Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings is working with restructuring advisers while exploring strategies to address its financial challenges, The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 8.

Following the merger of Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego and Orange, Calif.-based Children's Hospital of Orange County to form Rady Children's Health, the three-hospital system's co-CEOs, Kimberly Cripe and Patrick Frias, MD, are ready to hit the ground running as a dynamic duo.

Mercy Health-Toledo (Ohio) will launch a network of urgent cares through the acquisition of 10 facilities, with new ownership effective April 1.

Hospital developments picked up steam in 2024, with significant investments in acute care facilities. From billion-dollar flagship projects to rural community hospitals, health systems are expanding to meet evolving patient needs. 

The following hospital and health system executive moves have been shared with or reported by Becker's since Dec. 24:

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra has declared the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles County a public health emergency.

Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth CFO Dan Rieber is retiring after serving as the health system's CFO since 2018. 

Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Hospital has lacked adequate pharmacy staffing for years, resulting in harmful medication errors, according to the Asheville Watchdog. 

Health systems begin 2025 emerging from a half-decade of crisis management. Now is the time for executive teams to lift their heads from quarterly survival and make bets on their long-term future.

The Martin County (N.C.) board of commissioners has voted to sell or lease Williamston, N.C.-based Martin General Hospital, which closed on Aug. 3, 2023, after filing for bankruptcy, Washington Daily News reported Jan. 10. 

Four clinics formerly owned by Renton, Wash.-based Providence are slated to reopen Jan. 13 under the PeaceHealth name. 

Chris Blair, BSN, joined Aspirus Health as vice president and chief administrative officer for the North Wisconsin Division, which includes hospitals in Rhinelander and Tomahawk, according to a Jan. 9 news release shared with Becker's.

On Jan. 9, startup Particle Health responded to Epic Systems' motion to dismiss its lawsuit, accusing the EHR giant of monopolistic practices aimed at eliminating competition in the payer platform market.

Oncologists are praising the surgeon general's recommendation to add cancer-risk warning labels to alcohol.

Ann Pohl, DNP, MSN, BSN, will join UNC Health Blue Ridge in Morgantown, N.C., as chief nursing officer in March. 

Mary Prybylo, MSN, RN, plans to retire May 1 as president of Bangor, Maine-based St. Joseph Healthcare and senior vice president of Andover, Mass.-based Covenant Health.

St. David's South Austin Medical Center in Texas has appointed Malik Merchant, MD, as its chief medical officer. 

Walgreens Boots Alliance reported a $245 million operating loss in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, the three months ending Nov. 30, a substantial drop from the $39 million operating loss recorded in the same quarter in FY 2024. 

Duke Health in Durham, N.C., has selected Abridge as its generative AI partner to capture clinical conversations. 

Medline, a Northfield, Ill.-based major medical supplier, made several headlines in 2024 for key developments—from its partnership with a tech giant to earning industry accolades for supply chain resilience.