Since the end of 2020, 144 rural hospitals have stopped delivering babies, with four more planning to stop by early 2027, according to an October 2026 analysis from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Together, the closures represent…
The Latest
Springfield, Mass.-based Baystate Health completed its takeover of Mercy Medical Center from Hartford, Conn.-based Trinity Health of New England Nov. 1. Baystate integrated the hospital, its joint venture affiliates and 45 medical group entities, and switched to a new Oracle…
David McCready stepped down as president and CEO of New Bedford, Mass.-based Southcoast Health, effective Oct. 30, according to a letter to staff from the board of trustees shared with Becker’s. “Supporting Southcoast Health’s important mission has been an honor,”…
Four Chicago-area hospitals have suspended obstetrics services in the last month, with leaders running the facilities pointing to similar challenges: low Medicaid payment, rising costs to staff OB units and decreased birth volumes. Across the country, maternity service closures haven’t…
Balancing Cost, Continuity, and Access: How Health System Leaders Are Approaching Clinical Coverage
Sponsored
What does it take to maintain physician coverage when clinical demand outpaces workforce capacity? With the U.S. projected to face a shortage of 106,520 full-time equivalent physicians in 2027, healthcare leaders face increasingly complex decisions about how to maintain continuity…
When a physician sees a quality initiative as an administrative burden rather than improved patient care, LeWanza Harris, MD, chief quality officer at Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare, sometimes agrees with them. “First, I tell them they are sometimes right,” Dr. Harris…
After a brief post-pandemic lull, hospital consolidation is accelerating again, with large health systems expanding across state lines, absorbing independent hospitals and reshaping regional care markets. From portfolio resets and strategic exits to cross-market mergers and billion-dollar investments, these moves…
Screening can give people and families time to prepare, connect with care and improve the outlook for their long-term health. For generations, type 1 diabetes (T1D) has been diagnosed only after the body sounds an urgent alarm. A person becomes…
Only 63 hospitals across 25 states had five-star CMS ratings for nurse communication, physician communication, cleanliness and quietness. Researchers at West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health found these metrics are drivers of patient satisfaction during a hospital stay. Patients who felt…
In this episode, Bryan Croft, Executive Vice President of Hospital Operations and Chief Operating Officer at Cedars-Sinai Health System, joins the podcast to discuss rethinking ambulatory strategy and addressing healthcare affordability through considerations such as the 340B program. He also…