The Lindner Center of HOPE will open in August 2008 funded by a $39 million gift from the Lindner family, which will help complete the new building in Mason. That up-front money also will help recruit doctors and research staff. The center is being designed from scratch, giving organizers plenty of latitude to create what they hope will be a national model for mental healthcare.
A study conducted by Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center shows that many children hospitalized for influenza had already been in the hospital at least once before during a flu season, which would have been a good time to vaccinate them against the virus. The national study, published in the February 2008 issue of Pediatrics, suggests that providing flu shots for children who happen to be in the hospital during flu-vaccine season could help prevent more hospitalizations and complications from the flu.
Doctors keep licenses despite lawsuits, sexual assaults, even patient deaths thanks to Wisconsin's lax system of oversight that favors doctors over patients. A Journal Sentinel review of five years' worth of disciplinary action found that the board is slow to look into complaints, keeps many of its investigations secret and rarely imposes serious discipline, even when patients die.
Patients admitted to the top-rated hospitals in the United States have an average 27 percent lower risk of dying than patients admitted to other U.S. hospitals, according to a study by an independent healthcare ratings organization. The analysis also found that patients who have surgery at the top-rated hospitals have an average 5 percent lower risk of complications during their hospital stay.
One in five District residents has no regular source of healthcare, and rising rates of hospital visits suggest declining access to doctors and community clinics, according to the most comprehensive report ever of D.C. health issues. The report looked at data on chronic disease, insurance, hospital capacity and emergency services and found much wanting, concluded the Rand Corp., the nonprofit research organization that the D.C. Council commissioned to help the city move forward.
Thousands of Iraq war veterans who could have suffered traumatic brain injury may be getting unnecessary or inadequate healthcare because Veterans Affairs officials have yet to determine whether their initial screening tests are reliable. A draft report by the Government Accountability Office reviews nine VA medical centers and found that months after former VA Secretary Jim Nicholson in April promoted new screenings for brain injury and pledged personal responsibility in seeing them through, the department was still struggling to determine how to best gauge the clinical accuracy of its screenings. In the report, the VA also acknowledged problems with follow-up appointments after veterans initially tested positive under the VA's screening tool. One medical center reported 27 cases in which their doctors failed to notify patients for additional evaluation because of glitches in the computerized program.