Mt. Sinai financial turnaround offers lessons; Hospitals object to new rules

Dec 23 2011

News outlets report on a variety of hospital issues.

CNN Money: Mt. Sinai CEO: How To Keep A Hospital Afloat
These are tough times to run a hospital, especially one that doubles as a major research facility. Uncertainty surrounding the future of health care regulation coupled with slashed government funding for scientific research has put top-tier institutions such as Mt. Sinai Hospital up a financial creek. In 2003, when Dr. Kenneth Davis took over as CEO of Mt. Sinai, the hospital was losing millions of dollars a year. Since then, he has been able to give the institution a new, sustainable business model (DuBois, 12/22).

Modern Healthcare: Coalition Lawsuit Targets Unionization Rule
The American Hospital Association, as a member of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, is party to a federal lawsuit filed against the National Labor Relations Board protesting a final rule (PDF) that it claims allows employees to unionize quickly without allowing employers to respond to accusations of unfair labor practices. The coalition called the NLRB's policy the "ambush election rule," published in Thursday's Federal Register, and would take hold on April 30. The NLRB reasoned that the rule reduces litigation and makes the process more efficient, saving time and money when determining which union members should represent the group during collective bargaining (Selvam, 12/22).

Modern Healthcare: AHA Airs Concerns About ASC Regulations
The American Hospital Association submitted 19 pages of concerns (PDF) regarding federal regulations to ambulatory surgical centers. ... Thursday's letter contained AHA's worries regarding changes to emergency equipment requirements for ASCs. The AHA disagrees with the CMS assessment that the equipment in question, which is used in case of complications from administering anesthesia, is unnecessary. They called the equipment "a necessary patient safety protection." The AHA also holds concerns to changes on how ASCs would report infection-control problems (Selvam, 12/22).

Meanwhile, lawmakers are asking for a study of how doctors are trained at hospitals.

CQ HealthBeat: Senators Want An In-Depth Look At Graduate Medical Education
Seven senators from both sides of the aisle are asking the Institute of Medicine to do a thorough review of the nation's system of graduate medical education that funds medical residencies. It's an indication of the growing interest in Congress in shaping the future of the physician corps as the health care law is implemented with its emphasis on coordinated care and primary care. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), there's been "no appreciable increase" in the median number of active primary-care physicians per 100,000 population between 2008 and 2010 (Norman, 12/22).