Ex-NIH Director Brushes Off Concerns Over ARPA-H Independence
The new research office, essentially a medical equivalent of defense research agency DARPA, has been surrounded by controversy over how it will act independently. The FTC suing to block hospital acquisitions in New Jersey and Utah, and other health industry matters are also in the news.
Stat:
Collins: Concern About ARPA-H Independence ‘Overblown’
Francis Collins thinks the debate surrounding the Biden administration’s new high-stakes research agency is much ado about nothing. The new research office, known as ARPA-H, has been the subject of multiple lobbying campaigns lately, chief among them a battle over whether it should be housed within the National Institutes of Health. But Collins, who led the NIH for 12 years and recently assumed the role of interim White House science adviser, told STAT this week that he views the debates as an unnecessary distraction. (Facher, 6/3)
In hospital news —
Modern Healthcare:
FTC Sues To Block Hospital Acquisitions In New Jersey, Utah
The Federal Trade Commission filed lawsuits to block RWJBarnabas Health's acquisition of St. Peter's HealthCare System in New Jersey and HCA Healthcare's acquisition of five Steward Health Care System hospitals in Utah, regulators announced Thursday. The proposed deal in New Jersey would give the West Orange-based not-for-profit health system a 50% market share for general acute care services in Middlesex County, according to the complaint. For-profit HCA Healthcare's acquisition of five Steward Health Care System hospitals in Utah would reduce the number of health systems offering acute services from three to two in some markets, the FTC said. (Kacik, 6/2)
AP:
West Virginia Hospital Plans To Join Mountain Health Network
A West Virginia hospital plans to join the Mountain Health Network under an agreement that calls for $39 million in investments over the next five years, health officials announced. The agreement announced Thursday is the first step toward Pleasant Valley Hospital in Point Pleasant being acquired by Cabell Huntington Hospital and allowing the 101-bed nonprofit hospital to become part of the health network that also includes St. Marys Medical Center in Huntington, Mountain Health said in a news release. (6/3)
Chicago Tribune:
Northwestern Medicine Plans $100M Outpatient Center
Northwestern Medicine plans to spend more than $100 million to build a 120,000-square-foot outpatient care center in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood — after facing past criticism that it hasn’t done enough to serve patients on the South Side. The proposal still needs to be approved by the state Health Facilities and Services Review Board. Pending that approval, construction could begin next summer, and the facility could open in the summer of 2025 on the 4800 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue. The facility would include an immediate care center, primary care, specialty care, pharmacy services, mammograms, lab tests, chemotherapy and programs to promote community health. The center is expected to serve more than 50,000 people a year. (Schencker, 6/2)
Columbus Dispatch:
Equitas Health Workers Seek Union With Ohio Federation Of Teachers
After a year-long process, a group of Equitas Health employees has taken steps to unionize. On Tuesday, the frontline, client-facing workers submitted a letter and signed union cards to interim CEO Robert Copeland and the board of trustees. They requested that leadership recognize their union, Equitas Health Workers United, which is affiliated with the Ohio Federation of Teachers. They also filed the signed union cards with the Cincinnati regional office of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). (Thompson, 6/2)
San Francisco Chronicle:
CEO Of S.F.’s Laguna Honda Steps Down As Hospital Weathers Funding Crisis
Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center CEO Michael Phillips has departed the embattled San Francisco skilled nursing facility in the midst of a crisis that threatens to displace hundreds of patients, many of whom are medically fragile. Roland Pickens, CEO of the San Francisco Health Network, announced Phillips’ departure in a letter to Laguna Honda staff on Thursday. Pickens said he would be taking over as interim CEO of Laguna Honda as the city-run hospital searches for a new leader. (Fracassa, 6/2)
