Loyola University Health System is interested in acquiring Gottlieb Health Resources of Melrose Park, IL, for $100 million, and is considering maintaining the 46-year-old institution as a general purpose hospital. Loyola operates a major hospital and medical center in Maywood, IL, with satellite clinics and medical services around suburban Chicago.
Brockton (MA) Hospital has gone regional, creating a system of primary care physicians and medical centers to form a new, larger healthcare provider. The hospital and its parent company, Brockton Hospital Corp., will now be known as Signature Healthcare.
The Washington, DC, City Council is scheduled to vote on a bill that would make DC the first jurisdiction in the country to license pharmaceutical sales representatives. One council members say the move would help protect doctors and patients from disreputable agents who help drive up the costs of prescription drugs.
Greater Southeast Community Hospital in Washington, DC, had its national accreditation yanked because of the overwhelming problems that pushed the facility close to collapse for much of 2007. Eric Rieseberg, president of Greater Southeast ownwer Specialty Hospitals of America, said he does not expect reimbursement from Medicare or Medicaid to be at risk.
As Congress receives a push to stave off a 10 percent cut in the fees Medicare pays doctors has revived political interest in another thorny issue. Lawmakers who previously have sought tighter scrutiny of physician-owned specialty hospitals say there is a small chance that Congress will address the issue as part of the fee cut legislation.
With health reform in the headlines and countless families having their own health crises, students are pouring into health policy classes in economics, political science, history, and public health departments. Many students are also planning on making health policy their career.