Baptist starts surgicalist program
Posted on October 7, 2009 at 11:26 am
Baptist Hospital today announced the launch of a surgicalist program, its fourth inpatient care management program. Surgical hospitalists are general surgeons based in the hospital, helping to speed the care of emergency department patients. Baptist also has hospitalist, obstetric hospitalist, and intensivist programs. According to the Society of Hospital Medicine, the hospitalist field is the fastest-growing medical specialty in the country.
Saint Thomas adds neuro network
Posted on October 1, 2009 at 2:24 pmSaint Thomas Health Services has added neurological services to its Chest Pain Network centers Hickman Community Hospital in Centerville, Tenn., and Lincoln County Medical Center in Fayetteville, Tenn. The Saint Thomas Stroke Network is intended to streamline stroke symptom detection and diagnosis, and the treatment and transfer of stroke patients. It will be part of all Chest Pain Network locations by the end of the year.
Saint Thomas adds Cool Springs rehab clinic
Posted on September 30, 2009 at 7:41 amSaint Thomas Health Services has opened an outpatient rehabilitation clinic at Bakers Bridge Avenue and Carothers Parkway in Cool Springs. For STHS’ Life Therapies and Baptist Sports Medicine brands, the site is the sixth and 14th outpost, respectively.
Saint Thomas saves on discharges
Posted on June 15, 2009 at 7:41 amA Massachusetts software company says the Saint Thomas Health Services system has saved $6 million over the last 18 months by using its service to improve productivity and trim patients’ time at its hospitals.
Hickman gets heart failure grant
Posted on June 4, 2009 at 3:07 pmSaint Thomas Health Services’ Hickman Community Hospital has been given a $373,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant is part of efforts to fund a Rural Heart Failure Outreach Consortium project.
“Saint Thomas Heart will be serving as one of four consortium members, all of which are hospital facilities providing care to multi-county, rural service areas in Tennessee. Due to its extensive experience with assisting rural facilities to expand capabilities with regard to cardiac care, Saint Thomas Heart will play a critical role in guiding the development and implementation of this project’s clinical activities. The Saint Thomas Chest Pain Network, which has helped 10 rural facilities in Tennessee and Southern Kentucky become accredited Chest Pain Centers, will also provide expertise in building the capacity of the rural service areas to deliver heart failure treatment.”
The grant will be spread over three years
Hickman will receive $147,594 for the first year, $125,000 the second year and $100,000 the third year. Thirty-six percent of the total project cost will be financed by federal funding.
Full details.
Saint Thomas adds some software
Posted on May 4, 2009 at 3:35 pmThe local health system has contracted to use California-based SCI Solutions‘ Web-based scheduling software at its three hospitals and several outpatient imaging centers.
New specialized OB/gyns at MTMC
Posted on April 8, 2009 at 3:38 pmMiddle Tennessee Medical Center is looking to offer a wider range of maternal-fetal services with the addition of three new docs, according to the Murfreesboro Post.
Cornelia Graves, MD, Harold Breckenridge Collins, MD and Audrey Kang, MD, specialize in the care of women with high-risk pregnancies. These physicians have completed two to three years of additional formal education and clinical experience within an American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology approved Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship Program
eDoc4u and Saint Thomas partner up
Posted on April 1, 2009 at 10:19 amFrom a press release:
Thanks to a new partnership with eDoc4u, all eligible members and employees of Saint Thomas Health Services (STHS) will now have access to the tools and resources they need to manage and improve their health, with a focus on preventive care. Nashville-based eDoc4u private labels and integrates its health preventive care web services with providers, health plans and employers. Currently, the company supports hundreds of client sites, reaching millions of members…
…The multi-year agreement, effective Jan. 19, 2009, provides STHS employer group members and employees with access to eDoc4u’s full suite of web-based services: health risk assessments, disease risk indices, preventive care plans, personal health records and online health coaching. eDoc4u’s easy-to-use medical web service presents members with personalized scores for disease risk, specific prevention recommendations and culturally competent “trusted physician” video counseling.
The ‘Boro’s new hospital on track
Posted on March 29, 2009 at 11:52 pm
The Murfreesboro Post updates us on the construction of the $267 million Middle Tennessee Medical Center.
Respect from the elders
Posted on March 26, 2009 at 3:03 pmVanderbilt University Medical Center and Baptist Hospital have made the list of the AARP’s Top 125 hospitals in major metro areas.
The survey was part of the research for a new book from Consumers’ Checkbook (www.checkbook.org), called Consumers’ Guide to Hospitals, which uses government safety statistics and data on death and complication rates, along with survey results, to compare and rank hospitals in the nation’s largest metro areas. The final list of top 125 hospitals was selected from 1,467 acute-care hospitals in the nation’s largest population areas. Key measures included:
* Ratings by patients
* Ratings by physicians
* Death rates and adverse-outcome rates
* Doing proper tests and procedures
* Major medical school affiliation
* Leapfrog Group safety standards
The only other Tennessee facilities making the list were Memphis’ Methodist University Hospital and Baptist Memorial Hospital.
Saint Thomas parent overhauling debt
Posted on February 17, 2009 at 11:01 pmThe Bond Buyer reports on Ascension Health’s efforts to rid itself of $1.4 billion of variable-rate debt. Metro’s Health and Educational Facilities Board will be among the conduits of the upcoming deals.
Beating the press to the punch
Posted on January 31, 2009 at 5:03 pmUnder fire from their docs over belt-tightening measures, the head honchos at Saint Thomas Health Services publish their responses to questions from our friends at 1100 Broadway – before the paper’s story runs.
Among the snippets:
In recent years we have implemented a number of system-wide initiatives successfully. We must do more. We must also grow the services we can and otherwise smartly conserve our resources. As a long-time business reporter, you know that for any organization to grow it must have a consistent, reasonable bottom line which allows it to develop services, improve facilities, maintain quality, keep up with escalating expenses, and more.
We are on track to have a similar margin this fiscal year, but that does not tell the entire story. We’ve seen significant increases in the number of uninsured patients seeking care from us, patients delaying or avoiding care and a drastic reduction in our investment income. All of these forces require that we work quickly to strengthen our health system and protect and expand our mission.
Prime, Saint Thomas renew deal
Posted on January 5, 2009 at 2:01 pmLocal insurer Prime Health Services and Saint Thomas Health Services have extended their longtime PPO relationship.
Part of this new commitment is a doubling of the savings offered to employers’ and the payer community when treating workers’ compensation patients. This increased savings, coupled with excellent quality care, aids in returning the injured workers to their jobs in the timeliest manner.
Baptist cancer program accredited
Posted on December 15, 2008 at 1:35 pmThe American College of Surgeons gives Baptist a Three-Year Approval with Commendation for its work with cancer patients.




Recent Comments
In our good state a select few run the place, 20 yrs ago and today....
Southernindie…Unfortunat ely you have suffered a dibilitating...
And…Karl (Marx) Dean is spending one billion dollars...
Someone explain the difference between short stay and observation...
Watching the Chairman of Starwood Hotels yesterday on CNBC...
Funny how the Union’s feel about taxes. They complained about their...
Where is it?
An absolutely ugly structure, which I have always thought did not take...
Too bad that ATT changed the look of the building so that it no longer...
Yeah, well, look at the TN Legislature of good ol’ boys and the...
As long as the red rules, we will be far behind other states. The GOP does...
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn: I don’t know what...