Caritas Christi Health Care, the ailing hospital chain owned by the Archdiocese of Boston, is expected to hire Ralph de la Torre as chief executive. De la Torre is the chief of cardiac surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and has built Beth Israel's Cardiovascular Institute into a thriving business within the hospital. De la Torre said he is interested in developing cardiac care at the Caritas Christi system, as well as possible relationships with Beth Israel Deaconess.
As the shortage of primary-care physicians mounts, more than 200 nursing schools have established or plan to launch doctorate of nursing practice programs to equip graduates with skills the schools say are equivalent to primary-care physicians. Proponents say the two-year programs create a "hybrid practitioner" with more skills, knowledge and training than a nurse practitioner with a master's degree. But some physician groups warn that the trend could confuse patients and jeopardize care.
Doctors and health insurers have announced they will develop a national set of standards to measure physician performance. The agreement to develop the standards represents a significant compromise between major physician groups and the nation's health insurers. Insurers say they will abide by the standards and rank doctors on the basis of both the cost and quality of care they provide to their patients. The insurers also say they will allow independent parties to review their rankings.
New York state lawmakers have passed the first piece of New York's budget that includes a healthcare package for the state. The legislation passed includes a provision to recalculate the formula the state uses to reimburse hospitals for Medicaid expenses. The plan did run into resistance from hospital groups, labor unions and the Senate. While the plan included new reimbursement rates, it contained the caveat that the rates would expire after the first year and require reauthorization by the Legislature.
New York City Council speaker Christine C. Quinn said that she opposes the demolition of hospital buildings that is part of a development proposal for St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan. Quinn said that although she sees the need for a new state-of-the-art hospital, the application to demolish the eight buildings would have an "unfortunate" impact on the neighborhood. Some neighborhood residents agree, saying the large residential and hospital towers that are also part of the plan would blight the area.
HCA Midwest has lived up to many of the promises it made when it purchased the 12-hospital Health Midwest system five years ago and became Kansas City's market leader. The deal represented the largest conversion of nonprofit assets to for-profit status in U.S. history. HCA Midwest is now the operator of 10 area hospitals, and at the time of the purchase HCA promised $450 million in capital outlays over five years. It has exceeded that and spent about $600 million so far.
During a visit to St. Mary's Medical Center, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said Florida's 3.8 million uninsured residents could have the option to purchase low-cost, low-coverage and state-approved health plans from private insurance companies. The state Legislature has been slow to debate the proposal, however, despite it being the governor's top 2008 legislative initiative. Crist noted during the visit that St. Mary's alone paid $102 million in uncompensated care last year.
Now that its sale to Holy Cross Hospital has been finalized, Oakland Park, FL-based North Ridge Medical Center is phasing out daily operations. All emergency rescue units already are currently being redirected from to Holy Cross, which is about 2 miles away from the North Ridge Campus. Holy Cross purchased the 332-bed hospital from Tenet Healthcare Corp. for about $20 million. North Ridge is scheduled to be empty by the end of July 2008, but current and scheduled patients will still be treated there.
Hospital owner and operator Health Management Associates Inc. has sold a 27 percent stake in seven of its hospitals in North and South Carolina to Novant Health for $300 million. Health Management will use the deal's proceeds for general corporate purposes. The company expects net after-tax proceeds greater than 90 percent of the purchase price. Health Management and Novant have formed a joint venture to share responsibilities in corporate operations of the seven hospitals, but Health Management will continue to manage the facilities.
The Philippine Department of Health will ban commercial sales of kidneys of the Filipinos to foreigners under the guise of medical tourism. The Department has asked hospitals to strictly follow the existing rules on kidney donation and transplantation that limit to 10 percent the number of foreign transplant patients. The government will investigate and punish members of the medical community who promote commercial organ donation and violate the rules, said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
