In Shift, Calif. Hospitals Try To Keep Patients Out Of Beds
Hospitals are in the news in California, Oregon and Massachusetts.
Los Angeles Times: To Stay Fiscally Healthy, State's Hospitals Want Fewer Patients
To survive the unprecedented challenges coming with federal health care reform, California hospitals are upending their bedrock financial model: They are trying to keep some patients out of their beds (Gorman, 3/4).
Lund Report: Salem Health Delinquent With Oregon Department of Justice Filing
The Oregon Department of Justice makes it quite clear – nonprofit entities such as hospitals are required to provide audited financial statements every year that show their net worth, the salaries of their top executives and the benefits they provide the community in order to remain tax exempt. Salem Health – which runs Salem Hospital and West Valley Hospital – not only did they fail to submit the financial data for their most recent fiscal year – 2010 – (known as the 990), but, as of March 1, they hadn't even asked for an extension, which most hospitals do when they need more time (Lund-Muzikant, 3/2).
Boston Globe: Tufts Medical Center Designated As 'Level One' Trauma Center
State health officials have designated Tufts Medical Center a "level one" trauma center, an elite designation that could bring more prestige and potentially more patients to the Boston teaching hospital. Tufts won approval despite opposition from other Boston teaching hospitals. Surgery chiefs at four of Tufts' competitors questioned whether the city needs another top trauma center and asked public health officials to delay their decision until a comprehensive review of the state’s trauma system is complete (Kowalczyk, 3/2).
