Quorum prepares to hand off Arkansas hospital
Posted on November 6, 2009 at 9:56 am
Sparks Hospital in Fort Smith, Ark., has agreed to sell itself to Health Management Associates for about $138 million, which means the two Quorum Health Resources who have been managing the 492-bed facility will soon be on their way back to the CHS home office in Brentwood.
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If you wanted to nitpick HCA’s numbers…
Posted on November 5, 2009 at 1:33 pmSheryl Skolnick at Pali Research is impressed by the growth in cash flow and admissions at HCA. But she’s not thrilled about bad debt or the expense item that accounts for 42 percent of the hospital giant’s operating costs.
The increase in bad debt is one thing. More troubling than that was the higher than expected labor costs as a percent of revenue: HCA appears to have lost some leverage here.
SEE ALSO: HCA volume growth best since ‘02
Why you’re not hearing from hospitals in the reform debate
Posted on at 12:07 pm
A former CMS boss tells Blake Farmer they’re quite satisfied, thank you, with the lukewarm, wishy-washy way things appear to be going.
“If you really want to do the right thing and finance this thing and pay for it, hospitals should probably be taking a bigger hit as should probably a lot of the providers, but that’s not likely to happen.”
Vanderbilt opens $169M critical care tower
Posted on at 9:42 am
Vanderbilt University Medical Center is cutting the ribbon on its 11-story critical care tower today. The $169 million building has 141 new acute-care inpatient rooms and 12 surgical rooms will immediately house VUMC’s surgical intensive care, neurological intensive care and medical intensive care units.
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Union suing HCA over flu shots
Posted on November 4, 2009 at 11:39 am
The Service Employees International Union says the country’s biggest hospital operator can’t unilaterally require employees to wear surgical masks if they haven’t been immunized against the H1N1 virus.
Union officials say the policy should have been subject to negations since it affects employment terms, but HCA has declined to bargain. HCA officials said the policy is part of their comprehensive infection-control program to protect workers and patients, and they plan to continue moving forward with it.
Texas doctor gets $10M in Iasis lawsuit
Posted on November 2, 2009 at 9:54 amA Texas jury has ruled that Iasis Healthcare interfered with a doctor’s emergency department management contract negotiations at its 225-bed hospital in Port Arthur, The Southeast Texas Record reports. The doctor was awarded $10 million for past and future lost profits.
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Union turns up heat on CHS in Pennsylvania
Posted on October 28, 2009 at 11:22 amRepresentatives of the Service Employees International Union have presented a 400-person petition to officials at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, a Community Health Systems hospital outside Philadelphia. The two parties are working to replace a contract that expired in August.
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Brim lands three-year California contract
Posted on at 8:17 am
The emergency gig hospital management firm Brim Healthcare took on at bankrupt Palm Drive Hospital north of San Francisco has turned into an extended engagement.
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LifePoint Louisiana hospitals to merge
Posted on October 26, 2009 at 9:21 amTwo Louisiana hospitals owned by LifePoint (Ticker: LPNT) plan to merge and become a single health system, the Daily World reports. The two hospitals, which have a combined 147 beds, are located 18 miles apart in Eunice and Ville Platte.
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CHS buying Washington clinic business
Posted on October 21, 2009 at 11:43 amCommunity Health Systems (Ticker: CYH) has reached an agreement to buy specialty medical provider Rockwood Clinic, The Spokesman-Review reports. Last year, CHS bought nearby Deaconess Medical Center and Spokane Valley Hospital in a $156M deal.
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HCA employees do good
Posted on October 19, 2009 at 9:49 pmHCA recently wrapped up its 2009 ‘Caring for the Community’ campaign at headquarters, where a record number of employees contributed to a total of more than $2 million in donations.
It included two “HCA Community Days” on September 15 and September 24, during which 1,639 HCA employees volunteered nearly 10,000 hours of company time, representing an in-kind contribution of about $200,000, to work on 108 projects at agencies throughout Middle Tennessee.
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Nurses give Baptist employer award
Posted on at 2:44 pmThe Tennessee Nurses Association gave Baptist Hospital their 2009 Outstanding Employer Award at the group’s annual meeting over the weekend. The award recognizes a health care agency, school of nursing or other employer’s commitment to nursing and nursing excellence.
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CHS closer to new Indiana hospital
Posted on at 8:13 amCommunity Health Systems’ hospital in Valparaiso has completed the acquisition of more than 100 acres that will become the home of a new $210 million hospital.
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Maury Regional picks new GPO
Posted on at 7:51 amColumbia’s hospital has chosen MedAssets, with which it has contracted for other services since 1985, to provide group purchasing and other supply chain services.
“By finding additional opportunities to reduce our supply costs, we will be able to better position ourselves as a quality provider of healthcare to the middle Tennessee area. With MedAssets, we not only build a great relationship on the GPO side, but we receive the assistance of their expert staff and technology to help us analyze our processes and find additional savings opportunities.”
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Lazard: CHS stands out in hospital space
Posted on October 15, 2009 at 2:13 pmInvestment firm Lazard has started covering shares of hospital operators, but isn’t terribly enthused about their prospects compared to those of companies elsewhere in the health care space. The one exception: Community Health Systems, which has made some smart acquisitions and carries no short-term debt. Shares of CHS (Ticker: CYH) are up about 1 percent today.
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