Modern Healthcare articles from October 2006

Modern Healthcare archives from October 2006

OUT THROUGH THE IN DOOR; Our annual Outsourcing Survey shows an uptick in clientele as companies work to expand the array of services they offer.(Special Feature)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Barbara Kirchheimer What happens when a health system is in a financial bind that threatens its ability to pay the fees for its outsourced contracts? Its outsourcing partners might be expected to cut off services. But that's...

Nominees sought for Trustee of the Year.(The Week In Healthcare)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Modern Healthcare is now accepting nominations for the annual Trustee of the Year competition. The awards, co-sponsored by executive search firm Witt/Kieffer, honor two outstanding trustees for their contributions to healthcare governance, one...

Listen and repeat; To retain top workers, you need to hear your employees out.(Lauer's Letter)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Charles S. Lauer In a recent piece by healthcare consultant Quint Studer, he writes about "the long goodbye.'' It's about those who resign from a hospital or company-or any organization for that matter. If they are talented and...

FOREIGN EXCHANGE; CFOs in the U.K. seek greater collaboration between finance, clinical teams as the National Health Service pursues reforms.(Strictly Finance)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Cinda Becker Chief financial officers in the United Kingdom are positioning themselves to play a central role as "thought leaders'' in what is being described as the biggest overhaul of hospital care in the U.K. since the National...

Low scores, high costs; With waste and inefficiency rife, Americans need more than HSAs.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Neil McLaughlin, Managing Editor You may have read in the news that a team of French physicians last week performed zero-gravity surgery. The doctors, seeking to develop robotic technology for medical care in space, carried out the...

Two docs cash in; Can't pass up offer from Microsoft.(Mark Smith, Craig Feied)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Jay Greene Two physician developers of a health-intelligence software program that enables hundreds of administrative and clinical systems to communicate with each other listened to many offers to sell before Microsoft Corp. came a...

'Special' plans for CMS; HHS to keep tabs on physician-owned hospitals.(The Week In Healthcare)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Mark Taylor The battle over physician-owned specialty hospitals could grow even more contentious as healthcare's biggest enforcement agency sets its sights on ensuring they offer quality care. HHS Inspector General Daniel...

HRDI settlement near? Agreement likely to include payment concessions.(Healthcare Research & Development Institute)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Joseph Mantone The Healthcare Research & Development Institute is likely to reach a settlement with Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal in a matter of weeks, according to HRDI member David Page. The settlement talks...

Trinity selling another unit; Deal for architecture firm ends unique arrangement.(The Week In Healthcare)(Trinity Health to sell its subsidiaries to HKS)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Melanie Evans Trinity Health continues to shed subsidiaries. This time, the Roman Catholic health system has a $1.2 million deal to sell its architecture and design arm to HKS, the Dallas-based healthcare architecture giant. ...

Measuring improvement; Performance standards, reporting save lives: NCQA.(National Committee for Quality Assurance)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Matthew DoBias A combination of performance measurement and public reporting can save tens of thousands of lives and billions of dollars every year, according to a National Committee for Quality Assurance report released last week....

Ex-employees plead guilty.(Late News)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Joseph Mantone Two former employees of Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, pleaded guilty to charges that they allegedly accepted payments to steer contracts to Broadcom Voice & Data, a telecommunications installation company....

THE BIG SQUEEZE; Insurers point to slower growth in premiums in past few years to show progress, but providers say they're paying the price.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Laura B. Benko with Cinda Becker Health plans were quick to pat themselves on the proverbial back last week after the release of a report indicating that insurance premium increases have continued to slow nationwide for a third...

Struggling in Midwest.(The Week In Healthcare)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Mark Taylor Two Rust Belt health systems addressed different struggles last week in trying to turn around their operations. Forum Health saw a deal to sell the system fall through, while Methodist Hospitals hired a firm to help...

Tenet, HealthSouth clear some legal woes.(The Week In Healthcare)(definitive agreement between Tenet Healthcare Corp and HEALTHSOUTH Corp)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Vince Galloro and Jessica Zigmond Two for-profit healthcare chains-Tenet Healthcare Corp. and HealthSouth Corp.-last week reached separate agreements to put more of their legal troubles behind them. Dallas-based Tenet and the...

On the Move.(NewsMakers)(briefs: new appointments)
October 2, 2006... HOSPITALS, SYSTEMS Tenet Healthcare Corp., Dallas, named Ron Bierman CEO of Hialeah (Fla.) Hospital. Bierman, 54, moves over from Tenet's Parkway Regional Medical Center, North Miami Beach, Fla., where he has been CEO for two years....

Turnover at Banner; Chief nursing officer installed at Good Samaritan.(NewsMakers)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Jessica Zigmond A spate of executive turnover at Banner Health is described by officials as based on a need to match skill sets to positions and providing a smooth transition period for employees of the Phoenix-based system. ...

CHW settlement ups discounts.(The Week In Healthcare)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Cinda Becker A state court last week issued a preliminary approval of a class-action lawsuit settlement nagging San Francisco-based Catholic Healthcare West, modifying the terms announced in June to provide the same benefits to all...

Deadline nears for Spirit awards.(The Week In Healthcare)
October 2, 2006... The Oct. 13 deadline is quickly approaching for the 2006 Modern Healthcare Spirit of Excellence Awards, co-sponsored by Sodexho Health Care Services. Our 14th annual awards program will honor healthcare organizations or employee teams in five...

Outliers; Asides & Insides.(National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington)
October 2, 2006... Unique art exhibit traces the stories behind scars Many don't think of scars as works of art, but Ted Meyer is working to change that. For about 10 years, the 47-year-old artist has been creating monoprints of scars and displaying the...

Norwalk's CMS hurdles; Interim head faces Part D, reimbursement woes.(The Week In Healthcare)(American Academy of Family Physicians)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Matthew DoBias Leslie Norwalk, the new acting administrator for the CMS, will step into two politically charged situations right out of the gate. Norwalk will have to steer the CMS through both the resolution of a battle over...

Ill. system loses tax appeal.(Late News)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Mark Taylor The director of the Illinois Department of Revenue rejected an appeal by Provena Health in a widely watched property-tax exemption case. In doing so, the director overruled an administrative law judge in the department...

Briefly.(Late News)(measures to improve long-term care)(The Minnesota Hospital Association unveiled a Web site )(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Quality initiative launched A public-private campaign to improve long-term care is asking nursing homes and other elder-care providers to pick three out of a list of eight quality and performance measures on which to focus their efforts....

Compensation up 6.6% for specialty docs: survey.(Physician Affairs)(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Melanie Evans Median compensation for specialty physicians rose to $316,620 in 2005, a one-year increase of 6.6% and a 20.3% jump since 2001, according to an annual survey by the Medical Group Management Association. Primary-care...

By The Numbers.(healthcare expenditures)(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... Total healthcare spending per privately insured individuals is rising at a slower rate for hospital inpatients and outpatients on a percentage basis, according to a recent study published in the Oct. 3 issue of Health Affairs.

SEIU's Stern generates media storm with new book.(Hoffa-Andy Stern, A Country That Works)
October 9, 2006... One of organized labor's most recognized names-no, it's not a Hoffa-Andy Stern is getting a surprising amount of media attention for his book, A Country That Works. In addition to a cross-country book tour, he appeared on Comedy Central's...

$1.5 billion for N.Y. providers; State will need to close some facilities to get savings.(The Week in Healthcare)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Vince Galloro A Medicaid waiver that HHS approved last week for New York state will create a bigger pie for providers but leave fewer of them holding out their plates for a slice. The federal-state agreement will pump an added...

IT bill no longer on the radar; Legislation takes back seat during Foley frenzy.(The Week in Healthcare)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Joseph Conn Widely watched federal legislation to promote healthcare information technology appears to be dying a slow death despite a last opportunity for passage in Congress' final session of the year in November. Prospects...

High-profile partners; Kaiser sees IHI collaboration raising patient safety, satisfaction-and its image.(Kaiser Permanente partering with Institute for Healthcare Improvement)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Andis Robeznieks Kaiser Permanente patients might feel more satisfied with the better and safer care they're reportedly receiving through a partnership with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, but Kaiser's roughly 13,000...

On the move...(News Makers)(new appointments)
October 9, 2006... ASSOCIATIONS Rick Kellerman, a family physician from Wichita, Kan., is the new president of the 94,000-member American Academy of Family Physicians, the nation's second-largest medical-specialty society. Kellerman took over the top post...

No risk, no reward; Fear of failure means many good ideas never come to fruition.(Howard Ferguson's The Edge)(Editorial)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Not a day goes by without a great idea suddenly and unequivocally sputtering. It's not that the thought lacks true inspiration; it's just that someone, somewhere, for some reason has shot it down, and the person...

Northeast.(Patient mortality in Pennsylvania hospitals)(Madeline Rhenisch applied for new health insurance program)(Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York, New York) celebrating the opening of research center)
October 9, 2006... HARRISBURG, Pa.-Patient mortality at Pennsylvania hospitals declined to 4.5% in 2005, from 4.6% in 2003, for 26 treatment categories being tracked, according to the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council. During the same three-year...

West.(Sidney Health Center started renovation project)(Maricopa Medical Center plans to build hospital)(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... SIDNEY, Mont.-The Sidney Health Center, a 25-bed critical access hospital with an attached 93-bed long-term-care facility, started a $20 million, 32-month renovation project. The project for the hospital will include remodeling two existing...

Study: Errors caused by 'multiple breakdowns'.(Physician Affairs)(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Andis Robeznieks Finding a single solution to prevent physicians' diagnostic errors is unlikely, according to a recently published study. Diagnostic errors that lead to patient harm appear to result from "the alignment of multiple...

Calif. gov signs pricing bill; Law aims to protect patients from aggressive billing.(Arnold Schwarzenegger)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Laura B. Benko In an apparent admission that California's voluntary approach to hospital-pricing reform hasn't worked, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill making the state the second in the nation with a law protecting...

Nurses ready to fight back; Ruling that full-time charge nurses can't belong to unions has labor leaders determined to work for ways around it.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Melanie Evans Healthcare employers facing aggressive organizing scored a victory last week with a federal labor ruling that blocks certain nurses from joining the rank-and-file. For hospitals and health systems, the new ground...

Safe harbors may cause waves; Not-for-profits may run into IRS problems on IT.(The Week in Healthcare)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Matthew DoBias An HHS rule that grants exceptions to federal fraud and abuse laws may be more of a bane than a boon for tax-exempt hospitals. Healthcare lawyers said the months' old HHS ruling, which was intended to speed the...

New Orleans' staff crunch.(medical personnel)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Jessica Zigmond Plans to open needed hospital beds in the New Orleans area may not go through unless the region's staffing conditions improve, said local healthcare leaders in response to a recent Government Accountability Office...

A REAL STEAL; Patients, providers face big liabilities as medical identity theft continues to rise, and in many cases it's an inside job.(Special Report)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Joseph Conn In 2001, William Winkenwerder, who was about to take over as assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, told attendees at a Boston healthcare information technology convention that "privacy and security are the...

CNA victory in Maine; Nurses union wins second vote outside California.(California Nurses Association)(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Melanie Evans A nurses union vying to expand its reach and clout nationally scored a victory in late September when a Maine union opted to join its ranks. The National Nurses Organizing Committee, the national organizing arm...

Deadline nears for Spirit awards.(The Week in Healthcare)
October 9, 2006... The Oct. 13 deadline is quickly approaching for the 2006 Modern Healthcare Spirit of Excellence Awards, co-sponsored by Sodexho Health Care Services. Our 14th annual awards program will honor healthcare organizations or employee teams in five...

South.(Tennessee approved Vanderbilt University Medical Center's expansion)(Carraway Methodist Medical Center filed for bankruptcy)(Baptist Health Care Corp. investing in renovation)
October 9, 2006... NASHVILLE-Tennessee regulators approved a certificate of need for 758-bed Vanderbilt University Medical Center to build a new bed tower, add 141 beds and complete other projects totaling $234.4 million. Vanderbilt's CON also allows it to add 14...

Late News.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services financing for contractors for preventing medicare fraud)(Cleveland Clinic Health System appointed Fred DeGrandis)(Integrated Healthcare Holdings appointed Ajay Meka as board member)
October 9, 2006... CMS watchdog needs watching The CMS has increased funding to help its contractors watch for Medicare fraud, but the agency needs to step up its efforts to make sure the money is well spent, the Government Accountability Office said in a...

Midwest.(Alegent Health's expansion)(Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center's new facility)(Cleveland Clinic Health System's hospital in abroad)
October 9, 2006... OMAHA, Neb.-Alegent Health, a nine-hospital, not-for-profit system sponsored by Catholic Health Initiatives and Immanuel Health Systems, announced that it will undertake a nearly $40 million expansion of its 100-bed Alegent Health Midlands...

One reprieve, strings necessary; Physician Medicare pay freeze must be paired with comprehensive reform.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Todd Sloane Assistant Managing Editor Op-Ed It looks like averting a Medicare physician payment cut isn't going to be the slam dunk it has been the past four years. This year's reprieve is entangled in a web of congressional...

Other Voices.(physicians and their practice)(Brief article)(Column)
October 9, 2006... "Coming out of medical school $100,000 or more in debt, most new physicians want to specialize in surgery and high-tech practices, where they can expect to be earning $300,000 to $400,000 annually after a few years. Primary-care physicians, by...

Briefly; E-mail interaction on slow rise: report.(Briefs)
October 16, 2006... Physician use of e-mail to communicate with patients "is growing slowly and remains low," despite strong interest from the public and among policymakers, the Center for Studying Health System Change said in a report last month. About 24% of...

Satisfaction firms needed for survey.(Modern Healthcare)(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... Modern Healthcare will be publishing its first survey of patient-satisfaction measurement firms later this year. For more information or to request an electronic copy of the questionnaire, please send an e-mail to Special Projects Editor Nicole...

Nominees sought for Trustee of the Year.(Information Edge)
October 16, 2006... Modern Healthcare is now accepting nominations for the annual Trustee of the Year competition. The awards, co-sponsored by executive search firm Witt/Kieffer, honor two outstanding trustees for their contributions to healthcare governance, one...

Objective observers? Fraud cases debunk belief that whistle-blowers are insiders.(The Week in Healthcare)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Mark Taylor Hospital executives worried about current or former employees becoming whistle-blowers in federal fraud lawsuits may be misdirecting their paranoia. One of the key whistle-blowers in the federal lawsuit against both...

Corrections & Clarifications.(Corrections)
October 16, 2006... A photo caption misidentified a New Orleans medical building ("New Orleans' staff crunch," Oct. 9, p. 14). The facility represented is one of the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center buildings.

The next big leap; Hospital ranking, P4P effort up the ante in bid to spur quality of care.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Suzanne Delbanco When the Leapfrog Group first bounded into the healthcare arena six years ago, the scrutiny we trained on hospitals was intense-at times celebratory, at times decidedly critical. We made headlines demanding...

Safety in numbers; Leapfrog lists top hospitals; some question sefulness.(The Week in Healthcare)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Andis Robeznieks An influential group backed by some of the nation's largest employers has tagged a small group of hospitals as the nation's best. The Leapfrog Group, a coalition of employers and healthcare purchasing...

An insurance checkup; Docs decide by patient coverage: study.(Physician Affairs)(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Jessica Zigmond Physicians consider their patients' insurance status when making clinical decisions and frequently alter their clinical management as a result, according to a recent study described in the September-October issue of...

AHIC still taking baby steps; But sources aren't surprised, cite slow, steady progress.(The Week in Healthcare)(American Health Information Community)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Joseph Conn A year ago, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt upped the ante in the federal effort to promote healthcare information technology by appointing 16 members to a new federal advisory panel he called the American Health Information...

Other Voices.(midterm elections )(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... "Two things are happening this month: Campaigns for the midterm elections are beginning to wrap up, and many elderly voters are hitting the `doughnut hole.' They don't like being in the doughnut hole, but whether they'll take it out on their...

High housing costs for workers inspire unique summit in Florida.(South Florida Hospital & Healthcare Association)
October 16, 2006... Why is a hospital association in sunny South Florida sponsoring a conference on affordable housing? Hoping to attract a few more sunbirds to patronize cash-strapped hospital members? Actually, it costs a small fortune to buy a home in the...

Controversial move; Leavitt seeks to tie genetic info to e-health records.(Mike Leavitt)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Joseph Conn A recent announcement by HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt that the department is working to combine healthcare information technology with the rapidly expanding field of genetics is likely to get a poor reception from...

Guilty in Rhode Island; Conviction of hospital executives in Roger Williams case strengthens the argument that stronger oversight needed.(Robert Urciuoli, Roger Williams Medical Center)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Joseph Mantone and Jessica Zigmond Guilty verdicts for two former executives from a hospital in Rhode Island continued to stoke the hunger for better oversight of hospitals in that state and across the country. Last week, a...

Unmasking our latest creations; They're alive: Modern Healthcare's new, improved Web-based products.(Opinions)
October 16, 2006... Byline: David Burda, Editor Here in the Modern Healthcare editorial laboratory, better known as our Chicago newsroom, we're always working on better ways to serve the business news and information needs of our readers. Late last week, we...

South.(Regional News)
October 16, 2006... TYLER, Texas-East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System last month announced the sale of the reference laboratory DRL Labs to Nashville-based clinical lab services provider American Esoteric Laboratories. The purchase price and terms...

Retention, governance targeted; More needs to be done to tackle problems: study.(The Week in Healthcare)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Melanie Evans A new survey says hospitals and health systems don't go nearly far enough when tackling two of healthcare's most nettlesome issues-nursing retention and good governance. Costly turnover and poor governance have...

Providers fight CMS' quality initiative; Controversial proposal would cut outpatient pay for not reporting inpatient data.(The Week in Healthcare)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Melanie Evans A CMS move to up the ante for hospitals not publicly releasing results under a federal quality initiative drew fire from industry officials last week, but won praise from employers pushing to see healthcare spending...

EHR adoption `pitifully behind'; Study: Only 10% of physicians use IT to its fullest.(electronic health record)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Matthew DoBias An industry struggling to push physicians toward greater use of electronic records was given more direction last week with some new benchmarks. How helpful the benchmarks will be in boosting adoption of those...

Midwest.(Regional News)(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... CLARKSVILLE, Ind.-A $20 million physician-owned hospital received planning commission approval after a federal judge last year overturned a protective county law. Construction on the 60-bed Kentuckiana Medical Center, a general acute-care...

Northeast.(health care)
October 16, 2006... PRINCETON, N.J.-New Jersey hospitals provided $1.1 billion in charity care to the state's poor and uninsured in 2005, nearly 45,000 free or reduced-cost health-related community programs and more than 500 programs that support the community...

South.(Regional News)(Children's Medical Center of Dallas venture)(tax on acute care hospitals)(partnership between Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children (Dallas, Texas) and Orthofix International N.V.)
October 16, 2006... DALLAS-Children's Medical Center of Dallas broke ground in late September on an eight-story, 309,401-square-foot tower that is expected to open in early 2009. Children's said the project will change the facade of the 93-year-old facility as the...

Responses needed to survey invitation.(Opinion)
October 16, 2006... Modern Healthcare has teamed up with the Commonwealth Fund for the next version of the fund's ongoing Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey. This online poll seeks the views of leading hospital system, physician and health plan executives, as well...

On the move...(News Makers)
October 16, 2006... HOSPITALS, SYSTEMS John Stobo will resign as president of the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, at the end of the medical school's current academic year, Aug. 31, 2007. Stobo, 65, says he is timing his departure so he can...

In for the long haul; PHRs, computer-assisted coding touted at AHIMA.(American Health Information Management Association, personal health records)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Joseph Conn Implementing and using health information technology at the trench level, where most of the 50,000 members of the American Health Information Management Association work, was again a major emphasis during the group's...

POLICE THYSELF; From GPOs and QIOs to not-for-profit hospitals, leaders hope a voluntary-compliance approach can stave off more regulation.(Special Report)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Cinda Becker In mid-September, the powerful Senate Finance Committee commanded top hospital industry executives to appear in a scene-reminiscent of the movie "Groundhog Day''-that keeps repeating throughout various sectors of the...

West.(Regional News)
October 16, 2006... PORTLAND, Ore.-Adventist Medical Center broke ground on a new $94 million outpatient pavilion adjacent to its 302-bed hospital to meet the needs of its growing patient population. The four-story, 181,000-square-foot tower will house an expanded...

Extraordinary encounters; Wherever you go, there are fascinating people ready to make your acquaintance.(Lauer's Letter)(Editorial)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Vice President-Publishing/Editorial Director As an inveterate traveler to all points of the compass, I have run into a world of interesting people. They have ranged from heads of corporations to people waiting on...

Ex-CEO pleads guilty; Medicare fraud alleged in nursing home case.(Robert Wachter of American Healthcare Management)(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Mark Taylor The former chief executive officer of American Healthcare Management, a now-defunct nursing home chain, pleaded guilty to criminal charges of healthcare fraud and conspiracy and failure to care for residents. In an...

Late News; Transparency won't affect choice.
October 16, 2006... Hospitals face significant public and political pressure to meet demands for price information, but the push for transparency won't cripple budgets anytime soon, said Moody's Investors Service, a New York ratings agency. Interest in the...

State revenue growth outstrips Medicaid cost rise; Experts say state gains are probably an anomaly as number of uninsured grows.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Matthew DoBias Good news last week on the Medicaid spending and funding front doesn't necessarily mean more will follow. A new report shows that state revenue increased at a faster pace than Medicaid spending for the first time...

Corrections & Clarifications.(Corrections)(Correction notice)
October 23, 2006... A photo caption in the Oct. 16 issue (p. 12) incorrectly identified the facility where a heart procedure was taking place. The physicians were preparing for a catheter ablation at Duke Heart Center, which is part of Duke University Medical...

By The Numbers.(health care costs for elderly )(Brief article)
October 23, 2006... Hospitalization costs for the elderly continue to rise as their numbers are expected to grow, according to a report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The elderly population is expected to grow to 71 million in 2030 from 35...

Shaking things up; MGMA award winner isn't afraid to tackle problems.(Physician Affairs)(electronic health-record system)
October 23, 2006... Byline: Jay Greene Hal Teitelbaum is not interested in maintaining the status quo. As managing partner and founder of Crystal Run Healthcare, Middletown, N.Y., Teitelbaum started the multispecialty group in 1994 to combat the growing...

HCA profits fall 14.3%; Vote on buyout offer set for Nov. 16.(financial report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
October 23, 2006... Byline: Vince Galloro HCA reported profits of $240 million for the third quarter, down 14.3% compared with profits of $280 million in the year-ago quarter, because of a rise in bad-debt expense and a drop in hospital-based outpatient...

The power of nice; Bullies are still in the workplace, but they're being outmanned by the kind.(Lauer's Letter)(Editorial)(Column)
October 23, 2006... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Vice President-Publishing/Editorial Director There are bullies everywhere; people who like to dominate others, either with force or with words, can be found in all walks of life. When I first entered high school...

IN SEARCH OF RESPECT; Levine speaks from experience when she advocates on behalf of family caregivers.(Carol Levine of United Hospital Fund of New York)
October 23, 2006... Byline: Cinda Becker Carol Levine is not the type of person most healthcare providers take precious time to welcome on their team in the rush to treat patients and discharge them. That's precisely her point. Although the number of...

Public sector buying spree; In a spate of Sunbelt deals, four publicly owned systems have bought five hospitals to adapt to market pressures.(Mergers and acquisitions)
October 23, 2006... Byline: Melanie Evans Opportunity knocks, even for healthcare's least likely buyers: public hospital systems. In a string of Sunbelt acquisitions unveiled since Aug. 31, four public systems in Florida and North Carolina have bought...

SO LONG, HOSPITALS; Senior execs- disillusioned with the hospital industry-are trading their jobs for medical group leadership posts.(Special Feature)
October 23, 2006... Byline: Michael Romano As a hospital administrator for most of his professional life, C. Kevin Goodwin was enjoying another career milestone in the spring of 2001, when he was promoted to vice president of clinical services at St. Joseph's...

Late News; Hospital profits still on rise.(financial report)(American Hospital Association)(funds to finance a replacement hospital)(Financial report)
October 23, 2006... Aggregate profits at community hospitals hit another all-time high last year at $28.9 billion, up from $26.3 billion in 2004, according to data released by the American Hospital Association. The aggregate profit margin at the nation's 4,936...