Gene Bassett, chief operating officer of Florida-based Jackson Health System, will become the interim chief executive of the public hospital system when Marvin O'Quinn steps down, the Public Health Trust announced. Earlier in October, O'Quinn announced plans to resign, effective Dec. 31, for an executive position with Catholic Healthcare West in San Francisco. Bassett will begin his new position starting Jan. 1.
Humana investors had expected that the company's Medicare business would be strong, but rising costs caused the insurance provider to lower its guidance. Further disappointing investors was the company's lower earnings numbers for the quarter due to large losses on investments.
An Indianapolis company has invented a covering that reduces the potential for colonoscopies to spread infection, and it now is being used or tested by 100 hospitals across the country. The drapes are attractive to medical facilities that now are faced with Medicare and other insurers no longer paying for treatment of a preventable infection. As word has spread, sales have soared: The 2-year-old company saw a 300% increase in sales last quarter.
Cobb County, GA, residents who sued to stop the development of a large church and small hospital near Lake Allatoona have won an important procedural battle. The Georgia Supreme Court's unanimous ruling overturns a decision by a Cobb Superior Court judge that dismissed a lawsuit contesting plans for a 65-acre tract of land. WellStar Health System proposes building doctors' offices, a diagnostic and testing center, and, eventually, a hospital on the site.
Nashville-based Baptist Hospital's nearly $10 million expansion of its neonatal intensive care unit is almost complete, and the new unit will be named the Beaman Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The name recognizes the lead gift from the Beaman family toward the $5 million fundraising campaign. The neonatal intensive care unit project is part of a an overall obstetrics department expansion, and the hospital also has increased the number of physicians on the medical staff who are focused on high-risk deliveries.
The new on-site employee medical clinic at Walt Disney World features a unique atmosphere while offering a wide range of healthcare services and resources, from primary care doctors and nurses to lab facilities and a full-service pharmacy. Officials there hope to attract employees and their family members who rarely seek healthcare.