Modern Healthcare articles from March 2003

Modern Healthcare archives from March 2003

Outlier authority; Policy would help Medicare recoup overpayments.(Late News)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman Medicare would gain more authority to recoup overpayments from providers under a new outlier policy proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Outlier payments, which compensate hospitals for...

Late News; Harnett out at Blue Cross.(Thomas Harnett dismissed as president, CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Western New York)
March 3, 2003... Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Western New York dismissed Thomas Harnett, the president and CEO of seven years who was credited with turning around the once money-losing health plan. The insurer, which has 780,000 members in upstate New York and...

Things aren't getting better; Experts at federal hearing say healthcare costs, quality and access haven't improved much, if at all, since managed care.(Cover Story)(Cover Story)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong Nearly a decade after managed care was supposed to revolutionize the marketplace, Americans have enjoyed little or no improvement in healthcare costs, quality and access, federal officials were told last week. That...

Radical departure; Reform group Common Good wants medical experts to replace juries in malpractice cases.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman As Congress renewed its debate over medical liability reform last week, a group of industry leaders-many of them doctors, purchasers and heads of academic health systems-called for more extreme measures to take legal...

Medicaid melee; Governors snub Bush's reform proposals.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong The nation's governors roundly rejected the Bush administration's proposed Medicaid reforms last week, just as HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson headed to Capitol Hill to try to sell the measure to skeptical lawmakers. ...

Adventures in joint ventures; Texas hospital will be Triad's first with a not-for-profit.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Triad Hospitals became the latest investor-owned company to embark on a joint venture strategy with not-for-profits. The Plano, Texas-based company unveiled its first such deal last week-to build a $100 million,...

Briefly: Hospital News.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... System secures financing * Five-hospital Doctors Community Healthcare Corp., Scottsdale, Ariz., said it has secured $60 million in debtor-in-possession financing from GE Capital, and GE will take over the company's $14 million mortgage on...

Dial-a-doc gets boost; JCAHO issues first official telemedicine endorsement.(The Week in Healthcare: Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations expanding to telemedicine)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is expanding to telemedicine, where it has issued its first official endorsement. PDSHeart, Conyers, Ga., a provider of cardiac-monitoring services,...

Riding high; Study finds hospital margins at five-year peak.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly U.S. hospitals reported their highest profitability in five years in the first half of 2002, with an average operating margin of 5.8%, according to a Solucient report released exclusively to Modern Healthcare. ...

Corrections & Clarifications.(The Week in Healthcare)(Correction Notice)
March 3, 2003... * The senior director of the individual products segment at Humana, Louisville, Ky., is Thomas Stoiber. His last name was misspelled in a cover story about health plan marketing to the uninsured (Feb. 24, p. 8). * A News Makers item in the...

Coverage block; Bush Medicaid plan a curious counterpoint to efforts to insure more Americans.(Opinions-Editorials)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Todd Sloane, Assistant Managing Editor/Op-Ed Chalk up another one for the Bush administration, which has managed to anger many of the nation's governors and consumer groups and embarrass some moderate Republicans with its plan to...

Follow your instincts; A basic rule of management is knowing when a decision doesn't feel quite.(Publisher's Letter)(Editorial)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer A couple of weeks ago I had total left hip replacement surgery and consequently I've had some time to read and cogitate. I went through the same experience in March 2002 with my right hip. Even though I had what...

Still leader of the pack; Intermountain tops ranking of integrated networks.(Special Feature)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly Through a focus on delivering the best clinical outcomes for patients, Intermountain Health Care has achieved drastic improvements in operations, cost-control opportunities and integration efforts at its 21...

Intensive caring; He's a physician-lawyer-consultant, and his patients are typically small hospitals on life support.(Healthcare Profile)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker Fred Hyde is e-mailing arrangements for a mid-Manhattan rendezvous. What sort of vehicle will he be driving, he is asked. He replies in the same clear, concise, staccato style in which he speaks. "Small, red...

Briefly: Construction News.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 3, 2003... * Three hospitals in Jacksonville, Fla., received regulatory approval this month for more than $400 million in construction projects. Baptist Health, which operates 581-bed Baptist Medical Center, will build 92-bed, $84 million Baptist South,...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)(Editorial)
March 3, 2003... ``Republican lawmakers may sabotage President Bush's healthcare plan. Bush wants to reform Medicare and use the savings to pay for a prescription drug benefit for seniors. This is the only way of providing drug coverage for seniors without...

N.Y. mayor takes his shot so health workers will, too.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)
March 3, 2003... Following the example set by President Bush to encourage more civilians to voluntarily receive the smallpox vaccination, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg rolled up his sleeve recently at his City Hall office to receive the shots. Five...

Keeping up to date; Annual survey shows aging urban hospitals continue to invest in high-tech facilities.(Special Feature)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Susanna Moon With an aging facility spanning three high-rent city blocks, Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta had an image problem that officials feared would begin to drive patients away. Faced with the risk of patients...

Consolidation squabble; AHA study refutes Blues on cause for rising costs.(News)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong In an unabashed swipe at a Blue Cross Blue Shield Association report released last fall, the American Hospital Association last week unleashed its own study asserting that hospital consolidation has not been a leading...

Margins grow at health plans.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Laura B. Benko A study released last week by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Chicago, reveals that a smaller portion of health-plan premiums is going to pay medical claims while profit margins have grown. The study...

Banner's end run must end; Company plays chess with assets it inherited while communities pay the price.(Opinions-Commentary)(Column)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Barbara Gorham Can a national company operating not-for-profit hospitals and nursing homes sell off facilities without any obligation to the communities these institutions once served? That question is at the heart of a major legal...

Not for sale, yet; Baptist hires Merrill Lynch to explore alternatives.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 3, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Baptist Health System, Birmingham, Ala., has hired Merrill Lynch & Co. to analyze its strategic alternatives, including possible asset sales, said Dennis Hall, Baptist's president and chief executive officer, but he...

Rehnquist hangs up holster; Oft-criticized HHS inspector general will step down.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Healthcare providers and lawyers were disappointed but not surprised by last week's resignation of embattled HHS Inspector General Janet Rehnquist. Members of Congress applauded the announcement. Rehnquist, facing a...

Nice idea, meet reality; Bush's Medicare plan would give seniors needed choices, but maybe too many.(Opinions-Editorials)(Editorial)
March 10, 2003... Byline: David Burda Editor As I was preparing to sit down and write this editorial, I was feeling immense pressure to come up with a laundry list of reasons why I should oppose President Bush's Medicare reform plan. The problem is, I like...

Trying new solutions; Consumer-driven health plans aim to make patients frugal shoppers. Critics say the plans are steering Americans toward even higher costs.(Special Report)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Laura B. Benko Logan Aluminum wasn't about to wait for the healthcare system to fix itself. Faced with skyrocketing insurance premiums, the Russellville, Ky.-based sheet metal manufacturer decided to replace its PPO this year...

A few details still missing; President unfurls Medicare reform strategy to crowd of skeptics who fear fallout on provider payments and quality of care.(Cover Story)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker and Jeff Tieman President Bush presented his controversial Medicare reform plan last week, proposing prescription drug coverage through a new system that some said could jeopardize provider payments and possibly the...

VHA turns to Nonomaque; Group picks new president-CEO from its own ranks.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker For the fourth president and chief executive officer in its 26-year history, VHA for the first time reached inside, selecting Curtis Nonomaque, its executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer. ...

Bypassing the pump; New analysis offers heartening mortality data for proponents of off-pump coronary artery procedure.(Medical Advances)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker Off-pump, beating-heart coro-nary artery bypass graft surgery has kept on ticking despite a mound of inconclusive studies of its benefits. Short of minimally invasive surgery, the roughly 6-year-old procedure...

Divided opinions; Workers have varying reactions to Bush's vaccination compensation plan.(Late News)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Julie Piotrowski Organizations representing healthcare workers had mixed reactions to the Bush administration's limited proposal to compensate medical personnel and emergency responders who might be injured by a small- pox...

Cutting losses; Detroit Medical Center chief threatens to close 1 of 3 downtown hospitals.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Still swimming in red ink despite numerous cost-cutting attempts, the head of Detroit Medical Center has threatened to shut down one of three downtown hospitals if they can't stem losses within 90 days. President...

Late News; Malpractice bill goes to House.
March 10, 2003... Malpractice reform legislation passed in two House committees, with approval by the full House expected this week. The bill's centerpiece is a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages. The movement followed a declaration by the American Medical...

Panel backs limited payment hikes; Stark contends that Medicaid, not Medicare, is the source of the problem.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman Members of Congress reacted cautiously last week to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's recommendations on provider payment updates for 2004. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), the House Ways and Means Committee' s...

Time to step down; Duke's top exec announces he'll retire next year.(The Week in Healthcare; Duke University Health System)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Fresh on the heels of a patient-safety tragedy that drew international scrutiny to Duke University Health System, its top executive has announced plans to step down next year. Ralph Snyderman, 62, will end 15...

PacifiCare rates Calif. hospitals; All of its other network facilities will be ranked by this summer.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Laura B. Benko PacifiCare Health Systems last week released its first hospital quality report card, rating more than 200 hospitals in its California network. The Santa Ana, Calif.-based HMO intends to extend the quality report...

Kaiser takes $442 million charge.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Laura B. Benko Kaiser Permanente took a $442 million charge in the fourth quarter of 2002 to write off its investment in a failed effort to build an automated medical records system. The not-for-profit HMO announced last month...

On the defensive; Yale-New Haven disputes charity-care charges.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker Yale-New Haven (Conn.) Hospital defended itself from allegations by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal that it withheld charitable money intended for indigent patients, touching off a volley of...

W.Va. price hike contested.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly A West Virginia lawyer is fighting a 9% state-approved rate increase for Charleston (W.Va.) Area Medical Center, saying the hospital has a history of financial mismanagement, including an unprofitable HMO. ...

Age-old advice for the digital era; Author finds that you can't succeed by just hiding behind technology.(Publisher's Letter)(Book Review)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer I have mentioned this book before, but I really want to urge readers to take a look at Staying Street Smart in the Internet Age by Mark McCormack, founder and chief executive officer of International Management...

The news keeps interfering with tort reform's big mo.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)
March 10, 2003... Hard-core consumer activists sometimes spot conspiracies in unlikely places, but one California advocate says he has solid proof that the so-called medical malpractice insurance crisis is just that-a cynical ploy by doctors to line their...

Care not; Insurance commissioner rejects sale of CareFirst.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 10, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong In a scathing criticism of CareFirst Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the Maryland insurance commissioner rejected the proposed sale of the Owings Mills, Md. health plan to WellPoint Health Systems, saying the deal was...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials; Bush's efforts to reform Medicare)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2003... ``(President Bush) advanced the long-delayed overhaul of Medicare by offering an ambitious proposal that acknowledges all beneficiaries must have help with prescription drug costs. Breaking the stalemate on this highly volatile issue is going...

Settlement oversight; Grassley wants Congress to review large settlements.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Sen. Charles Grassley, who accused the U.S. Justice Department of shortchanging taxpayers in last year's proposed fraud settlement with HCA, plans to introduce legislation to require congressional reviews of large...

Health Care Hall of Fame: Judges.(Health Care Hall of Fame)(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... A distinguished panel of judges selected the 2003 inductees to the Health Care Hall of Fame. The 10 people who participated in the deliberations represent a variety of organizations associated with the healthcare industry. Thomas Chapman...

Raising a reputation; Colloton made a name for University of Iowa Hospitals.(Health Care Hall of Fame)(a discussion of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics' John Colloton)(Company Profile)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Susanna Moon For many Iowans-and others across the nation-the name John Colloton is synonymous with the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. It's mostly through his decades of leadership that the system evolved into the highly...

Round 2; Senate likely to transform House malpractice bill.(The Week in Healthcare)(the Senate is expected to alter any bill on malpractice reform)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong The malpractice battle is over, but the war is just beginning. With the House passing its malpractice reform bill last week, the Senate now will have a chance to consider similar legislation that has at its core a...

Mayo's man of vision; Waller led the transformation at renowned clinic.(Health Care Hall of Fame)(a discussion of Robert Waller's work to build the Mayo Clinic)(Company Profile)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano He won't claim much of the credit, but Robert Waller left a lasting personal imprint on America's healthcare industry. An ophthalmologist by training, Waller was instrumental in helping transform the Mayo Clinic from...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)
March 17, 2003... ``Virginia had the foresight 10 years ago to pioneer a public-private approach to increase access to primary healthcare for its uninsured by creating the Virginia Health Care Foundation.... The foundation has furnished seed money and technical...

The high cost of finger-pointing; Studies only raise question of why associations aren't cooperating on solutions.(Opinions-Editorials)(a discussion of cost studies of the hospital industry and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Todd Sloane, Assistant Managing Editor/Op-Ed Having just slogged through the dueling cost studies of the hospital industry and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, not to mention a variety of other analyses, I am left with...

Missouri dispute; Nursing homes challenge hospitals' expansion plans.(The Week in Healthcare)(nursing home operators in Missouri contest proposals to open hospital-based long-term acute-care units)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Julie Piotrowski Nursing home operators in Missouri are contesting proposals by two area health systems to open hospital-based long-term acute-care units, which the nursing homes contend would draw patients away from them. With...

Hospital board won't accept Tenet offer of free insurance.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)(Slidell Memorial Hospital will no longer accept medical coverage by Tenet Healthcare Corp. if the firm acquires it)
March 17, 2003... The board of Slidell (La.) Memorial Hospital is saving face, it seems, by sacrificing discount health insurance. In a concession aimed at rectifying its growing credibility problem, the 10-member board agreed late last month not to accept...

Investors bank on healthcare.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic Confirming the industry's reputation as a safe haven for investors, healthcare companies-led by insurers-earned the highest shareholder confidence scores of any industry in a worldwide study released last week....

First aid for the uninsured; Bills to improve coverage access, affordability introduced.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman Several legislators last week introduced bills to insure more Americans as they sought to gain traction from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Cover the Uninsured Week. Groups of Democrats and Republicans proposed...

Healthy settlement; Kansas reaps 20% of proceeds in Health Midwest sale.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly Health Midwest and Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline reached an agreement last week over the fate of proceeds resulting from the not-for-profit system's $1.1 billion sale to HCA, ending a lengthy legal battle that...

Advantage: for-profits; As more not-for-profit hospitals struggle and consider hoisting for-sale signs, investor-owned chains appear poised for growth.(Special Report)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro In the early 1980s, the smart money was betting that investor-owned hospitals would come to dominate the industry. Millions were wagered on that bet in the casino that is Wall Street. Many of those millions were lost....

Worthy of the exemption? Cash-strapped taxing bodies eyeing not-for-profits.(Special Report)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Should not-for-profit hospitals be exempt from taxes? That debate is largely an academic one for now, but strained state and local budgets could make it increasingly relevant to tax-exempt hospitals. State...

Making room for more beds; With additional patients streaming in every day, hospitals must learn to think creatively to find space for everyone.(hospital rooming of patients)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano After nearly two decades of decline, inpatient capacity is on the rise as acute-care hospitals reactivate dormant rooms, open shuttered wings and transform administrative space to clinical use in order to rush new...

Time to regroup; Tenet Healthcare revamps management structure.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Tenet Healthcare Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif., announced more changes to its management structure last week with the regrouping of its hospitals into two divisions instead of three. One of the three division...

Full disclosure; Premier must release detailed financial info to all.(Premier Health Care)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker Premier must disclose more detailed financial information to all of its 1,500 hospital members to avoid unleashing the federal antikickback laws from which a congressionally enacted ``safe harbor'' has shielded...

Corrections & Clarifications.(The Week in Healthcare)(Correction Notice)
March 17, 2003... * WellPoint Health Networks was incorrectly identified as WellPoint Health Systems in a Week in Healthcare story about CareFirst Blue Cross and Blue Shield (March 10, p. 11).

HCA takes on Tenn. Blues; Bills would distribute Blues' cash reserves to hospitals.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro A contract dispute between HCA and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Tennessee has spilled over into the state Legislature, where, the Blues plan said, HCA and other hospitals are pushing bills that would distribute some...

Life lessons; H. Jackson Brown Jr.'s 'Instruction Book' offers timeless advice for all.(Publisher's Letter)(praise for the book 'Life's Little Instruction Book')(Editorial)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer In 1991 H. Jackson Brown Jr. published a book about living. He hadn't started out to write a book, having sat down to pen some advice on life's continuous challenges and travails for his son, who was heading off...

Little room for error; Bill protecting providers that report medical errors passes House, but hopes dim on road to Senate.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman A bill passed last week by the House of Representatives would protect hospitals and caregivers who voluntarily report medical errors, but critics contend it may not be effective and its future in the Senate is...

The ethics imperative; Ensuring proper corporate behavior requires rigorous self-examination.(Opinions-Commentary)(ethics in the health care industry)(Editorial)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Larry Sanders The healthcare management profession is special. Those of us who are in it are fortunate to lead organizations that are called upon to address an almost incomprehensible range of human needs. Our facilities maintain...

A legacy of change; Three left their marks at highly respected systems.(Health Care Hall of Fame)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer It's hard to believe it's been more than 15 years since the inception of the Health Care Hall of Fame, sponsored by Modern Healthcare. The hall was founded to celebrate individuals who have contributed their...

HCA, Tenet lend helping hands.(Health Care Administration and Tenet Healthcare Corp.'s collection policies)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Six weeks after Tenet Healthcare Corp. announced its Compact with the Uninsured, HCA has announced its own proposal to ease its billing and collection policies for uninsured patients. The announcement also came...

Think locally; JCAHO urges nation to create community emergency-preparedness programs.(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations releases paper on health care industry)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Julie Piotrowski The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations made its second leap into the public policy arena last week when it released a detailed position paper urging the nation to create effective...

If at first you do succeed ... Puckett launches specialty hospital company based on MedCath operating model.(Stephen Puckett's OrthoNeuro Corp. hospital company services)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Julie Piotrowski Capitalizing on the success of MedCath Corp.'s operating model, company founder and Chairman Stephen Puckett has launched a new specialty hospital company in partnership with orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons....

Health Care Hall of Fame Past Inductees.(Health Care Hall of Fame)(Illustration)
March 17, 2003... * Bob Ball Inducted in 1999 * Clara Barton Inducted in 1993 * Karl Bays Inducted in 2001 * Ray E. Brown Inducted in 1988 * Robin C. Buerki Inducted in 1989 * George Bugbee Inducted in 1989 ...

A pioneer in for-profits; Frist Jr., HCA co-founder; joins dad in Hall of Fame.(Thomas Frist, Jr. of Hospital Corporation of America)
March 17, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro You could argue that Thomas Frist Jr. has labored longer than anyone to make Nashville known for something besides country music. Hospital Corporation of America, the company founded in 1968 by Frist Jr. and his...

Late News; Hospital boards revamp.
March 17, 2003... Almost one-third of hospital boards fundamentally restructured in the past two years, usually altering their size or committee structure, according to the Governance Institute's 2002 Biennial Survey of Hospital Boards. Still, the median size of...

Briefly: Washington.(The Week in Healthcare)(health care news briefs)(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... What's good for the goose... * The U.S. Supreme Court has remanded a dismissed whistleblower lawsuit back for trial in a unanimous decision with broad implications for public hospitals and clinics. The court's decision that municipalities...

The rise and fall of HealthSouth.(Cover Story)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... 1984: Richard Scrushy raises $50,000 and founds HealthSouth Corp. with four other businessmen. 1986: HealthSouth goes public. 1990: HealthSouth expands to 50 facilities. 1994: HealthSouth becomes the largest provider of...

Trustees of the Year 2003.(Special Feature)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... Byline: David May, Assistant Managing Editor/Features Even though the title of trustee, in both for-profit and not-for-profit circles, has accumulated some tarnish in recent years thanks to a string of high-profile corporate meltdowns,...

Letting the sunshine in; More not-for-profits voluntarily adopt new corporate accountability, board oversight mandates.(Special Report)
March 24, 2003... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic For the first time, Texas Health Resources' chief financial officer this year will certify the accuracy of financial statements for the board. Meanwhile, the system's management is performing an audit of...

Musical chairs; Mount Sinai has yet another top exec step down.(Late News)
March 24, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker In yet another shake-up at New York's embattled Mount Sinai Medical Center, Kenneth Berns stepped down as president and chief executive officer after just one year on the job. Meanwhile, Kenneth Davis, 56, dean of...

Giving patients a reason to stay close to home.(Special Feature)
March 24, 2003... Byline: Ed Finkel When Arlene High was diagnosed with cancer in 1978, the resident of rural Gallup, N.M., immediately was sent 150 miles away to a hospital in Albuquerque. The local hospital, Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care...

Texas and taxes; St. David's fights IRS for tax-exempt status.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 24, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor With its argument that a local hospital system provides critical services to the indigent and uninsured, the city of Austin, Texas, may have dealt the Internal Revenue Service a blow in a widely watched hospital tax...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... * Christopher Durovich will leave the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to oversee an upcoming growth spurt at Children's Medical Center of Dallas, as it looks to tackle the growing north Texas suburbs. Durovich, 45, has been...

Helping a small hospital blossom into a system.(Special Feature)
March 24, 2003... Byline: Ed Finkel The year John Colaizzi joined the board of Middlesex General University Hospital, New Brunswick, N.J., the institution was bleeding money and patients. Those who needed specialized care usually traveled to New York or...

Firm's health going south; Federal authorities charge HealthSouth, leader Scrushy with 'massive accounting fraud,' systematic betrayal of investors.(Cover Story)
March 24, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano HealthSouth Corp. and its chief executive, Richard Scrushy, may have been dealt a knockout blow by federal authorities who last week charged the nation's biggest rehabilitation hospital company with ``massive...

Etherington a nurse without borders.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... Carol Etherington knows all about war and has done her part to try to help its victims, work for which she has been awarded the 2003 International Achievement Award by the International Council of Nurses' Florence Nightingale International...

On the move...(News Makers)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... John Henry Sr., 65, will retire this summer after nearly eight years as CEO of three-hospital Emory Hospitals in Atlanta and four decades with hospitals in various positions. In his last year on the job, he helped shepherd the completion of a...

Leadership and ethics; Hall of Fame inductees representative of high standards set by industry's best.(Publisher's Letter)
March 24, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer I've been around this industry for more than 30 years. I've watched all the changes and trends that are so typical of healthcare, the most dynamic business in this country and elsewhere in the world. Just as many...

Encyclopedia of errors; Growing database of medication errors allows hospitals to compare their track records with facilities nationwide in a nonpunitive setting.(The Edge)
March 24, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey Medication errors originate in a variety of places within a hospital, but Greater Baltimore Medical Center was able to trace the source of many of its errors to one place in particular: computer entry of prescription...