A former retail building in Whitefish Bay's business district would be converted into a medical clinic under a new proposal by Aurora Health Care. Aurora wants to renovate the building to house a clinic clinic, with five to six doctors that would mainly serve patients who live in Whitefish Bay. Aurora Advanced Health Care has a larger facility about 4 miles away from the clinic's proposed site.
Mark D. Shugarman, a veteran hospital administrator and former head of Mercy Hospital Clermont in Batavia, OH, was been named the new president and chief executive of Floyd Memorial Hospital in New Albany, IN. He will replace Bryant R. Hanson, who was hospital CEO for 17 years before announcing his retirement.
The Detroit Medical Center plans to reduce payments to the Wayne State University School of Medicine by $12 million a year in a dispute over whether the medical center pays doctors too much to treat poor patients. Under a contract, DMC agreed to give WSU $19,167,435 a year for 3 1/2 years for care of indigent patients. The money is primarily used to help pay salaries of WSU doctors who treat indigent DMC patients.
Birmingham, AL-based Children's Health System has achieved "magnet recognition" from the American Nurses Credential Center. Children's is only the second hospital in Alabama to earn the distinction, with UAB Hospital achieving magnet status in 2002. The hospital spent four years preparing for the program and had an extensive site visit last year for officials with the national nurse organization to review the hospital's nursing practices.
Accused of fraud and perjury, with court documents indicating he suffered from memory lapses that were getting worse, heart surgeon Alex Zakharia promised to retire and surrender his Florida medical license by Dec. 31, 2007. Five weeks after the deadline, the 70-year-old doctor was still practicing at his South Miami office. Zakharia has also renewed his lawsuit against Cedars Medical Center, which suspended him in November 2006 following the deaths of several patients, court documents show. The doctor is accusing the hospital of "malicious" and "bad faith" conduct.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said the city will make more than $18 million in midyear cuts as it faces a $233 million budget deficit for the fiscal year starting July 1. As a result of the cutbacks, some surgeries at San Francisco General Hospital could be delayed.
More people survive major heart attacks with fewer problems if doctors use a mini-vacuum to clear out an artery blockage instead of pushing it aside to restore blood flow, according to a Dutch study. The study is the largest to date to show that suctioning out the clot before implanting a stent has benefits, and could lead to wider use in heart attack treatment.
Nashville-based hospital chain HCA Inc. has reported a nearly 128 percent increase in its fourth-quarter net income as gains from sales of facilities and on investments helped to offset higher interest costs. HCA representatives said the chain gained $139 million from sales of facilities and $2 million on investments. The company also got 6.6 percent more in revenue per patient, although admissions at hospitals opened at least a year fell by a percent.
University Hospitals has announced a 10-year expansion plan that includes a new children's hospital and major renovations at the main hospital in Iowa City. The plan would cost $700 million to $850 million, and funding would come from hospital revenues and private donations. The aging hospital's facilities need to be updated, especially as patient admissions increase and patient needs become more complex, University officials said.
In what doctors term an emerging health crisis, hundreds of women with worrisome symptoms are waiting for weeks or months to see gynecologists in the Cook County, IL, health system. Officials blamed the backlog on budget cuts and staff reductions, and are calling on the Cook County Board to restore funding to the health system.
