Modern Healthcare articles from January 2004

Modern Healthcare archives from January 2004

South.(Regional News)
January 5, 2004... NASHVILLE-Tennessee emergency rooms saw nearly 2.9 million patients in fiscal 2003, ended June 30, a 4.1% increase compared with the year-earlier period and a 34.6% increase from fiscal 2000, according to the Tennessee Hospital Association....

Midwest.(Regional News)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... ORLAND PARK, Ill.-SSM Health Care announced last month that it hopes to build a 130-bed hospital on a 66-acre parcel purchased in 1991 in suburban Chicago's Orland Park. That hospital would complement its St. Francis Hospital and Health Center...

Physician Execs.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... * * * Baylor College of Medicine in Houston has named Jay Stein to a newly created position overseeing physician practices and patient care at the college's six affiliated hospitals. Stein will be a senior vice president and dean of...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)
January 5, 2004... * David Nash, a physician who is nationally recognized for his work in quality improvement and outcomes measurement, has been named chairman of a new academic department on health policy at the Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson...

Late News; CMS announces outpatient regs.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
January 5, 2004... The CMS issued interim final regulations for hospital outpatient services that are consistent with the recently enacted Medicare law. The interim final regulations replace rules originally published last November. The new measure extends for...

Insurance help for Ohio docs.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Michael Romano It isn't likely to solve the so-called malpractice insurance crisis, but a new company created by the Ohio Hospital Association began providing a welcome alternative last week to hard-pressed physicians and hospitals...

Checkup; JCAHO goal: Make survey a continuous effort.(The Week in Healthcare)(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Byline: John Morrissey Hospitals up for re-accreditation this month will be among the first to participate in a new approach to survey processes by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Unveiled in October...

New Ala. Baptist CEO took long road to post.(News Makers)(Baptist Health Systems Inc.)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Michael Romano After a brief foray in the insurance industry, Mary Elizabeth O'Brien, a former nurse who went on to head a huge Catholic health system, is back in a top job, this time at one of the South's biggest and best-known...

States of frustration; Hospital associations, desperate over shortfalls, are resorting to hospital taxes.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic Faced with the worst state Medicaid shortfalls ever, some state hospital associations are agreeing to swallow a bitter pill: taxes on hospital services. The levies are a last-ditch tactic to avoid Medicaid...

West: California roadblock; Ruling puts in doubt Medi-Cal reimbursement cuts.(Regional News)(medicaid plans)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Laura B. Benko Casting doubt over California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's aggressive budget-balancing efforts, a federal judge has temporarily blocked part of a measure designed to save hundreds of millions of dollars by cutting...

Racing toward market mania; Healthcare industry gearing up for big changes in 2004, starting with policy at state level and adjusting to Medicare reform law.(Special Report)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic The new year brings a host of changes for the healthcare industry, many of them sparked by the new Medicare reform law that sets the course for hospital-physician relations, private-sector involvement in...

We're only partway there; HHS' first annual quality report shows some big strides have been made but points out acute need for more preventive care.(Department of Health & Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Jeff Tieman In a first-of-its-kind federal report, HHS patted healthcare providers on the back for making strides in quality improvement but hedged the compliment by saying there's still a long way to go. Directed by Congress...

AHA report says hospital profits are up for first time since 1996; With admissions, ER visits and number of uninsured on the rise, acute-care facilities have to work harder.(The Week in Healthcare)(American Hospital Association)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Patrick Reilly Hospital profits inched upward for the first time in six years, but the nation's acute-care facilities had to work harder than usual for every last penny. The aggregate hospital profit margin increased to 4.4% in...

Back to basics; AMA simplifies philosophy on membership.(The Week in Healthcare)(American Medical Association)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Michael Romano After months of surveys, studies and focus groups, the American Medical Association's latest attempt to reverse a decades-long decline in membership boils down to a simple strategy: Adopt a more "member-centered''...

Shuttling toward a safety culture; Healthcare can learn from probe panel's findings on the Columbia disaster.(Opinions-Commentary)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Allan Frankel and Carol Haraden The report by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board on the causes of the space shuttle tragedy offers lessons that extend far beyond NASA. The healthcare industry, for one, has much to learn from...

On the move ...(News Makers)
January 5, 2004... HOSPITALS The door has revolved once again at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Burton Drayer has been named president, succeeding Larry Hollier, who had served as president of the hospital since September 2002. Drayer, 57, will retain his...

Lawsuit compromise; Pa. lawmaker seeks exceptions for catastrophic claims.(Physician Affairs)
January 5, 2004... A key Pennsylvania lawmaker will stop blocking a vote on a cap for noneconomic damages in malpractice lawsuits, but only if some exceptions are made for catastrophic claims, his aides said last week. State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, chairman...

Taking the lead; Book discusses qualities necessary to be a great leader, have great followers.(Publisher's Letter)(Followership)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Most of the readers of this magazine are leaders, and most are interested in finding new ways to lead with grace, honor and effectiveness. Many of us buy books that espouse theories on how to lead, and when it is...

Equal opportunity; FTC proves price-fixing not just for docs anymore.(The Week in Healthcare)(Federal Trade Commission)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Vince Galloro To the Federal Trade Commission, price-fixing isn't just for physicians anymore. For the first time, the FTC said, it has nabbed a hospital as part of an alleged scheme to fix physician prices. That hospital belongs...

Fighting bankruptcy; Sun Healthcare will sell rehabilitation business.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Julie Piotrowski HealthSouth Corp. is not the only rehabilitation provider working to stave off bankruptcy protection. Sun Healthcare Group last week announced it would sell its rehabilitation businesses to post-acute competitor...

Scrushy's lawyer: Demand to quit board never made.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)
January 5, 2004... It seems that Richard Scrushy and his legal team are willing to contest every issue, even one about paperwork over a request to have him resign from the HealthSouth Corp. board of directors. Despite being indicted in November for allegedly...

Our look ahead; A merger, new features and a busy new year awaiting.(Opinions-Editorials)
January 5, 2004... Byline: David Burda, Editor Rust never sleeps, and neither do we at Modern Healthcare. In our Dec. 8, 2003, issue, Charles S. Lauer, publisher of Modern Healthcare, announced the merger of this magazine with our sister publication, Modern...

Necessary knowledge; Senators craft bill to create federal nurse database accessible to all employers.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Tony Fong During his 16 years as a nurse, Charles Cullen was fired six times, quit three jobs and attempted suicide at least once, and employers were never aware of his history. But now, coming off Cullen's claims that he killed...

Northeast.(Regional News)
January 5, 2004... HARRISBURG, Pa.-The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania is asking for more clarification on details of a new plan to require hospitals in the state to report the number of infections developed by their patients. The association...

Making the rounds; Stanford's Martha Marsh says she believes ingetting to know hospitals she runs from bottom up.(Healthcare Profile)(Stanford Hospital & Clinics)(Biography)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Mike Colias A few months after Martha Marsh took over as president and chief executive officer of Stanford Hospital & Clinics in April 2002, she implemented a shadowing program. Marsh tagged along with a housekeeper as she made...

A primary concern; Medicare provision ensures program is second payer; $9 billion savings seen.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 5, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor A little-known provision of the new Medicare reform law could save the program nearly $9 billion from 2004 to 2013 and make it easier for the CMS to collect healthcare claims payments for beneficiaries that should have...

Wash. doc group opposes plan for malpractice relief.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... The Washington State Medical Association is panning a plan for malpractice relief offered by Gov. Gary Locke and fellow Democrats in the Legislature, saying it does not include caps on noneconomic damages and other items on the group's wish...

Harvard Pilgrim, processor offer free electronic claims.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, a major not-for-profit payer in New England, announced last week that it has entered into an agreement with transaction processor ProxyMed to offer physicians and hospitals free electronic claims and other...

Corrections & Clarifications.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2004... * In a story on p. 10 of the Dec. 22/29, 2003 issue, Jody Hatcher, senior vice president of Novation, was misidentified as female. Hatcher is male. * The table of contents (p. 1) for the Dec. 22/29, 2003 issue included the incorrect first...

Late News; Error reporting bill advances.
January 12, 2004... A New Jersey bill that would require hospitals to report serious medical errors passed the state Senate unanimously but is unlikely to pass the General Assembly before the legislative session ends Jan. 12, an aide to state Sen. Joseph Vitale,...

The outlook: cloudy, interesting; Health debates will be furious on Capitol Hill, but action is in the rule-making.(Opinions-Editorials)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Todd Sloane, Assistant Managing Editor/Op-Ed If 2003 was a year of real action on major health policy legislation, 2004 may be a year of laying the foundation for future initiatives-notably on access to care-as well as the unfolding...

On the move ...(News Makers)
January 12, 2004... HOSPITALS Tenet Healthcare Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif., has named Robert Yungk, 46, senior vice president of managed care. He had served as president for Cigna Healthcare of Georgia/Alabama.... Baylor Health Care System, Dallas, has...

Too big? Caremark, AdvancePCS getting close look from feds.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Cinda Becker For all of the newfound public attention on pharmacy benefit managers, very little scrutiny is being cast on a consolidation that will leave only three major players in the $200 billion drug-spending marketplace. ...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)
January 12, 2004... * A federal judge has resigned his post to work full time in healthcare, becoming chief legal counsel of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, effective Feb. 1. Judge Robert Cindrich of the U.S. District Court for Western Pennsylvania...

Briefly: Legal.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
January 12, 2004... Whistleblowers get $8.1 million * The two whistleblowers who launched the federal investigation of Redding (Calif.) Medical Center will share a reward of $8.1 million, or 15% of the $54 million that Tenet Healthcare Corp. paid in August...

Politics front and center; Expect plenty of heated rhetoric from Washington, but election-year posturing and growing deficits make major new initiatives unlikely.(Special Report)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Tony Fong and Jeff Tieman With Medicare reform largely complete, Washington lawmakers have their eyes focused on resolving healthcare issues begun last year but stalled by the gargantuan effort to bring drug benefits to seniors. ...

Blaming the messenger; Ernst & Young under fire for alleged bad billing advice.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor If Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young settles a federal False Claims Act lawsuit with the U.S. attorney in Philadelphia, it would become the third category of defendant to pay for bad billing advice in a...

Information transformation; Baylor Health Care unveils initiative to make care, doctors more computer-savvy.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 12, 2004... Byline: John Morrissey Baylor Health Care System's $119 million initiative to transform clinical care using information technology, unveiled last week, is a high-profile example of an emerging strategy to win physician acceptance of...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)
January 12, 2004... "This year, the nation celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Community Mental Health Centers Act, which created a national plan and federal funding for access to mental health services. Kentucky has a proud history of being a leader in mental...

Sales 101; Too often the basics are overlooked by peddlers without the right training.(Publisher's Letter)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Charles S. Lauer I am often asked to speak to sales organizations, partly because of my long experience in the field and partly because I am always ready to say why I think sales is one of the most rewarding and exciting...

Chicago thefts may be sign of national hospital crime.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)
January 12, 2004... The theft of imaging equipment from three Chicago-area hospitals last month has law enforcement authorities wondering if the same criminal rings that have targeted hospitals in Florida and Texas have moved to the Midwest. In a matter of...

In Memoriam: Ethics advocate, SSM official Brodeur dies.(News Makers)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
January 12, 2004... The Rev. Dennis Brodeur, senior vice president of stewardship for SSM Health Care in St. Louis and a noted advocate for healthcare ethics, died Jan. 1 after a long illness. He was 52. Brodeur came to SSM as director of healthcare ethics in...

Contributions welcome.(News Makers)
January 12, 2004... Anyone wishing to contribute to News Makers can send information via e-mail to a new address, mhpeople@crain.com. Of course, you can always use a more traditional means of delivery. Via fax, it's 312-280-3183, attention News Makers column. To...

False claim included; S.C. hospital pays settlement for exclusion violations.(The Week in Healthcare)(Lexington Medical Center)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor For years the HHS' inspector general's office warned healthcare organi-zations not to hire or bill federal health programs for the services of providers excluded from Medicare and Medicaid. Last month a South Carolina...

Back to the basics; Number of general hospitals grows for the first time in years despite slim margins, lagging reimbursements and a tight market.
January 12, 2004... Byline: Michael Romano The number of general acute-care hospitals has grown for the first time in the last quarter-century--another sign that many systems have jumped on the building boom bandwagon despite complaints about slim margins,...

Waging war; CMS policy moves hospitals to apply for reclassification.(The Week in Healthcare)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Jeff Tieman The battle of the wages is on. Hospitals in at least a handful of states stand to benefit from a new CMS policy that allows facilities in low-wage areas to request that Medicare consider them part of a community...

Specialty hospital ban was premature; Studies would have shown whether those facilities help or harm healthcare.(Opinions-Commentary)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Sarah Swartzmeyer and Carrie Norbin Killoran When President Bush signed into law the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 last month, he also was enacting changes to the federal Stark II law, most...

Growing by leaps and bonds; Not-for-profits sell more despite weak ratings.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic Not-for-profit hospitals sold more bonds for the third year in a row in 2003 despite weaker industry credit ratings and growth in alternative financing vehicles. Tax-exempt healthcare bond sales grew 8.2%...

Ratio law hits hard in Calif.(The Week in Healthcare)(nurse-staffing law )
January 12, 2004... Byline: Patrick Reilly With the start of the new year, some California hospital administrators probably traded in their champagne and noisemakers for spreadsheets on admissions and staffing levels. The state's long-awaited and...

Blues boom; Anthem, WellPoint deal proceeds despite challenges.(The Week in Healthcare)(Anthem Insurance Companies Inc.)(Wellpoint Health Networks Inc.)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Laura B. Benko The proposed merger of Blues plan titans Anthem and WellPoint Health Networks is moving along slowly but surely, even as worried providers, lawmakers and investors continue to mount challenges to thwart the...

New Indianapolis system chief wears two hats.(News Makers)(Wishard Memorial Hospital)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Michael Romano Lisa Harris, chief of medicine at Wishard Health Services in Indianapolis, has taken on a new and potentially far more daunting challenge: She's now running the entire system and its flagship facility, 492-bed...

Taking it to heart; Availability of emergency angioplasty could be key to best outcomes for heart attack patients--but offering the service might not be so healthy for a hospital's finances.(Medical Advances)
January 12, 2004... Byline: Cinda Becker A study published last August that compared one of healthcare's hottest topics-coronary angioplasty-with medication in the treatment of heart attacks dropped a potential bombshell on community and rural hospitals that...

Hospitals propel spending; Report not expected to endanger reimbursement.(The Week in Healthcare)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services )
January 12, 2004... Byline: Tony Fong A report released last week showing that hospitals remained the main driver of healthcare spending in 2002 is not likely to threaten future Medicare reimbursement increases, industry experts say. The CMS report found...

N.C. doc group sues Blues plan.(North Carolina Medical Society)(Blue Cross Association)(Blue Shield Association)(Brief Article)
January 12, 2004... A physicians' advocacy group has charged in a lawsuit that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina harmed doctors with unfair business practices that deny and delay payments for medical care. The lawsuit, which the North Carolina...

Computerized order systems stop mistakes.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
January 12, 2004... Computerized physician order entry can almost eliminate medication prescribing errors and ensure nearly full physician compliance with hospital rules in pediatric critical-care units, new research suggests. In the Jan. 1 issue of...

Orthopedic practice operating costs jump.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
January 12, 2004... Total operating costs for orthopedic practices jumped 12.3% in 2002, fueled by higher salaries and large increases in medical malpractice insurance premiums, according to a survey released by the Medical Group Management Association....

The CMS delays referral rules--for fourth time.(Physician Affairs)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
January 12, 2004... For the fourth time, the CMS has delayed the effective date of Medicare and Medicaid regulations regarding compensation for physician referrals to facilities with which they have financial ties, saying the agency needs additional time to...

Corrections & Clarifications.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 19, 2004... * A chart in the "By the Numbers" supplement (Dec. 22, 2003, p. 8) on uncompensated care at hospitals represents spending as a percentage of hospitals' total expenses, not revenue as labeled.

Canadian docs who co-sign Rx left without coverage.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
January 19, 2004... The Canadian Medical Protective Association soon will announce that Canadian doctors who co-sign prescriptions for U.S. patients will not be covered under its liability insurance policies if the doctor is sued for malpractice regarding the...

Nomination deadline for ACPE awards extended.(Physician Affairs)(American College of Physician Executives )(Brief Article)
January 19, 2004... The deadline for nominees for the sixth annual Physician Executive Awards of Excellence, sponsored by the American College of Physician Executives and Modern Physician, has been extended to Jan. 30. The awards honor those who have...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)
January 19, 2004... * Goodbye Hicksville, hello Marysville. Trustees of 193-bed Memorial Hospital of Union County in Marysville, Ohio, last week named Olas Hubbs III as its president and CEO, effective March 8. Hubbs, 32, CEO of 25-bed Community Memorial...

How to land the best; To hire good workers you have to look beneath the surface.(Publisher's Letter)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Every boss has a favorite story about interviewing job candidates. Mine are the ones where the applicants trash their former employers and tell me about how unfairly they were treated. One man was so incensed about...

Where to invest healthcare dolalrs; Diabetes an example of how spending on prevention can save lives, costs.(Opinions-Commentary)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Leonard Berry As someone who has observed the industry from an outside business perspective, I think it is clear that we are spending more than enough money on healthcare in America, but we aren't getting an adequate return on our...

On the move ...(News Makers)(UMass Memorial Medical Center)(St. Vincent Medical Center)(Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center)
January 19, 2004... HOSPITALS Walter Ettinger has been named president of UMass Memorial Medical Center, which includes three hospital campuses that are part of five-hospital UMass Memorial Health Care based in Worcester. Ettinger, 52, was previously vice...

Only the best for sick VIPs at Washington hospital.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)(Howard University. Hospital (Washington, D.C.))
January 19, 2004... A new "VIP pavilion'' at Howard University Hospital in Washington has everything a well-heeled diplomat or dignitary might want or need, including marble-accented bathrooms, personal gourmet chefs, fresh flowers and a panoramic view of the...

Different light; Two studies question validity of volume measures.(The Week in Healthcare)(Leapfrog Group)
January 19, 2004... Byline: John Morrissey Two scientific studies published last week cast doubt on the validity of basing quality standards on a hospital's annual volume of cases, undercutting efforts by the Leapfrog Group to use volume measures as a...

Survey says; Coalition tries to alter size, course of CMS project.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 19, 2004... Byline: John Morrissey A strange-bedfellows coalition of five patient-survey vendors last week launched an all-out entreaty for lobbying support from their healthcare clients to alter the size and approach of a proposed CMS survey,...

Mammoth missteps; N.Y. hospital in financial jeopardy, sees ratings drop.(The Week in Healthcare)(Westchester Medical Center)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Cinda Becker The independence and financial viability of Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y., is in jeopardy after a two-year stretch of devastating missteps that resulted in a precipitous credit-rating downgrade earlier...

Asking for more; Fla. malpractice insurers want higher premiums.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
January 19, 2004... Despite tort caps passed last summer, Florida medical malpractice insurers asked state regulators for higher premiums this year. Nineteen carriers have applied for and received or have pending rate increases that average about 18%,...

Relief in sight; Hospital inflation expected to ease, experts say.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic A week after a new report indicated that hospitals were driving healthcare spending growth in 2002, data released last week showed hospital price inflation reached its highest level in at least a decade in 2003,...

Winds of change; Chicago area soon may see hospital beds shoot up.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor If all of the recently proposed hospital projects are approved by the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, there could be an explosion of hospital beds in the Chicago area in the next few years. After a...

Under pressure; HealthSouth revises hierarchy, hires compliance officer.(The Week in Healthcare)(HEALTHSOUTH Corp)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Julie Piotrowski With creditors and shareholders clamoring for evidence of dramatically improved finances and leadership strategies at HealthSouth Corp., the company last week revised its governance practices to comply with the...

Increase intervention; W.Va. hospital challenges rival's rate request.(The Week in Healthcare)(Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital)(St. Joseph's Hospital)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Vince Galloro In most states, if your competitor were able to raise prices, you'd probably think, "Where do we get in line?'' But in West Virginia, state regulators set the prices for commercial payers, so one hospital's...

A service career; Mathis to be honored for life's work.(Special Feature)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Joe Mantone Larry Mathis sees some parallels between one of his first jobs-a captain in the Army during the Vietnam War-and his long career in healthcare management. And the former certainly had a profound effect on the latter. ...

A cause for guarded optimism; Hospitals' business outlook seems strong, but costs are a huge stumbling block.(Opinions-Editorials)(Modern Healthcare and the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society)(Editorial)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Todd Sloane, Assistant Managing Editor/Op-Ed This is a good-though not a great-time to run a hospital company. An American Hospital Association report finds that 2002 hospital profits, fueled by growth in utilization, increased for...

The right thing to do; ACHE nails down exactly how ethics apply.(The Week in Healthcare)(American College of Healthcare Executives)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Patrick Reilly Responding to recent corporate scandals both within and outside the healthcare industry, the American College of Healthcare Executives has shored up its two-page code of ethics by more specifically targeting...

Successful succession; Texas system's CEO keeps focus on quality, efficiency.(Special Feature)(James Springfield )
January 19, 2004... Byline: Joe Mantone The plan seems to be working for James Springfield and Valley Baptist Health System in Harlingen, Texas. In 2001, a succession plan was set up for Springfield to take over the system from its longtime chief....

Splitting up; Symphony may sell 2 hospitals to 2 different buyers.(Late News)(Symphony Healthcare, Nashville)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Vince Galloro Perhaps it's a good thing that two separate buyers may purchase Eastmoreland Hospital and Woodland Park Hospital, both 77-bed hospitals in Portland, Ore. Their current owner, Symphony Healthcare, Nashville,...

Heard to oversee changes in resident training.(News Makers)(Jeanne Heard)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Michael Romano Jeanne Heard, who has helped oversee the training of future physicians at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences for the past eight years, will take over a similar role on a far larger scale beginning in...

The Public Sector.(News Makers)
January 19, 2004... * * * HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson has named the first hospitalist to the National Advisory Council for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a panel that provides advice and recommendations to the AHRQ on priorities for a...

Executives of the future; Meeting to emphasize leadership, governance issues.(Special Feature)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Patrick Reilly The American College of Healthcare Executives will take a trip in time in early March as members get a glimpse of what hospitals will need to do to operate successfully in the future. Future business models for...

Coverage is job one; IOM report calls for reform, universal coverage by 2010.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 19, 2004... Byline: Tony Fong Every January with Congress about to reconvene and the president set to deliver the State of the Union address, the healthcare industry gears up to capture the attention of legislators. With Medicare reform legislation...

Masters of the universe; NCHL, national accrediting agency push controversial plan to transform how MHA programs teach future healthcare execs.
January 19, 2004... Byline: Michael Romano A high-profile group of hospital executives wants to transform the accreditation standards for advanced-degree programs in health service administration, a process that could radically change the curriculum and job...

Late News; Merger talks begin.(Santa Teresita Hospital)(Deaconess Hospital)(St. Anthony Hospital)
January 19, 2004... Oklahoma City's third- and fourth-largest hospitals announced merger negotiations. The combination of 289-bed Deaconess Hospital and 451-bed St. Anthony Hospital would consolidate one-fourth of acute-care admissions and 27% of acute-care beds...