A union representing 2,300 workers at Rhode Island Hospital has announced that it has ratified a labor contract that provides pay raises and protects against layoffs through 2013. Teamsters Local 251, which includes maintenance workers and nonclinical support staff, is the largest in the Lifespan hospital network. In March, Lifespan announced that top administrators were taking pay cuts and that it was seeking "an across-the-board, one-time elimination of pay increases" for its employees.
In the wake of controversy over its previous decision not to have the bulk of its hospitals belong to the health insurance network for U.S. military personnel, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has announced that it is joining the Tricare Network.
UPMC said it is formalizing "the existing practice of treating military personnel and their families throughout its system" who are insured through the Tricare Network, which is administered in the north region of the country by Health Net Federal Services LLC.
China has announced it will extend medical services to all its citizens by 2020, taking aim at a healthcare system long derided as creaking and inadequate. The reforms aim to boost funding and oversight to provide "safe, effective, convenient and affordable" health services for all 1.3 billion citizens, according to a plan approved by the State Council, China's Cabinet. Under the reforms, hospitals and clinics in the poor countryside and less developed cities would be improved and the price of essential medicines used by public hospitals and clinics would be capped.
President Obama's road show on healthcare reform is coming to California on April 6. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire will co-moderate in Los Angeles for the event that will link participants from Oakland, San Diego, and Clovis (Fresno County) via satellite.
After participating in a recent White House healthcare summit, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is returning to New Hampshire to hear more from those on the front lines of the issue. Shaheen will meet with healthcare advocates and providers to discuss rising healthcare costs and the need for comprehensive healthcare reform.
California health inspectors have fined Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center $560 for violating state workplace rules, a penalty assessed after investigators confirmed employee complaints that helicopter exhaust fumes were entering the hospital's ventilation system from the rooftop landing pad. The fine by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health stemmed from a January inspection of the $1.02-billion facility, which opened its doors in November.