Periop Pulse Novant Health announced Monday that it received approval from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to build a 20-bed hospital and a freestanding emergency department in Brunswick County. “The new facilities will elevate access to healthcare in North Carolina’s fastest-growing county,” the health system stated. Novant Health Leland…
Suburban Chicago newspaper The Daily Herald reported over the weekend that Endeavor Health’s Edward Hospital plans a nearly $29 million investment to expand its cardiovascular services. The 20-OR facility in Naperville, Ill., is struggling with capacity issues, and told state regulators that due to its primary service area’s rapidly aging population, “projected…
A new retrospective observational study published in Scientific Reports examines the effect of insurance status on mortality following surgical treatment of colorectal cancers (CRC) in the U.S. “Healthcare disparities in colorectal cancer, driven by insurance status and socioeconomic factors, lead to delayed diagnoses and poor surgical outcomes,” the researchers write. “We…
A new cluster randomized crossover trial study published on JAMA Open by Wake Forest University researchers examines whether continuous (rather than intermittent) vital sign monitoring reduces abnormalities in blood pressure, oxygenation, and heart rate during the initial 48 hours after noncardiac surgery. Using four-week ward clusters among 798 postoperative patients, “the…
At some point in our lives, most of us have dropped food on the ground, quickly picked it up, and ate it – the classic “five-second rule.” Should surgical teams apply the same “rule” when an instrument hits the floor in the OR? Most healthcare providers likely would think not,…
Health policy organization KFF on Friday published an updated study that finds just one or two health systems controlled the entire market for inpatient hospital care in nearly half of U.S. metropolitan areas in 2024. “Consolidation may allow providers to operate more efficiently and help struggling providers keep their doors open…
The Hartford Courant reports that an unclothed patient under anesthesia for outpatient surgery at Yale New Haven Health Bridgeport Hospital was allegedly photographed by a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) in the surgical suite, according to a lawsuit filed in Superior Court. Even more alarmingly, the patient allegedly wasn’t even under…
Arkansas news organization Talk Business & Politics reports that Little Rock-based Baptist Health plans to “end hospital operations” at 492-bed Baptist Health-Fort Smith with the exception of “emergency room and possibly limited surgery services.” Additionally, it reports that “some or all” of the hospital’s existing physician agreements “may” expire June 29,…
A new narrative review study posted Monday on Cureus, “Patients With Obesity on the Acute Care Surgery Service: Improving Outcomes,” posits that obesity now “represents a defining characteristic of the emergency general surgery (EGS) population," and that many clinicians and health systems need to account for this reality in their care…
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) reports that some rural hospitals in the state are suffering from a “Medicare billing snafu” that is “generating steep financial hardships” for the already struggling facilities. The report says hospital leaders have been “vexed by a recent payment processing change” by CMS that is “effectively holding…
