Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hospital Roundup: Highest-Paid Nonprofit Hospital Exec In Mass. Made $4.3M; Rural Colo. Health Centers Get Grant
Boston Globe: Partners CEO Tops Hospital Pay List
Partners HealthCare’s chief executive, Dr. David Torchiana, topped the list of executives at the state’s largest nonprofit hospitals who received sizable pay raises in 2015, according to their most recent public filings. Torchiana, who oversees the state’s largest health system and largest private employer, earned nearly $4.3 million in total compensation. (Dayal McCluskey, 8/15)
Denver Post: Colorado Health Centers Receive Nearly $2 Million In Federal Grant Money
Colorado health centers in rural or impoverished areas will receive nearly $2 million in federal grant money this year to help better serve their patients. Twenty centers are in line to receive the grants, ranging from the Metro Community Provider Network, which has been awarded about $280,000 in total grant funds, to the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, which will receive just over $13,000. Centers in southern Colorado, on the Eastern Plains and on the Western Slope were also awarded grants. (Ingold, 8/15)
St. Louis Public Radio: MU Study Finds Successful Ways To Reduce Hospital Admissions Of St. Louis Nursing Home Residents
In 2011, one in four nursing home residents on Medicare was hospitalized. It’s an issue that impacts many facets of health care, from quality of life for nursing home residents to spending of taxpayer dollars, and on Tuesday’s St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh spoke with a University of Missouri Nursing School professor about ways to reduce avoidable hospital admissions. (Moffitt, 8/15)
The Philadelphia Inquirer/Philly.com: Bankruptcy Judge Tentatively Approves Girard Medical Center Sale
Pending final review, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Magdeline D. Coleman on Tuesday said she would approve the sales of North Philadelphia Health System’s properties at Eighth Street and Girard Avenue for a combined $10.25 million. The bulk of the property, including Girard Medical Center and the associated Goldman Clinic, a methadone clinic, will go to Ironstone Real Estate Partners for $8.5 million. Ironstone intends to maintain the property as a behavioral-health and drug-treatment center as long as it has an agreement with a care provider to operate the facilities. (Brubaker, 8/15)
Chicago Tribune: Edward-Elmhurst Hospital System Plans $50 Million In Cuts, Including Layoffs
West suburban hospital system Edward-Elmhurst Health plans to slash $50 million in costs, including through layoffs, in response to many of the same financial pressures afflicting hospitals across Illinois and the country. Edward-Elmhurst CEO Mary Lou Mastro said during a call with reporters Tuesday that the system has not yet determined how many layoffs will be necessary or which positions might be affected. She said the system has already started holding vacant positions open and now has 300 positions that aren't being filled. (Schencker, 8/15)
