Natural Birthing Center Opens at Beaumont Hospital

ROYAL OAK, Mich. — The Karmanos Center for Natural Birth opened on Nov. 3 at Beaumont Hospital.

The hospital calls it a safe and natural birthing alternative for expectant moms in metro Detroit. It combines the comforts of a high-end home with the safety net of a high-tech hospital. The birthing center was built as part of the Danialle & Peter Karmanos Jr. Birth Center at Beaumont through a $6 million gift from Danialle and Peter Karmanos Jr. Karmanos has four sons who were born naturally, including two who were born at Beaumont, Royal Oak.

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Cherise Poulin

Shen Milsom & Wilke welcomed Cherise Poulin as director of health care business development. Poulin has 18 years of experience as a professional marketer in the A/E/C industry. Prior to joining Shen Milsom & Wilke, Poulin served as director of health care marketing at Perkins Eastman Architects. Her responsibilities included targeted client and business development activities focused on the health care industry.

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Longer Patient Stays Can Reduce Costs, Study Finds

NEW YORK — New evidence shows that keeping patients in the hospital one day longer can significantly cut readmissions, save patient lives and reduce costs.

Research from a September 2014 Columbia Business School study titled, “Should Hospitals Keep Their Patients Longer? The Role of Inpatient and Outpatient Care in Reducing Readmissions,” compared the impact of a longer length of stay in the hospital to the effects of outpatient care for Medicare patients.

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Health Care Employee Confidence Declines

ATLANTA — Health care worker confidence decreased to the lowest level in more than a year, according to an online study of more than 160 employees.

The Randstad Healthcare Employee Confidence Index, released by Atlanta-based health care staffing firm Randstad Healthcare, showed worker confidence fell to 54.3 in the third quarter of 2014 from 59.8 in the previous quarter. Randstad noted, however that the index remains above the positive confidence threshold of 50.0.

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Connor T. Lewis

Ryan Companies US Inc. announced that Connor T. Lewis has been hired as vice president of development for the company’s health care sector in the southeast region. In his new position, Connor works closely with health systems, physician groups and other health care providers across the nation facilitating their growth strategies through strategic real estate acquisitions, development and construction.

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Touchless Wall Switch

It takes only two to four hours for a virus to spread through an office, hotel or health care facility after a doorknob or tabletop is contaminated. To help organizations reduce the spread of infection, ATEK Access Technologies LLC released the Larco U-WAV touchless sensing wall switch, a sensor switch designed for activation of automatic doors, lighting controls or call points. The U-WAV touch-free switch is compliant with part 15 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules.

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Airflow Indicator

Procedure room and/or isolation room air pressure differential is critical for staff and patient safety. Lamiflow Airflow Indicators provide staff with the capability to observe airflow at a glance, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. These devices are the only UL-certified devices on the market today. The airflow indicators are also two-hour, Fire Wall-rated by UL, making them unique in the marketplace. All Lamiflow devices come with 3M Fire Stop protection, which is installed within the wall penetration.

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