The Georgia Department of Community Health has awarded a $5.2 million contract to the IBM Corp. to build a Web site for state consumers in an effort to help them make more informed healthcare decisions. The Web site, scheduled to go online in October, will offer information about hospitals and where various procedures are performed. The Web site will also permit the comparison of hospitals in terms of cost, quality, customer service scores, and other related information.
Cato T. Laurencin, MD, has been tapped by the University of Connecticut to head its troubled health center in Farmington, CT. Lurencin, an orthopedic surgeon is currently chairman of orthopedics at the University of Virginia, and will start Aug. 11 as the university's vice president for health affairs at the UConn Health Center and dean of the UConn medical school. The UConn Health Center now faces a $22 million deficit and is seeking help from the state to stay afloat while it negotiates a more permanent solution with nearby hospitals.
St. Francis Hospital & Health Center in Blue Island, IL, will become MetroSouth Medical Center after a "transfer of ownership" to a for-profit entity known as MSMC Investors and its affiliate, Transition Healthcare Co. The Catholic-owned, nonprofit St. Francis was threatened with closing after nearly 30 hospital operators and investment firms said they could not take on the hospital's myriad problems such as an increase in uninsured patients. A financial backer said the new deal calls for investing $30 million in new hospital equipment and facilities.
The Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector, the authority overseeing the Massachusetts healthcare law, is exploring ways to cover an additional 30,000 uninsured residents. In a study, the agency found that between 30,000 and 40,000 Massachusetts residents are offered health insurance coverage by their employers, but earn less than three times the federal poverty level and cannot afford the premiums. Covering that group is important to the connector's mission of ensuring that every resident has health insurance, said agency representatives.
The Bush administration has proposed a crack down on the aggressive marketing of private Medicare insurance plans by outlawing unsolicited visits and telephone calls to beneficiaries, regulating commissions paid to sales agents, and increasing the fines that could be imposed on insurers. Medicare beneficiaries and state officials have complained that high-pressure sales tactics led some people to sign up for unsuitable policies. After reviewing public comments on the issue, federal officials intend to implement final rules before the marketing of plans for 2009 begins in October.
Jeanette, PA-based Mercy Jeannette Hospital has finalized its sale to Excela Health in an effort to stem losses while continuing to provide local hospital care and hundreds of jobs to the area. The hospital, which was renamed Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital at Jeannette, lost $6.5 million from its operations last year. Some services are moving to other Excela facilities, but Mercy Jeannette will continue providing emergency care; inpatient care, and advanced diagnostics.
North Carolina regulators have rejected plans by WakeMed and Rex Healthcare to continue building satellite campuses in rapidly growing sections of Wake County. The proposals would have brought urgent care centers and other services to the North Carolina communities of North Raleigh, Cary, Holly Springs and Garner. State analysts questioned hospital officials' projections that involve market share and the rate at which services would be used. They also suggested that the areas where the construction was proposed were already adequately served.
Smithfield, NC-based Johnston Memorial Hospital has received approval for a $137 million government-backed loan to finance its expansion plans. The nonprofit hospital plans to expand its Smithfield facility and build a new medical center in Clayton. The hospital expects to break ground this summer on a $31 million outpatient center and emergency room in Clayton, and plans to erect a five-story, 110-bed tower and to renovate its 56-year-old core building in Smithfield.
More than 2% of all doctors practicing in New York state in 2007 landed on the state medical board's watch list due to problems such as substance abuse, mental health concerns or their professional conduct. The data, released by the Federation of State Medical Boards, shows that the percentage of doctors being monitored in New York was twice the national average and seventh highest among all states.
For months, Harris Methodist Fort Worth (TX) Hospital has been forced to turn away emergency patients with brain and spine injuries because of a shortage of neurosurgeons. The hospital, which is a level 2 trauma center, has just four neurosurgeons available to treat trauma cases and the problem could escalate if several key physicians follow through on threats to leave. As a result of the shortage, crews routinely are told to take victims of car wrecks and falls and others with serious neurological injuries to the publicly funded John Peter Smith Hospital a few blocks away.
