ANAE announces CAM Summit
The Associations of National Account Executives (ANAE), a networking organization consisting of healthcare executives from sales management, marketing management, national accounts and corporate accounts, will hold the CAM Summit Oct. 5 – 6, 2005, at the Marriott in downtown Boulder, Colo. The CAM Summit will be open to all healthcare professionals from management and sales positions. You do not have to be a member of ANAE to attend. Call (800) 366-1812 for more information.
VHA Health Foundation adds Taylor, Whitaker to board of directors
VHA Health Foundation, located in Irving, Texas, named James H. Taylor and David D. Whitaker to its board of directors. Taylor is president of the University of Louisville Hospital in Louisville, Ky., and Whitaker serves as CEO and president of the Norman Regional Hospital in Norman, Okla.
Catholic Health Initiatives approves $440 million replacement hospital
Catholic Health Initiatives approved a plan to build a $440 million replacement for Centura St. Anthony Central Hospital, both of which are located in Denver. The system has identified a 30-acre site in nearby Lakewood to house the 900,000-square-foot, 330-bed hospital, an annex building and medical offices.
Yale New Haven CEO to retire
Joseph Zaccagnino announced his retirement as president and CEO of New Haven, Conn.-based Yale New Haven Health System on Sept. 30, 2005. Zaccagnino has been with the organization for over 35 years, including the last 14 as president and CEO. His tenure oversaw the formation of the Yale New Haven Health System, as well as the completion of the Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital and the acquisition of Temple Medical surgical centers and radiology services.
Cleveland Clinic named top heart hospital by U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report ranked the Cleveland Clinic Health System as the top provider of heart and heart surgery care in the nation in its 2005 listing of America’s Best Hospitals. It was the 11th consecutive year it received the recognition. The hospital also finished fourth in the overall listing, which saw John’s Hopkins Hospital of Baltimore finish first for the 15th straight year. The magazine ranks all U.S. hospitals by 17 specialties: cancer; digestive disorders; ear, nose and throat; geriatrics; gynecology; heart and heart surgery; hormonal disorders; kidney disease; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopedics; respiratory disorders; urology; ophthalmology; pediatrics; psychiatry; rehabilitation and rheumatology.
McKesson awarded $143 million NHS contract extension
The National Health Service (NHS) of the United Kingdom extended its contract to implement San Francisco-based McKesson Corp.’s Electronic Staff Record system for managing its human resources and payroll operations. The 12.75-year contract includes a $143 million cash payment. When implementation is complete, all 1.2 million NHS employees (more than 7 percent of the UK workforce) will be paid through the system. Currently, Electronic Staff Record oversees the pay for 45,000 NHS employees.
Texas Health & Human Services to close 99 offices
Austin, Texas-based Texas Health and Human Services Commission announced it will close 99 offices and eliminate about 2,900 government positions by the end of 2005 as part of its plan to outsource management of its welfare program to Accenture LLP. The commission will be left with 2,600 state employees at 211 field offices. In July 2005, Accenture signed a five-year, $840 million contract with the commission to operate five call centers in San Antonio, Texas; Austin; Midland, Texas; and eastern Texas. The contract is expected to save the state $646 million over the next five years. Displaced workers will be given the chance to apply for the 2,500 positions within the Accenture call centers.
Baylor College of Medicine awarded $31 million for biomedical research
The Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation donated $31.25 million to Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. The gift is the largest private donation received by Baylor for basic biomedical research. The college will use part of the funds to begin building the new Margaret M. Alkek Building for Biomedical Research. Additional uses for the funds, to be disbursed over a five-year period, will be used to set up and expand interdisciplinary research programs in cardiovascular sciences, diabetes, cancer, pharmacogenomics, imaging, informatics and protemics, recruit faculty and lab development, and to purchase equipment.
Premier Supply Chain Collaborative series reaches goals
All 35 hospitals participating in San Diego-based Premier Inc.’s Supply Chain Collaborative Breakthrough Series reached their cost-cutting goals. The hospitals reported over $30 million in cumulative annual savings by concentrating on reducing supply costs and improving processes in cardiac cath lab, perioperative services and orthopedic services. The four-year-old series brings together participating Premier members annually to share a commitment to significant, rapid changes that produce measurable results in supply chain costs and utilization.
LifePoint Hospitals acquires Danville Regional Medical Center
Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Hospitals acquired Danville Regional Medical Center in Danville, Va. The acquisition, the largest in LifePoint history, also included related assets. The 350-bed hospital has annual revenues of about $180 million. LifePoint specializes in providing care in non-urban communities through its 50 hospitals, which represent about 5,285 licensed beds. The system had combined revenue of about $1.9 billion in 2004.
Cardinal signs $200 million supply contract with Lahey Clinic
Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health and Burlington, Mass.-based Lahey Clinic Medical Center signed a $200 million supply agreement. The five-year contract calls for Cardinal to establish a system to automate and improve the ordering, management and replenishment of pharmaceuticals and medical and surgical supplies at Lahey Clinic.
Newsome retires as dean at VCU School of Medicine
Heber H. Dickie Newsome Jr., M.D., retired June 30 as dean and professor of surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, located in Richmond, Va. During his 40-year career at VCU, Newsome served as vice chair of the school’s surgery department for 21 years, and as dean for 5 years.
IHC, GE announce first joint project to reduce medical errors
Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health Care Inc. and Waukesha, Wis.-based GE Healthcare formed a joint project to prevent adverse drug events and increase patient safety. The organizations will develop an electronic medication administration record (eMAR) at a joint clinical research center in West Valley, Utah, composed of physicians, nurses and engineers from each group. Additionally, GE will provide its Centricity IT technologies throughout the IHC network.
Humana to pay over $1 million in back wages
Louisville, Ky.-based Humana Inc. will pay more than $1 million in back wages to compensate for Fair Labor Standards Act violations. Payments will go to 2,510 customer-service and claims specialists at call centers in Louisville, Green Bay, Wis., and Cincinnati for violations that occurred from February 2003 to February 2005. The employees were not paid for off-the-clock time actually worked powering up equipment, logging onto the network and bringing up necessary computer programs. Humana denied any wrongdoing.
