Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Will Pay $15M To Settle Case Over Flawed Data
Stat: Dana-Farber Settles Justice Department Suit Over Manipulated Data
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the nation’s premier cancer research and treatment centers, is paying $15 million to settle a lawsuit claiming that some of its top researchers authored papers containing manipulated data. (Wosen, 12/16)
WBUR: Former Harvard Medical School Morgue Manager Sentenced To 8 Years In Prison For Stolen Bodies Plot
The former Harvard Medical School morgue manager who stole and sold pieces of bodies donated to the school has been sentenced to 8 years in prison. (Jarmanning, 12/16)
More health care industry updates —
Modern Healthcare: Federation Of American Hospitals Names Charlene MacDonald As CEO
The Federation of American Hospitals has named Charlene MacDonald its next president and CEO. MacDonald will assume leadership of the trade association Jan. 1, the organization said in a news release Tuesday. She succeeds retiring President and CEO Chip Kahn. MacDonald has been with the federation since 2023, serving as executive vice president of public affairs. In that role, she leads the organization’s government affairs, advocacy and communications initiatives. She also oversees finance and operations teams, the release said. (Eastabrook, 12/16)
Becker's Hospital Review: California Hospital Nurses Advance Union Effort Covering 800
Registered nurses at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey, Calif., have filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board. The nurses are seeking to join the California Nurses Association, according to a Dec. 15 media advisory shared with Becker’s. As of Dec. 16, no election date had been scheduled. If an election occurs and nurses vote in favor of unionization, California Nurses Association would represent roughly 800 nurses at the hospital, according to the NLRB. (Gooch, 12/16)
Modern Healthcare: HCA Healthcare Chief Nurse Executive Sammie Mosier Dies At 50
Sammie Mosier, chief nurse executive and senior vice president of HCA Healthcare, died Friday, the system said in a Linkedin post Monday. She was 50. Her cause of death was not available. Mosier began working at HCA Healthcare nearly 30 years ago as a medical-surgical bedside nurse at its Kentucky-based Frankfort Regional Medical Center. She was named chief nurse executive in December 2021, a role HCA said involved leading the system’s more than 90,000 nurses. (DeSilva, 12/16)
On organ transplants —
The New York Times: U.S. Transplant Hospitals Court Patients Overseas Despite Organ Shortage
International patients can bring a hospital as much as $2 million for a transplant. In recent years, they have typically gotten organs faster than U.S. patients. (Rosenthal and Hansen, 12/16)
AP: Social Media Is Being Harnessed To Help People Find Living Kidney Donors
Fernando Moreno has been on dialysis for about two years, enduring an “unbearable” wait for a new kidney to save his life. His limited world of social contacts has meant that his hopes have hinged on inching up the national waiting list for a transplant. That was until earlier this year, when the Philadelphia hospital where he receives treatment connected him with a promising pilot project that has paired him with “angel advocates” — Good Samaritan strangers scattered around the country who leverage their own social media contacts to share his story. (Scolforo, 12/17)
