MedPAC drafted its 2025 payment update recommendations Dec. 8, according to the American Hospital Association.

The University of Virginia board of visitors on Dec. 8 voted to extend the contract of K. Craig Kent, MD, as executive vice president for health affairs and CEO for UVA Health through Jan. 31, 2030.

Louisville, Ky.-based Norton Healthcare confirmed that the May ‘cyber incident’ that led the health system to shut down its network briefly was a ransomware attack.

The following hospital and health system executive moves have been shared with or reported by Becker's since June 30:

Penny Castellano, MD, was named president of the Emory Healthcare Physician Division, a newly created position, as well as interim director of Emory Clinic.

Healthcare organizations are projected to spend more than $12 billion in 2024 on local advertising, with hospitals to be among the top spenders, according to a Dec. 8 survey from SalesFuel and BIA Advisory Services.

Rocky Mount, N.C.-based UNC Health Nash has proposed a nearly $140 million inpatient bed tower project to make upgrades to the hospital.

The balance between commercial and government payers has shifted as inflationary pressures mount and neither side wants to increase payments significantly.

Boston-based Mass General Brigham posted a $48 million operating loss of (-0.3% margin) for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, a significant improvement on the $432 million loss (-2.6% margin) reported last year. 

St. Louis-based Mercy named its artificial intelligence cancer treatment algorithm after Jiajing Chen, a data scientist who helped develop the algorithm and died from cancer in January, St. Louis Business Journal reported Dec. 8.

Terika Richardson was named senior executive vice president and COO of Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health.

On Dec. 8, the FDA approved the nation's first medicine based on CRISPR gene-editing technology to be used as a treatment for patients with sickle cell disease, a major scientific advancement that opens the door for future gene therapy approvals for inherited disorders. 

Orlando (Fla.) Health has purchased property to build a medical office within walking distance of its forthcoming hospital in Lake Mary, Fla. 

Doing less at work can, indeed, yield better health outcomes, according to a Dec. 4 article from Cleveland Clinic. 

Four health systems in Oregon are seeking to resurrect a lawsuit in which they contend the  state's inadequate mental healthcare system is causing them to be overburdened with psychiatric patients whom they're ill-equipped to care for, The Lund Report shared Dec. 7.

Midway through Bloomberg's annual ranking of families with the largest fortunes are two that amassed their wealth through pharmaceutical companies.

Rural hospitals have not had the easiest time over the last few years, but Austin Frazier Jr., CFO of Dixon, Ill.-based Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital, said they're working hard to turn things around following the effects of the pandemic.

Theodore DeWeese, MD, is the new CEO of Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine and dean of the John Hopkins University School of Medicine. 

While they serve at organizations of varying sizes in different markets, more than 100 healthcare executives who spoke with Becker's Hospital Review in 2023 shared one theme in common: Leadership — in all its forms and facets — requires constant adaptation. 

Among healthcare staff, median base hourly pay across all jobs nationally increased by 5.3% from 2022 to 2023, according to one new survey.