Rhode Island's largest hospital system, Lifespan, was officially renamed Brown University Health this week. The change comes as part of expanded affiliation agreements and a multi-million dollar annual investment from Brown. The system employs more than 17,000 workers and operates more than 1,620 patient care offices. The planned name change was first announced in June. The University and Brown Health have emphasized that the two organizations will remain independent. 'The name change reflects a deeper alignment between Brown University Health's clinical care and Brown University's academic and research focus,' a university spokesman says.
CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch has stepped down with company shares down 19% this year and the national drugstore chain struggling. Lynch will be replaced by David Joyner, who will attempt to steer the health care giant through a worsening environment of rising medical costs. CVS cut its financial expectations for the third time in August with all major pharmacy chains attempting to navigate a drastically changed landscape, facing competition online and elsewhere. Joyner, who will also join the company’s board, most recently served as executive vice president of CVS Health, and president of CVS Caremark.
Walgreens is dramatically shrinking its retail footprint and revamping its front-of-store product mix in a bid to fend off competition from online and other rivals who've upended the pharmacy business. The moves announced on Tuesday reflect big chain pharmacies' challenge to revive their core businesses amid sluggish demand, workforce crunches and shrinking prescription payments. And it's not just Walgreens. After years of industry growth, CVS is eyeing a breakup of its massive business, and Rite Aid recently emerged from bankruptcy after shedding many of its locations. Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth said on Tuesday the company is focused on simplifying and focusing the business, and sees both its stores and its digital channels as central to its strategy.
The former CEO of Loretto Hospital has been named in a new indictment by federal prosecutors for his alleged role in a $15 million embezzlement scheme. George Miller, 73, faces a count of conspiracy to defraud in a superseding indictment filed in federal court in Chicago. He is the fourth person named in an alleged fraud scheme in which the small West Side hospital was billed for goods and services it had not received between 2018 and 2022. Miller left Loretto as CEO and president in 2022 under a cloud of allegations of financial mismanagement that stemmed from earlier allegations he abused his access to COVID-19 vaccinations at a time when supplies were limited.
Plans for two hospital construction projects in Boston took a step forward this month with approvals from the city's planning department. The board approved a 10-year institutional master plan for Franciscan Children's Hospital, which include replacing six current buildings with one new clinical building at 30 Warren St. The older buildings will be demolished in phases during the project. Public benefits of the project will include new crosswalks, wider sidewalks, landscaping, public art installations and a new public open space including a rain garden. Additionally, the board approved institutional master plans for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which include their joint plans to build a new cancer hospital in the Longwood Medical Area.
UPMC Health Plan has named Mary Beth Jenkins as its new CEO, effective Jan. 1. Jenkins will also assume the role of president of UPMC Insurance Services Division and become an executive vice president of UPMC. She replaces the current president and CEO, Diane Holder, a 40 year veteran of UPMC, who is retiring at the end of the year. Jenkins, the current COO, also has spent nearly her entire career with UPMC Health Plan.