News

Health Care Accessibility: ‘A Matter of Civil Rights’

7 mins

On March 28, 2012, the Department of Justice filed a settlement under the Americans with Disabilities Act with Trinity Health Systems to ensure that the Trinity Regional Medical Center provides effective communication to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing — including a settlement of $198,000 to the aggrieved individuals and a $20,000 civil penalty.

The complaint, filed in 2009, alleged that alleging that the Medical Center had inadequate mechanisms in place to ensure good communication between hospital personnel and deaf patients.

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Buric Lands St. John Contract

2 mins

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Construction consulting firm Buric has landed a contract from the St. John Medical Center in Ohio’s Eastern Lorain County to help manage a $51-million capital improvement project, which includes both renovations and new construction.

The construction is part of St. John Medical Center’s five-year modernization plan that includes building a two-story outpatient lobby, renovating the main lobby and upgrading first-floor common areas.

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Kentucky Hospitals Community Benefits Programs Total $1.6 Billion in 2010

4 mins

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Community benefit programs and services contributed nearly $1.6 billion in community benefits in 2010, according to a recent report by the Kentucky Hospital Association released last month.

The report surveyed the state’s 131 hospitals and their net costs, or revenue they received for services aside from marketing.

The report found that the financial strength of hospitals was “intimately tied” to Medicare and Medicaid payments because 71 percent of patient days are covered by one of the two programs.

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Taylor Grows Staff by 30 Percent

3 mins

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.  — Architectural health care firm Taylor reported a rebound from the economic downturn with a “remarkable surge” in new work and addition of staff at all levels.

The firm increased its staff by 30 percent, amidst a struggle by other design firms, according to Taylor officials.

In addition to working on a range of projects varying in scope and scale, the firm said their success comes from investing in a client survey that helped Taylor retool how the firm does business by refocusing attention on client priorities.

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Provider Shortage Leads to Workforce Model Research

5 mins

PRINCETON, N.J. — The current shortage of primary care providers threatens accessibility and the quality of health care, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

To combat the threat, the Foundation is teaming up with the Group Health Research Institute on a new national program designed to make primary care more efficient and effective.

The Primary Care Team: Learning from Effective Ambulatory Practices (LEAP) project aims to identify primary care practices that use health professionals and other staff in ways that optimize services.

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Health Care Groups Go for Cage-Free Food Ops

6 mins

SAN FRANCISCO — In an effort to practice social responsibility, a team of San Francisco Bay Area hospitals recently secured a contract for certified-humane, cage-free eggs from Wilcox Farms through U.S. Foodservice, a major food distributors serving the health care sector.

The University of California San Francisco Medical Center and John Muir Health are now purchasing 100 percent of their liquid eggs from Wilcox Farms — eggs that are pre-separated from their shells and constitute the majority of hospital egg purchases.

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Surgical Technology Partnership to Create State-of-the-Art Cardiac Labs

3 mins

MENTOR, Ohio — Steris Corp., a provider of surgical support and technology, announced a collaboration with St. Jude Medical Inc., a global medical device manufacturer, to plan and implement advanced cardiac laboratories for health care providers in the U.S.

The labs will feature technologies across the cardiovascular service line designed to help hospitals and clinics develop state-of-the-art laboratories that meet their changing clinical needs.

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