Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Minn. Hospital Seeks To Add 100 Beds, 1,000 Employees
Pioneer Press: Regions Hospital Seeks To Add 100 Beds, Nearly 1,000 Employees By 2040
Regions Hospital wants to add 100 beds and nearly 1,000 employees to its downtown St. Paul campus over the next two decades. Regions submitted a proposal to increase its capacity to state regulators in November and will make its pitch in coming months to the Minnesota Legislature, whose approval is required under state law. (Woltman, 12/27)
Chicago Tribune: 20 Illinois Hospitals Earn Top Marks From Government — And 13 Get Lowest Rating
Twenty Illinois hospitals have won the federal government’s highest rating when it comes to quality — and 13 have earned its lowest. The ratings, released Thursday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, were delayed by months after the American Hospital Association criticized the system and the government made changes to it. The system awards hospitals one to five stars based on up to 57 measures, including patient readmissions, patient experience, speed of care and death rates for conditions such as heart attacks, strokes and pneumonia. (Schencker, 12/22)
Politico Pro: A Tarnished Hospital Tries To Win Back Trust
Even compared to some other teaching hospitals, whose economic success often stands in sharp contrast to the poverty of their host cities, Yale New Haven Hospital dominates the New Haven economy, while paying proportionally little back to the city. That's why local politicians have pushed the hospital to pay millions of additional dollars to help close budget gaps, while health officials say Yale New Haven Hospital should do more to address health disparities and chronic illnesses like diabetes, which are found in high levels across the poor city and especially near the hospital. (Diamond, 12/30)
Modern Healthcare: Care New England Closes Rhode Island Hospital ER
Rhode Island has approved Care New England's proposal to close the emergency department at its Pawtucket, R.I., hospital, the health system said Thursday. Care New England will shut down Memorial Hospital's emergency department on Monday. The hospital will still provide primary-care services to the area for now, but the health system has also asked the state to allow it to eliminate those services as well. As part of the ER closure approval, Rhode Island's Department of Health will require Care New England to open a walk-in clinic in Pawtucket. The health system will also pay Pawtucket $300,000 and Central Falls $200,000 for two years to offset patient transportation costs stemming from the ER closure. (12/29)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: New Orleans' Only Trauma And Burn Center To Open At University Medical Center In Early 2018
Construction on a new integrated Burn Center and Level 1 Trauma Center at University Medical Center in New Orleans is wrapping up, with an expected opening date in February or March 2018. Burn victims that have also suffered trauma are currently taken first to UMC in New Orleans for stabilization before being sent to the nearest burn centers either at Baton Rouge General Hospital or the Arnold Luterman Regional Burn Center at the University of South Alabama in Mobile where they are treated for burn injuries, which includes smoke inhalation. (Clark, 12/28)
Dallas Morning News: Baylor's White Rock Lake Hospital, Formerly Known As Doctors Hospital, Has Been Sold Again
Baylor Scott & White Health has sold its White Rock Lake hospital to a California-based company after owning the facility for less than two years. The hospital has been serving the Lakewood/East Dallas neighborhood since 1959 and until 2016 was known as Doctors Hospital. (Halkias, 12/26)
