Medical blog » Hospital

Hospital president named Partners CEO

admin — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 02:12:06 +0000

Dr. Gary L. Gottlieb, the president of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, will become chief executive of Partners HealthCare System Inc. at the end of the year, when Dr. James J. Mongan retires from the position.
Partners’ board of directors yesterday unanimously selected Gottlieb, 53, ending five months of speculation. In September, Partners said Mongan would retire at the end of 2009 and named Gottlieb and three other system executives as finalists for his job. A search committee also evaluated outside candidates.
In an interview, Gottlieb said he was “ecstatic.”
“Being a physician is an enormous privilege, and in being a hospital manager, the size of the opportunity grows,” he said. “In the role that I have at the Brigham, I’m facilitating the work of many people who are more talented than I am. As the head of Partners, that opportunity multiplies.”
The post is one of the best-paid and most visible jobs in medicine in the country. Mongan, 67, earned about $2 million in the year ended Sept. 30, 2007, the most recent for which compensation has been reported.
Mongan, former president of Massachusetts General Hospital – another Partners hospital – became chief executive of Partners in 2003. Since then, the company has grown significantly and adopted electronic medical records for its doctors. It is widely seen as one of the most successful “integrated medical systems,” meaning a network that can provide many types of treatment, not just hospital care.
Mongan has also played a public role guiding healthcare policy in the state and nationally. He helped craft the Massachusetts healthcare reform law that has extended medical coverage to more than 400,000 residents, and has played a prominent role in policy debates in Washington, D.C. When he retires, he will also step down from Partners’ board of directors.
Jack Connors Jr., the chairman of the Partners board, said, “The four inside candidates were each superior to the outside candidates. We’ve got some great bench strength. We’re hopeful the three alternate candidates stay with us as well.”
Many members of the healthcare community favored Gottlieb because he came from Brigham and Women’s. Mongan and his predecessor as Partners chief executive, Dr. Samuel Thier, both came from Mass. General, the other founding facility of the Partners group.
While Gottlieb’s selection “creates a certain symmetry,” Connors said, it wasn’t a factor in the search.
The decision comes at a crucial time for Partners. The system, formed in 1994 by the Brigham and Mass. General, has grown to become a potent force throughout healthcare in Eastern Massachusetts. It provides about one-quarter of inpatient treatment in Greater Boston, and has expanded to include Newton-Wellesley Hospital, North Shore Medical Center in Salem, Faulkner Hospital in Boston, and McLean Hospital in Belmont.
Partners is the largest private employer in the state, with 50,000 employees. Its growth has spurred complaints from community hospitals that Partners has used its financial resources to expand aggressively and lure patients for lucrative procedures, leaving the smaller hospitals to treat patients with government health insurance and conditions that do not pay as well.
Meantime, Partners is facing an inquiry by Attorney General Martha Coakley. Last month, Coakley issued civil requests for information to Partners and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts following a Globe Spotlight story in December that showed the two healthcare giants had entered into a contract that was potentially anticompetitive.
Gottlieb, a psychiatrist, had a national reputation for his work in geriatric mental health when he was recruited by Partners in 1998 from the University of Pennsylvania. He became head of Partners’ psychiatric services, and served as interim head of North Shore Medical Center.
He became president of Brigham and Women’s in 1992. He has also served as cochair of the Mayor’s Task Force to Eliminate Health Disparities, and is the chairman of the Private Industry Council, a civic group that seeks to build the healthcare workforce for Boston.
“I hope I’ve made the Brigham more effective in delivering care, created a more gifted workforce that’s better enabled to do their jobs, and made the Brigham more of a corporate citizen in our communities,” Gottlieb said.
He acknowledged that the rising costs of healthcare are a challenge, saying preventive care, and improved access to treatment that can eliminate the need for costly emergency care can help slow increases.
“Improved access to care is critical,” Gottlieb said.
.

Mentally ill killer sent to mental hospital

admin — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:08:26 +0000

MONROE — A mentally ill convicted killer has been temporarily committed to Western State Hospital after serving 20 years in the Special Offender Unit of the state prison at Monroe.
The Department of Corrections says Michael McFarland, who is classified by the state as dangerously mentally ill, was referred Wednesday for civil commitment at the mental hospital for 72 hours.
Twenty years ago, McFarland pleaded guilty to stabbing his mother to death in her Kennewick home.
Corrections spokesman Chad Lewis says the Pierce County Superior Court will consider McFarland’s case Monday and decide whether to commit him for 14 more days, or release him to community supervision in Kitsap County. After the 14 days, the process could be repeated for a 90-day commitment. After that, McFarland could be recommitted every 180 days.

Las Vegas hospital renegotiating contracts to save

admin — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:47:45 +0000

LAS VEGAS—University Medical Center officials are expected to present new contracts with medical groups and health care providers that would save Clark County about $1.3 million per year.
The hospital has been renegotiating the contracts to help ease its $39 million in debt.
Hospital officials say the new contracts would save the hospital $9.5 million over the lives of the contracts, between 4 percent and 20 percent on each arrangement.
UMC spokesman Rick Plummer says Clark County commissioners Rory Reid and Lawrence Weekly helped in the contract negotiations.
Officials say the hospital spends $37 million per year on roughly 20 contracts.
The contracts include groups that provide HIV services, anesthesia, heart and vascular services, lung specialists and urology services, among others.
Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal,

Missouri Hospital Association CEO to retire

admin — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:55:57 +0000

After 11 years at the helm, Marc Smith, president and chief executive of the
, announced his retirement Thursday.
Smith will step down Jan. 4, 2010, after serving as the president and CEO of MHA and its affiliated companies since January 1998.
, an affiliation of the Kansas and Missouri hospital associations, since 1999.
Smith led the association to publish the first statewide report on hospital quality in 2004, ahead of mandated reporting by the
.
Before joining MHA, Smith served as the executive director and CEO of the
. He also led the public policy and strategic planning functions of
in St. Louis. The Missouri Hospital Association is a nonprofit in Jefferson City that represents 152 Missouri hospitals.

Dance raises $159K for Riley hospital

admin — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 03:54:36 +0000

$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
$70,000
$80,000
$90,000
$100,000
$125,000
$150,000
$175,000
$200,000
$225,000
$250,000
$275,000
$300,000
$325,000
$350,000
$400,000
$450,000
$500,000
$550,000
$600,000
$650,000
$700,000
$750,000
$800,000
$850,000
$900,000
$950,000
$1,000,000
$1,500,000
$2,000,000
$3,000,000
$3,500,000
$4,000,000
$5,000,000
$6,000,000
$7,000,000
$8,000,000
$9,000,000
$10,000,000
$11,000,000
$12,000,000
$13,000,000
$14,000,000
$15,000,000
$16,000,000
$17,000,000
$18,000,000
$19,000,000
$20,000,000
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
$70,000
$80,000
$90,000
$100,000
$125,000
$150,000
$175,000
$200,000
$225,000
$250,000
$275,000
$300,000
$325,000
$350,000
$400,000
$450,000
$500,000
$550,000
$600,000
$650,000
$700,000
$750,000
$800,000
$850,000
$900,000
$950,000
$1,000,000
$1,500,000
$2,000,000
$3,000,000
$3,500,000
$4,000,000
$5,000,000
$6,000,000
$7,000,000
$8,000,000
$9,000,000
$10,000,000
$11,000,000
$12,000,000
$13,000,000
$14,000,000
$15,000,000
$16,000,000
$17,000,000
$18,000,000
$19,000,000
$20,000,000

Kennewick General Hospital Gets Certificate of Need For Expansion

admin — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 06:11:40 +0000

KENNEWICK, Wash.– Kennewick General Hospital is one step closer to a future expansion.
The hospital got its certificate of need approved from the state. Now the hospital can apply for a loan from the Federal Housing Administration for more funding.
KGH leaders plan to build a new facility on the 40 acres of land known as the Southridge campus. The hospital’s CEO says having a new facility will also help our local job market.
“We’ll be creating a lot of construction jobs during the construction timeline but we’ve also estimated roughly about 100 new jobs fairly quickly will be created by the new project,” said Glen Marshall, Kennewick General Hospital CEO.
Other plans to raise money for the $113 project include taking money from the hospital’s cash reserves, selling property, and fundraising through the KGH foundation.

Arlington 3-month-old dies in hospital; father already faced child …

admin — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 20:27:49 +0000

Akron, OH
Albuquerque, NM
Anaheim, CA
Anchorage, AK
Arlington, TX
Atlanta, GA
Aurora, CO
Austin, TX
Bakersfield, CA
Baltimore, MD
Baton Rouge, LA
Birmingham, AL
Boston, MA
Buffalo, NY
Chandler, AZ
Charlotte, NC
Chesapeake, VA
Chicago, IL
Chula Vista, CA
Cincinnati, OH
Cleveland, OH
Colorado Springs, CO
Columbus, OH
Corpus Christi, TX
Dallas, TX
Denver, CO
Detroit, MI
Durham, NC
El Paso, TX
Fort Wayne, IN
Fort Worth, TX
Fremont, CA
Fresno, CA
Garland, TX
Glendale, AZ
Glendale, CA
Greensboro, NC
Hartford, CT
Henderson, NV
Hialeah, FL
Honolulu, HI
Houston, TX
Indianapolis, IN
Jacksonville, FL
Jersey City, NJ
Kansas City, MO
Laredo, TX
Las Vegas, NV
Lexington, KY
Lincoln, NE
London, EN
Long Beach, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Louisville, KY
Lubbock, TX
Madison, WI
Memphis, TN
Mesa, AZ
Miami, FL
Milwaukee, WI
Minneapolis, MN
Modesto, CA
Montgomery, AL
Montreal, QC
Nashville, TN
New Orleans, LA
New York, NY
Newark, NJ
Norfolk, VA
Oakland, CA
Oklahoma City, OK
Omaha, NE
Orlando, FL
Paris, FR
Philadelphia, PA
Phoenix, AZ
Pittsburgh, PA
Plano, TX
Portland, OR
Raleigh, NC
Riverside, CA
Rochester, NY
Sacramento, CA
Saint Louis, MO
Saint Paul, MN
Saint Petersburg, FL
San Antonio, TX
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
San Jose, CA
San Juan, PR
Santa Ana, CA
Scottsdale, AZ
Seattle, WA
Shreveport, LA
Stockton, CA
Tampa, FL
Toledo, OH
Toronto, ON
Tucson, AZ
Tulsa, OK
Vancouver, BC
Virginia Beach, VA
Washington, DC
Wichita, KS

Legislators: Just Close Dempsey Hospital

admin — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:52:04 +0000

Just close Dempsey.
“Does the model they have work?” Senate Republican leader
of Fairfield asked. “I would argue it’s not working, and maybe the University of Connecticut shouldn’t be in the business of running a hospital.”
McKinney’s question may have particular resonance for lawmakers faced with both a massive budget crisis and the price tag of UConn’s proposal — $605 million over 10 years, plus an estimated $13 million in annual labor costs after that.
Lawmakers in both parties have pointed to Harvard Medical School, which doesn’t operate its own hospital, and have suggested that UConn might not need one either. Some say closing Dempsey could save money for the state, which has been footing the bill when the hospital runs a deficit.
And in an area with an excess of licensed hospital beds, losing Dempsey’s 224 beds might not mean a shortage of patient care, at least in theory.
But UConn officials say losing Dempsey would carry steep costs, with more than just a hospital at stake. Many of the beds Dempsey operates are for specialized, nonprofitable services — like psychiatry, a neonatal intensive-care unit and a ward for state prisoners — that might be more difficult to replace than regular hospital beds.
And because the Health Center is key to securing millions of dollars in research funding, a major factor in university rankings, UConn leaders say the future of Dempsey Hospital is inextricably linked with the future of the university itself.
“The consequences here go well beyond health care,” Hogan said.
Enough Beds?
So what would the health care landscape in central Connecticut look like without Dempsey Hospital?
For one thing, there would be fewer jobs and a loss of Dempsey’s public mission, Hogan said.
It would also mean a significant shift in the precarious balance of power among the region’s hospitals, splitting up Dempsey’s beds, teaching functions and the specialized programs it runs for the state.
The prosperous Farmington Valley, home to many patients whose private insurance makes them financially attractive to hospitals, would be left without a hospital of its own. But it wouldn’t necessarily mean a shortage of hospital beds.
Three area hospitals are licensed to operate a total of more than 300 more beds than they currently do, meaning that, at least in theory, it would be possible to replace Dempsey’s 224 beds. It’s not clear, however, whether the hospitals all have the facilities or capability to open new beds.
St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center could; hospital officials said in a statement that St. Francis would be able to accommodate additional patients, teach additional interns and residents, and absorb — even welcome — staff from Dempsey, if necessary. The hospital is licensed to operate 100 or more beds beyond what it has now, and is building a 10-story tower that will include a bigger emergency department, 19 replacement operating rooms and 138 beds to replace existing ones.
, both of which are part of the merger plans with UConn, are also each licensed to operate more than 100 beds beyond what they do now.
But Hartford Hospital spokeswoman Lee Monroe said that the hospital stands by the proposed UConn-Hartford Hospital plan and that officials believe that combination would be the best outcome for the region.

Man injured in Annapolis crane accident stable, hospital says

admin — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 11:39:03 +0000

A Pennsylvania man who was injured during a crane accident in Annapolis Thursday was stable in critical condition at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center today, according to the hospital.
Edward Cifaldo, 46, of the 200 block of Main Street in Red Lion, Pa., was sitting in a compartment of a crane that was preparing to lift heating and cooling units onto the roof of a fitness center under construction at Annapolis Towne Centre in Parole. Anne Arundel County Police identified Cifaldo today.
A pulley and other parts fell onto the operator’s compartment, and other employees extricated Cifaldo, officials said. He was taken by helicopter to the hospital.
Annapolis Towne Centre was the same development where a 46-year-old man died 10 months ago, after a piece of a crane that was being dismantled fell on him and he became trapped.

KU Hospital will open blood, marrow transplant program’s dedicated …

admin — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 13:47:43 +0000

in Westwood will open a 7,500-square-foot dedicated space Monday for its Blood and Marrow Transplant program.
The space’s renovation started in the fall and cost $2 million, KU Hospital spokesman Dennis Minich said Wednesday. The project was paid for by Annette Bloch’s $20 million donation in the fall, Minich said.
The Blood and Marrow Transplant program had been in shared space in the cancer pavilion, he said.
The program had three years of significant growth, necessitating the dedicated space, the hospital said in a release. The program was established in 1977 and has pioneered advancements in bone marrow and stem cell transplantation in the Kansas City area.
In July 2007, the hospital teamed with the
to create the region’s largest BMT program. The program grew by 94 percent in 2007 and another 52 percent in 2008, making space an issue even though the facilities at the Westwood campus were only 18 months old, the release said.
designation.