Detroit hospital system to spend $30 million on facility improvements

In other hospital-related news, Bloomberg reports that the hospital where Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., is being treated has sued the federal government over Medicare payments and medical residency slots. KHN has a story on efforts to curb hospital ER crowding.

Detroit Free Press: St. John Providence Pours $30M Into Three Hospitals
The St. John Providence Health System will spend $30 million this year on major improvements at its Detroit, Warren and Southfield hospitals. The spending includes some of the first significant facility improvements the Warren-based system has made at many of its facilities in the last three years, a time during which it opened a $230 million Novi hospital; added a $200 million patient tower at its Detroit hospital; and bought and installed a $10 million electronic medical records system (Anstett, 1/13).

Bloomberg: U.S. Government Sued Over Medicare Payments By Hospital Treating Giffords
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was sued over Medicare reimbursements by the hospital where U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords is being treated. University Medical Center is challenging the health department over how to calculate the number of residents at the teaching hospital for Medicare reimbursement purposes. The facility asked in a complaint filed yesterday in Tucson federal court for a judge's order that the health department incorrectly overruled a review board that had sided with the hospital (Pettersson, 1/14).

Kaiser Health News: Hospitals Try New Approaches To Curb Emergency Department Crowding
Ochsner is one of a growing number of emergency departments trying new approaches to ease crowding. The efforts have added urgency as some experts predict the problem could worsen in coming years. They worry that as millions of people suddenly gain health coverage in 2014 under the new federal health law, they may have trouble finding primary care doctors and will turn to hospital emergency departments instead (Kenen, 1/14).