TimeMed Signs Deal With Consorta
TimeMed Labeling Systems Inc., of Burr Ridge, Ill., inked a three-year, sole-source contract for stock and custom labels, effective May 1, 2004. TimeMed’s products include wristbands, laboratory and pharmacy system labels, nursing and central sterile labels, radiology labels, general office laser labels and more than 1,500 other stock products. TimeMed also meets unique labeling needs by producing custom labels. Consorta’s more than 400 acute care facilities and 1,700 non-acute sites will benefit from the agreement, which provides value to all hospital departments because of TimeMed’s aggressive pricing structure.
OhioHealth to Build New Hospital
OhioHealth in Columbus announced plans to build an inpatient hospital in Dublin on a 77-acre tract of land. Within the last four years, OhioHealth built a health center and medical office building on part of the Dublin site. OhioHealth has owned the land for almost 20 years. The project is in the early planning stages. Cheryl Herbert was named as president of the new hospital. Herbert has served as an administrator with OhioHealth since 1998. OhioHealth cited Dublin’s population growth as the reason for moving forward on the project. According to the census, Dublin’s population has risen to 36,000, an increase of 122 percent since 1990. City planners foresee the population growing to 57,000 by 2040. The Dublin location will also serve several fast-growing areas located close by.
University of Chicago Hopes $330M Surgical Tower Attracts Patients
University of Chicago Hospitals and Health System plans to construct a $300 million, 10 story surgical tower. The expansion plans include 35 operating rooms and a 100-bed ICU. The 500,000-square-foot pavilion is scheduled to open in 2010. The hospital hopes to attract patients from the Midwest and farther who are willing to travel long distances to world-class hospitals. These patients often have life-threatening illnesses and are more likely to self-pay for services and forgo insurance company restrictions.
New Jersey Gives Orange Hospital OK to Close
The Hospital at Orange, located in Orange, N.J., received state approval to cease emergency room services effective May 5, 2004. Hospital officials assured the state health commissioner that local residents would be given sufficient notice of the emergency room’s closing. The hospital, owned by Newark-based Cathedral Healthcare System, discontinued all inpatient services on Jan. 23, 2004, but the New Jersey State Health Department ordered the hospital to continue emergency room services. Hospital officials claimed that the emergency room was underused, resulting in a loss of about $40,000 per week. Under an agreement with the state, Cathedral Healthcare System temporarily opened a primary care center at St. Mary’s Life Center in Orange in April. The care center provides adult and pediatric care and well-baby care. Women needing gynecological services are transported free-of-charge to Columbus Hospital in Newark. St Michael’s Medical Center in Newark will also provide health services to women. The hospital building is for sale. Several parties have shown interest in purchasing the buildings on the hospital property.
Lawson Signs Multi-Suite Contract With Baptist Health
Lawson Software of Minneapolis signed a multi-suite license agreement with Baptist Health Care, headquartered in Pensacola, Fla., for its Lawson Financials, Human Resources and Supply Chain Management products for Health Care suites. Baptist also licensed additional modules, including Design Studio, ProcessFlow Profes-sional and Lawson Add-Ins for Microsoft. The integrated, Web-based system allows Baptist Health timely access to data and the ability to view its entire operations. The Supply Chain Management for Health Care Suite will interface directly with Baptist’s new preoperative software for surgery management. It helps Baptist Health automate its entire supply chain, ensuring the right materials reach the right operating rooms on time. Finally, the system will also reduce errors and eliminate repeated follow-ups with vendors during the procurement process. Phase one of the implementation is expected to be completed during the final quarter of 2004, phase two the first quarter of 2005.
