Stung for not reporting data.(The Week in Healthcare)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Cinda Becker If there were ever any illusions that pay-for-reporting was going to be the easy part of Medicare's monumental shift toward paying for results rather than volume, just check in with several prominent hospitals and...

Upgrading to Health 2.0; What will next generation of Web enterprises look like?(Information Edge)(Conference news)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Joseph Conn In healthcare, where buzzwords tend to have the lifespan of fruit flies, "Health 2.0'' is maybe a year old and already is growing cyber-whiskers, on a given day generating more than 130,000 hits on Google, outstripping...

S&P change slams ratings; La. hospital joins list of downgraded district facilities.(The Week in Healthcare)(St. Charles Parish Hospital )(Financial report)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Jessica Zigmond St. Charles Parish Hospital in Luling, La., became the latest hospital district to feel the sting of Standard & Poor's decision earlier this year to revise its criteria for tax-secured, general-obligation hospital...

Medicare muddle; Reimbursement bill hits snag on timing, funding.(The Week in Healthcare)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Matthew DoBias Prospects for a broad Medicare legislative package were thrown into jeopardy last week after a stalemate over how-and for how long-such a bill should be funded. As a result, physicians may have to start the new year...

Outliers; Asides & insides.(Frisbie Memorial Hospital )
December 10, 2007... Hospital: We can't say if we treated him, but we would have The man who invaded Hillary Rodham Clinton's New Hampshire campaign headquarters-taking several hostages before giving himself up-wound up causing Frisbie Memorial Hospital in...

Nursing students turned away; Lack of faculty hinders growth in nursing field: survey.(The Week in Healthcare)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Melanie Evans Nursing supply and demand continues to work against hospital administrators, newly released figures show. Nursing schools, constrained by a lack of faculty, still struggle to boost the supply of nurses as...

Briefly.(Late News)(Cardinal Health Inc.)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... DEA suspends license for another Cardinal center Cardinal Health, Dublin, Ohio, said the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration suspended its license to distribute controlled substances from its Lakeland, Fla., distribution center effective...

On goodness; Holiday thoughts on human kindness.(Personal account)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Where did Thanksgiving go? Sometimes it's hard to grasp how quickly time passes us by. A good friend of mine told me years ago that the one thing he could never get over is how time seems to accelerate with each...

Other voices.(Opinions Editorials)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... "Patients rarely chose to leave the VA system... so there are strong incentives to invest in quality and disease prevention.... The integrated electronic health record allows for patients' records to be accessible to all authorized providers...

States take the lead; While national efforts to standardize patient-safety reporting are now under way, the states remain far ahead of the curve.(Special Report)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Jean DerGurahian When it comes to patient-safety reporting, not all systems are created equal. While more than half of states now tout public reporting as an aid to the quality and safety of patient care, developing meaningful,...

Outliers; Asides & insides.(California Nurses Association reforms its health care agenda)(PeerClip a onlinr program for medical content)(clothing of healthcare workers)
December 17, 2007... We're guessing Cheney won't be wishing them happy holidays The California Nurses Association bluntly (to put it mildly) pushed its healthcare reform agenda in Iowa newspapers last week. "If he were anyone else, he'd probably be dead by...

SCHIP stalemate; Impasse will keep kids going to ERs for care: industry.(The Week in Healthcare)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Lubell Here is the result of deadlock in Washington: Children still showing up in emergency rooms for primary care. That's the view of Bill Pike, director of public policy and community affairs with Carondelet Health...

MedAssets' IPO soars.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Shawn Rhea MedAssets' stock-market debut last week was a lucrative one for investors in the Alpharetta, Ga.-based company, whose share price rose 28% on the first day of trading Dec. 13. The group-purchasing and...

Quality initiative in New York launched with $500,000 grant.(Late News)(Greater New York Hospital Association)(United Hospital Fund of New York)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... New York's United Hospital Fund and the Greater New York Hospital Association are partnering on a multiyear, multipronged initiative to improve the quality of patient care and safety in hospitals throughout the region. The effort is being...

Charles Evans named ACHE chairman-elect for 2008-09.(Late News)(American College of Healthcare Executives)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Former HCA executive Charles Evans, 60, was nominated as the 2008-09 chairman-elect of the American College of Healthcare Executives. If elected in March, he will succeed U.S. Army Brig. Gen. David Rubenstein as chairman-elect. Evans is...

LTACs struggling; Executives cite CMS payment changes as instigator.(The Week in Healthcare)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Long term care )
December 17, 2007... Byline: Jessica Zigmond The closure of two Select Medical Corp. facilities last week are the latest-but likely not the last-casualties in the long-term acute-care hospital industry's battle to remain solvent. A steady string of...

Critical-access hospitals are excluded from CMS quality effort.(Late News)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... In a move that angered some, the CMS revealed that critical-access hospitals-the often-rural facilities with 25 or fewer inpatient beds-would be excluded from a national quality reporting initiative that ties participation to Medicare...

Full Senate confirms Peake as new VA secretary.(Late News)(James Peake nominated in Department of Veterans Affairs)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... The Senate confirmed by unanimous consent James Peake, a former Army surgeon general, as Veterans Affairs Department secretary on Dec. 14. Retired Lt. Gen. Peake, 63, has spent 40 years in military medicine. He retired from the Army in 2004...

Other voices.(Opinions Editorials)
December 17, 2007... "America is incapable of stemming healthcare costs that have soared from $1,000 a year per capita (in constant Year 2000 dollars) to over $6,000 for each of us in 2006. To resist "fixing' a financial mess like that takes a certain kind of...

Rhode Island Blues will pay $20 million in corruption case.(Late News)(Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island agreed to pay $20 million and submit to a federal monitor to avoid being prosecuted for the conduct of former executives who the insurer concedes steered $550,000 of its money to companies connected to...

Revenue, costs rise 7% annually; Census data, AHRQ report sicker patients add to costs.(The Week in Healthcare)(Report)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Lubell Sicker patients and rising costs are the drivers behind growing hospital revenue and charges, said healthcare industry executives, responding to two reports issued last week indicating that both are rising 7% per...

Roper joins Medco board.(The Week in Healthcare)(William Roper joined Medco Health Solutions Inc.)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Jessica Zigmond Prominent physician-executive William Roper joined the board of directors of Medco Health Solutions, a Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based pharmacy benefit manager last week. Roper, 59, is dean of the School of Medicine,...

5 Million Lives Campaign hits midway point ... ... but Institute for Healthcare Improvement officials say it's hard to judge progress.(The Week in Healthcare)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Jean DerGurahian Halfway through its 5 Million Lives Campaign, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement cannot estimate the degree to which it has been able to reduce incidents of harm in hospitals nationwide. Despite making...

O'Leary keeping busy.(The Week in Healthcare)(Dennis O'Leary resigns from Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations )(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Jean DerGurahian As the final weeks wind down on Dennis O'Leary's tenure as head of the Joint Commission, which he leaves on Dec. 31, the man who has led the organization for 21 years said he is doing anything but resting. ...

HealthSouth to pay $14.2 million to settle kickback allegations.(Late News)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... HealthSouth Corp., Birmingham, Ala., agreed to pay $14.2 million to settle allegations the company's facilities engaged in illegal kickback and referral arrangements with physicians, the U.S. Justice Department announced. Specifically, the...

CEO IT nominations.(News)(IT Achievement Award competition)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Modern Healthcare is seeking nominations for its sixth annual CEO IT Achievement Award competition. The 2008 award, co-sponsored by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, honors one or more healthcare industry chief...

U.S.-Sino safety pact called `modest start'; Experts say more must be done to ensure safe drug, medical device imports.(The Week in Healthcare)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Shawn Rhea Healthcare supply chain experts say it remains to be seen whether a new memorandum of agreement between China and the U.S. will improve the quality and safety of drugs and medical devices traded between the two...

Return of the incentives; In the face of some powerful foes, new gain-sharing projects are on the way.(Payers and Purchasers)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Rebecca Vesely Giving physicians incentives to adopt practices that achieve hospital cost and quality goals-known as gain-sharing-has been viewed with skepticism and even fierce opposition from regulators, some physicians and...

Shed light on `physician preference'; Full disclosure needed in light of secret deals between docs, devicemakers.(Opinions Commentary)(Viewpoint essay)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Lee Perlman It's no secret that "physician preference items''-noncommodity supplies such as implants, stents and orthopedic devices-and the related issue of medical-device makers' confidential payments to physicians are significant...

Insurer joins hospital board ... ... expert questions wisdom of Beth Israel appointment.(The Week in Healthcare)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Rebecca Vesely A controversial appointment to a Boston hospital's board of trustees late last month is making waves in the industry, and some say it blurs the bright line between payers and providers. Charles Baker, president...

RHIOs facing trouble: survey; Few physicians electronically sharing clinical data.(Physician Affairs)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Matthew DoBias Physicians looking to regional health information organizations as a solution to their electronic records needs may be out of luck. New research data suggest RHIOs are struggling to catch on. The research,...

Minority honorees sought.(News)
December 17, 2007... Modern Healthcare is seeking nominations for its second biennial listing of the Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare. The magazine is seeking nominees from all sectors of the healthcare industry, including hospitals, health systems,...

Midwest.(Regional News)(Ohio-CareSource acquires Community Choice Michigan)(The Dakota Clinic/Innovis joins Essentia Health)(Children's Mercy Hospitals & Clinics plans for expansion)
December 17, 2007... DAYTON, Ohio-CareSource, a not-for-profit Medicaid managed-care company, completed the purchase of Community Choice Michigan. CareSource did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, announced in October, which adds about 49,000 Medicaid...

Northeast.(Regional News)(Orange Regional Medical Center sold sells hospital campuses)(New York ambulatory surgery centers)(Bridgewater Goddard Park Medical Associates becomes part of Brockton Hospital Corp.)
December 17, 2007... MIDDLETOWN, N.Y.-Orange Regional Medical Center sold and leased back its hospital campuses through the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan counties. The arrangement allows Orange Regional to continue operations at the campuses in Goshen...

AHA chief ends first year; Executives pleased with Umbdenstock's direction.(The Week in Healthcare)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Melanie Evans It appears in his first year as top executive of the American Hospital Association, Richard Umbdenstock has delivered on his pledge to change little at the Chicago-based trade group. Industry executives credit...

South.(Regional News)(healthcare reform plan )(MedCath Corp. sale of its stake to Heart Hospital of Lafayette)(Regional Medical Center plans for expansion)
December 17, 2007... BATON ROUGE, La.-Key healthcare stakeholders in Louisiana proposed a healthcare reform plan that would offer healthcare coverage and immediate access to care for about 80,000 low-income uninsured adults in the New Orleans region. Designed by...

Get to the point; A clear message engages, motivates listeners.(Charles S. Lauer)(analysis of leadership)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Two of my favorite words in management are "communication'' and "brevity.'' Too many managers who should know better spend inordinate amounts of time talking too much and writing memos that tend to confuse rather...

NURSES' WAGE WAR; A wave of lawsuits allege conspiracy, collusion to keep nurses' pay in check, but defendants claim an SEIU power play at hand.(Special Report)(Report)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Melanie Evans The nation's anemic supply of nurses is a familiar headache for recruiters or executives who grapple with hospitals' daily operations and budget. Now it's an issue for hospitals' general counsels as well. ...

Will Cook County reform? County board debates fixes for `archaic' health system.(Regional News)(services of county hospitals)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Gregg Blesch Most county governments have farmed out day-to-day operations of public health systems. But Cook County, Ill., which runs the third-largest such system in the country, is just now attempting the feat of using its...

On the move...(News Makers)(Medical Group Management Association appoints Anders Gilberg)(Joseph Scott is leaving Broward General Medical Center)(St. Jude Medical Inc. appoints Barbara Hill)
December 17, 2007... ASSOCIATIONS The Medical Group Management Association, Englewood, Colo., named Anders Gilberg to the newly created position of vice president for public and private economic affairs. Most recently, he worked as the assistant director of...