The first dollars are now trickling in for construction of St. Bernard Parish's first post-Katrina hospital. Out of a $58 million cost estimate for the planned 40-bed hospital, St. Bernard's hospital service district now has an initial $2 million to move forward with preliminary designs on a 10-acre plot of land. Groundbreaking on the project is still months away, as local officials await an environmental assessment of the site. An archaeological survey may also be required because of the project's proximity to a historic site.
Wayne State University is considering a plan to transfer 10 faculty physician groups to the Detroit Medical Center as part of a larger restructuring that would set up a nonprofit organization under the DMC. The proposal seeks to overhaul the long-term partnership between the two institutions, giving the DMC full responsibility for the clinical programs and leaving the medical school to oversee research and training.
New doctors who choose enter lower-paying primary-care positions may get a small gift from Indiana lawmakers under a bill that proposes up to $5,000 a year in loan reimbursement. The bill's author, Sen. Vi Simpson, D-Bloomington, acknowledged the amount was small compared to the average medical school debt, but she hoped it would entice some graduates to practice in Indiana once they finish school.
President Obama's 2010 budget proposes Medicare imaging preauthorization as one source of savings to support the new federal healthcare reserve fund, says Sg2 analyst Henry Soch. According to budget documents, over the next 10 years prior authorization by radiology benefit managers would contribute $260 million—or 4/100 of a percent—of the $634 billion Obama wants to generate for the reserve.
Indiana ranks dead last among states in getting federal funds to prevent disease and injuries, leaving it more vulnerable to higher healthcare costs at a time when the recession has cut state revenues, according to a report. Indiana collected just $12.74 per person last year from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for programs to inhibit disease and prevention programs, the nonprofit Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said in the report.
Children's Hospital Boston wants to move forward with the expansion of its main patient building by the end of the year. The hospital has notified city officials of a new plan that would add space for the hospital's radiology and operating departments, and room for 30 new patient beds.