Novant Health Ends Effort To Purchase Two North Carolina Hospitals
A federal appellate court backed an FTC push to block Novant Health's planned $320 million purchase from Community Health Systems. Meanwhile, Steward Health Care has pushed back its planned auction of eight of its Massachusetts hospitals by three weeks.
Modern Healthcare:
FTC Court Win Prompts Novant, CHS To Call Off Hospital Sale
Novant Health ended its 16-month pursuit of a $320 million deal to acquire two North Carolina hospitals from Community Health Systems after a federal appellate court on Tuesday dealt it a harsh blow. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit hit Novant's proposed acquisition of Mooresville-based Lake Norman Regional Medical Center when a panel voted 2-1 to grant the Federal Trade Commission's motion to stop that proposal pending appeal. (Hudson, 6/18)
The Boston Globe:
Steward Hospital Sales Delayed By At Least Three Weeks
Less than a week before bids were due for eight of its Massachusetts hospitals, bankrupt Steward Health Care has pushed back its planned auction of the facilities by three weeks amid mounting questions about who will take over their operations. The new bid deadline is July 15, with the auction set for July 18, according to a Steward filing in US Bankruptcy Court in Houston. (Weisman, 6/19)
KFF Health News:
Experts: US Hospitals Prone To Cyberattacks Like One That Hurt Patient Care At Ascension
In the wake of a debilitating cyberattack against one of the nation’s largest health care systems, Marvin Ruckle, a nurse at an Ascension hospital in Wichita, Kansas, said he had a frightening experience: He nearly gave a baby “the wrong dose of narcotic” because of confusing paperwork. Ruckle, who has worked in the neonatal intensive care unit at Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph for two decades, said it was “hard to decipher which was the correct dose” on the medication record. (Pradhan and Wells, 6/20)
Modern Healthcare:
NAHC, NHPCO To Combine Into Single Trade Organization
The nation’s two largest trade groups representing home health, hospice and palliative care are merging. The National Association for Home Care and Hospice and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization said Tuesday the executive officers of the trade groups signed a letter of intent June 10 to become a single organization. (Eastabrook, 6/18)
On health care workers —
Crain's Cleveland Business:
University Hospitals To Cut More Than 300 Positions
University Hospitals is eliminating more than 300 positions amid challenges in the healthcare industry. The health system announced Wednesday, June 19, that it was reducing its leadership structure by more than 10% as part of an organizational reset. (Bennett, 6/19)
Modern Healthcare:
Nurses Union To Pay HCA Healthcare $6.2M Over 2020 Strike
A local unit of SEIU has been ordered to pay HCA Healthcare's Riverside Community Hospital $6.2 million for conducting a 10-day strike in 2020. An arbitrator last month ordered the payment after it was found last year that nurse labor union SEIU Local 121RN violated a collective bargaining agreement with the hospital by holding the strike in June 2020. (DeSilva, 6/19)
In legal news —
Modern Healthcare:
Done Global Disagrees With Ruthia He, David Brody’s Charges
Digital behavioral health startup Done said it "disagrees" with criminal charges filed against its founder and CEO Ruthia He and clinical president Dr. David Brody. Done, sometimes called Done Global or Done Health, said in a statement posted to its website Tuesday it is continuing normal operations following last week's arrest of He and Brody over allegations including fraud. (Turner, 6/18)
Reuters:
Judge Questions 'Unusual' DOJ Plan To Pay Lead-Testing Device Victims
A federal judge on Tuesday questioned what she called an "unusual" provision of an agreement between the U.S. Justice Department and lead-testing device maker Magellan Diagnostics that would compensate victims of lead poisoning without any court supervision. U.S. District Judge Patti Saris in Boston raised her concerns during the first hearing on Magellan's agreement last month to pay $42 million to resolve criminal charges that it concealed a malfunction in its lead-testing devices that led to patients receiving inaccurately low results. (Raymond, 6/18)
