Evanston Northwestern Healthcare will acquire Rush North Shore Medical Center in Skokie, IL, for $95 million. The merger will expand Evanston's brand to a fourth facility in Chicago's north suburbs. The deal, which still faces federal and state regulatory approvals, calls for Evanston Northwestern to buy the hospital and related assets for $85 million and allocate an additional $10 million to set up a community foundation that serves various health needs in Skokie and surrounding communities.
Doctors at Beverly (MA) Hospital have taken a vote of no confidence in its chief executive, Stephen R. Laverty, citing frustration with his management. The move was prompted by Laverty's alleged lack of communication and support in recent years, said several doctors. The expression of dissatisfaction isn't binding and does not require a response, but puts pressure on Laverty and the board to make changes and improve relations with doctors.
An international panel of heart specialists has recommended people with implanted heart devices receive closer follow-up care. The guidelines spell out who should do what to ensure good care, and tackles ethical dilemmas such as when to turn off a device and let a patient die. The guidelines also endorse new wireless technology that lets doctors check devices remotely while a patient is at home.
The 32 students entering the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University will have their tuition covered by the Clinic. The program will be funded by Cleveland Clinic's endowment and hospital operations. The aim is to free students from the feeling that they have to choose high-paying specialties to pay off medical school debt, rather than going into academic and research oriented medicine, according to Clinic representatives. Other medical schools have already greatly reduced their tuition costs, freeing up students who may want to practice in fields that are lower-paying but greatly needed.
Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care has opened a facility in Silver Spring, MD, that will offer a full range of healthcare services to residents in Montgomery and Prince George counties, regardless of their ability to pay or whether they have insurance. Services at the 3,600-square-foot facility will encompass prenatal care, pediatric and adolescent health, adult health, and obstetrical and gynecological care. Mary's Center partnered with Washington Adventist Hospital to open the facility.
Maryland regulators have approved a 4.5% increase in the prices hospitals can charge their patients. Maryland hospital executives said, however, that while the rate increase should help curb recent drops in hospitals' profits, the rising costs of labor, supplies and energy combined with the nationwide credit crunch will still hit the institutions' bottom lines. The hospitals could begin charging patients and insurers more for health services by July 1, 2008.