Care Coordination

Buoyed by an increase in patient-related revenue, Children’s Hospital in Boston reported a 38 percent increase in operating income for fiscal 2009, according to a report by the Boston Business Journal.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will reimburse hospitals that treat Haitians critically injured by the earthquake as part of its National Disaster Medical System, according to a news release by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Q: How are hospitals still feeling the effects of the economic downturn?Dave Felsenthal: States are still struggling, and many states don't have the money to fund state-run Medicare and Medicaid programs. Often they can't pay the bills immediately, so this…

Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., has proposed a $66 million expansion project that includes the construction of an ambulatory surgery center, according to the Poughkeepsie Journal.

Co-management arrangements are relatively new pay-for-performance programs whereby hospitals engage physicians to manage and improve entire hospital service lines (e.g., cardiovascular, orthopedics, etc.). These arrangements place emphasis on achievement of pre-established quality and performance metrics and can offer significant improvements…

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center closed Braddock (Pa.) General Hospital on Jan. 31, despite protests from residents who were concerned about losing local access to care, according to a release from UPMC.

New state regulations setting time limits for HMO patients to see doctors may force HMOs to add more physicians to keep appointments on time, according to a release from the California Medical Association.

Bellevue, Wash.-based PeaceHealth has won a certificate of need from the state to build a 10-bed critical-access hospital on San Juan Island, Wash., according to a release from PeaceHealth.

A local company has donated a building to Fostoria (Ohio) Community Hospital to be used for medical offices, according to a report by Findlay Living.

State regulators have approved Northwestern Memorial HealthCare's acquisition of 215-bed Lake Forest Hospital in Grayslake, Ill., in exchange for agreeing to rebuild the hospital within 10 years, according to a report by the Chicago Tribune.