Displaying items by tag: healthcare

Michigan ranked fifth in the nation for patient safety as more than three-quarters of hospitals in the state received an “A” or a “B” grade, according to the latest installment of a semi-annual report card.

GRAND RAPIDS — More than a decade after performing the first adult heart transplant in Grand Rapids, Spectrum Health West Michigan wants to extend the procedure to children.

The merger between Spectrum Health and Beaumont Health created a larger network from which Scott McLean can source deals.

Anew partnership between Grand Valley State University and BHSH System to increase the talent pipeline for nurses could lead to a series of similar efforts as health care and higher education officials seek to resolve an urgent staffing crisis.

Hospitals, physician groups and other care facilities owned and operated by Trinity Health in Michigan will change their names as the health system transitions to a common brand identity.

Bringing North Ottawa Community Health System into the family would give Mercy Health a larger base in an Ottawa County market that was once the home of three independent community hospitals and has become a battleground for far bigger competitors.

University of Michigan Health-West remains on track to perform its first open-heart surgery by late fall.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed legislation that reforms how physicians and hospitals seek prior authorization from health insurers for patient care.

HOLLAND — Holland Hospital has put in motion an executive leadership succession plan while looking to extend its position in the lakeshore health care market and to build clinical services through partnerships with University of Michigan Health-West.

State legislation drafted to streamline North Ottawa Community Health System’s ability to pursue a merger with a larger health system also could affect several other community hospitals across Michigan.

Legislation proposed in Congress would cap customers’ monthly out-of-pocket cost for insulin at $35, an idea President Joe Biden supported in his recent State of the Union address.

Grand Valley State University will expand its applied Medical Device Institute with help from $1 million in federal funding.

LANSING — Legislation to reform the process when physicians and hospitals seek prior authorization from health insurers for patient care cleared another hurdle toward eventual passage.

HOLLAND — Seeking to maintain continuity in the years ahead, Holland Hospital will elevate senior executives to new leadership positions.

A new system to help patients more easily renew prescription medication by phone that also saves staff time and avoids delays at University of Michigan Health-West is the result of the health system’s recent employee pitch competition. 

Costs to test, treat and vaccinate members for COVID-19 drove sharp earnings declines last year for Priority Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and both intend to work ongoing pandemic-related expenses into their rate requests for next year.

The $300 million that state lawmakers recently appropriated to help health care providers attract and retain workers amid an acute staffing shortage could begin flowing by early spring.

Anthony Chang was unfamiliar with Grand Rapids when he was invited to a recruiting tour for the Van Andel Institute while studying as a graduate student at the University of Texas’ Health Science Center at San Antonio.

The sale last year of two portfolio companies marked the first exits for The 4100 Group Inc., the investment arm of dental insurer Delta Dental of Michigan and its Ohio counterpart.

Directors at Catherine’s Health Center in Grand Rapids appointed Megan Erskine as CEO. Erskine will join the nonprofit health care provider on April 12 after her tenure with Heartland Health Centers in Chicago, where she served as chief operating officer. 

The recent merger between Spectrum Health and Beaumont Health creates the potential for Priority Health to make deeper inroads in the Southeast Michigan health insurance market.

Grand Rapids’ Spectrum Health launched its new integrated health system with Beaumont Health on Tuesday, Feb. 1.

BHSH System is a name that doesn’t exactly roll right off the tongue.

Incidents of abuse and violence against health care workers already occurred at an alarming frequency two years ago.

 Hospitals and their medical personnel who are already deeply strained from high patient volumes face an even tougher time in the weeks ahead as COVID-19 cases rise and hospitalizations reach new peaks.

Facility Health Inc.’s sale to a North Carolina software solutions provider is another example of a startup company backed by local investors in West Michigan that led to a successful exit.

The start of 2022 will be a grim one for hospitals.

Spectrum Health looks to close next year on a blockbuster merger with Southfield-based Beaumont Health. T

Praveen Thadani describes his first year as president of Priority Health as “simply exceptional.” In January, he joined the Grand Rapids-based Priority Health — the second-largest health plan in Michigan with 1.1 million members.

State lawmakers are considering more than $1.2 billion in additional funding to help health care providers overburdened by the current COVID-19 surge and other patients.