Nurse, physician and administrative staff shortages have led to expensive contract labor, overworked staff and under-resourced hospitals. C-suite executives across the board are redesigning recruitment and retention efforts for clinical and administrative staff, ideally leading to less turnover and better quality of care.

The federal government started notifying employees Sept. 28 that a shutdown may be imminent due to the ongoing gridlock in Congress regarding funding bills, The Washington Post reported. 

Fort Myers, Fla.-based Lee Health, a public nonprofit health system, is considering returning to its private roots. 

Springfield, Ill.-based Hospital Sisters Health said it reduced contract labor costs by $56.2 million, or 43.4 percent, to $73.2 million when it reported financial results for the fiscal year ending June 30.

Hospital median operating margins rose to 1.4 percent in August, the sixth straight month of positive results, Syntellis said in its latest monthly benchmark report.

Dunn, N.C.-based Betsy Johnson Hospital, part of two-hospital system Harnett Health, will end labor and delivery services Oct. 15. 

Indianapolis-based IU Health confirmed it is laying off 84 employees from its Blackford Hospital because of declining patient volumes.

Many healthcare leaders have said that 2022 was among the most financially challenging years hospitals and health systems have had to face, and that recovery remains challenging, according to a Sept. 27 report from the American Hospital Association.

Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health's three accountable care organizations created $66.3 million in total savings in 2022, according to a Sept. 27 health system news release.   

Medicare Advantage provides health coverage to more than half of the nation's seniors, but a growing number of hospitals and health systems nationwide are pushing back and dropping some or all contracts with the private plans altogether.

Avail Hospital Lake Charles (La.) will permanently close Sept. 29, the microhospital announced in an American Press advertisement. 

Munson Healthcare, an eight-hospital system, has unveiled a three-year "transformation plan" that will reduce inpatient services in rural areas and increase services at its hospital in Traverse City, Mich., upnorthlive.com reported Sept. 27.

Cash-strapped Greenwood (Miss.) Leflore Hospital is to receive a $3 million lifeline in funds after the county board of supervisors reversed a previous decision not to allow the hospital to draw down on a line of credit, according to a Sept. 26 Mississippi Today report.

Although employed men and women tend to purchase the same health insurance plans, they do not receive the same coverage, according to a Sept. 26 analysis from Deloitte. 

Renton, Wash.-based Providence has been recognized as an adopter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association's patient financial communications best practices, which aims to provide consistency, timeliness and clarity to a confusing process.

Supporting internal processes with increased staff is the top way providers are planning to improve revenue cycle management analytics, according to a report from Plutus Health.

Justin Lundbye, MD, CEO of Waterbury (Conn.) Hospital, and Deborah Weymouth, president and CEO of Eastern Connecticut Health Network in Manchester, asked lawmakers to accelerate approvals for a planned sale from Prospect Medical to Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health, according to a report from CT Mirror.

HealthComp and Virgin Pulse aim to combine in a $3 billion deal to create a single technology platform allowing patients and employers to manage health plans, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Hospitals in Idaho may be creating increasingly coordinated healthcare models to curb rising costs and catch health issues earlier, but they are not receiving enough support from lawmakers, according to the Idaho Hospital Association.

Houston-based MD Anderson University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Columbus-based OhioHealth are consistent winners of the Healthcare Financial Management Association's MAP award. Revenue cycle leaders shared with Becker's a common thread to their success: their people.