Tenet has spent half a decade trying to recover from past scandals that hurt its performance in a brutal industry environment. But the company finally showed some encouraging signs of life that, if sustained, could signal a bona fide turnaround.
Bombarded by complaints from patients and staffers, Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami said it may rescind its doubling of its parking fees that began on the first of the year. The hospital cited major capital needs as the main reason for the rate increases. The hospital provided approximately a half-billion dollars' worth of charity care in 2007.
Maui (HI) Memorial Medical Center will receive a total of $130 million from investment banking firm JPMorgan Chase in a new private funding partnership. The money will be used for working capital and pre-development costs of a new heart, brain and vascular tower.
Lawrenceville-based Gwinnett Medical Center has applied to Georgia health planners for approval to begin an open-heart surgery program. According to Georgia law, the hospital must obtain a certificate of need from the Department of Community Health before it can proceed with plans for the center, which would be the only open-heart surgery center in its county.
The financially failing Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta has been dealt a body blow, as Fulton County has voted to cut $24 million from the medical center's 2007 funding level. Grady officials say the reduction could cut into patient services and staffing at a medical center already slashed to the bone and in danger of losing its accreditation.
After state regulators cleared the way for store-based medical clinics, CVS Corp. said it plans to open more than two dozen inside Massachusetts drugstores in 2008. With the ruling in place, other pharmacy chains and retail stores, as well as hospitals and community health centers, could also open limited service clinics. The council did insist on strict patient safety provisions and required that each clinic be individually licensed by state overseers.