Michigan Hospitals Cut Pediatric X-Rays for Respiratory Illnesses by 40%
Michigan hospitals participating in a statewide quality‑improvement collaborative cut chest X‑ray use for pediatric respiratory illnesses by nearly 40 %. The program, launched in 2019 and funded by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network, analyzed 114,238 emergency‑department visits across 39 hospitals. Overall imaging rates fell from 34.3 % to 21.1 %, with incentive‑linked sites dropping to 19.2 %. The reduction did not increase ED revisits, though admission rates rose modestly to 22.5 %.
ED Strategy Redesign Aims to Improve Dementia Patient Outcomes
Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers have devised an emergency department (ED) redesign aimed at improving outcomes for patients with dementia. The intervention combines targeted problem‑identification tools, psychosocial considerations for patient‑caregiver‑clinician triads, and structured post‑discharge follow‑up. A concise, one‑hour training curriculum equips...
Acting Attorney General Forms National Fraud Enforcement Division
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (NFED) to combat fraud in taxpayer‑funded programs, a move spurred by rising Medicaid fraud concerns in Minnesota. The division consolidates oversight of existing fraud units,...
High-Dose Wegovy Debuts at $399 for Self-Paying Patients
Novo Nordisk has launched Wegovy HD, a 7.2‑mg semaglutide injection, priced at $399 per month for self‑paying patients. The FDA approved the higher‑dose formulation in March, expanding the company’s weight‑loss portfolio beyond the previous 2.4‑mg limit. The new price is...
13 Health Systems Seeking Revenue Cycle Vice Presidents
Thirteen hospitals and health systems have posted senior‑level openings for revenue cycle leadership. The positions, ranging from vice president of revenue cycle management to associate vice president of revenue cycle systems, are located across a broad geographic spread including Missouri,...
Why More Americans Are Leaving the Workforce
The U.S. labor force participation rate slipped to 61.9% in March, the lowest level since 1977 when the pandemic is excluded. The decline is driven primarily by accelerating retirements among baby‑boomers and tighter immigration flows, which together shrink the pool...
11 Hospitals, Health Systems Adding New C-Suite Roles in 2026
In 2024, eleven hospitals and health systems announced inaugural C‑suite roles slated to begin in 2026, covering positions such as chief clinical officer, chief health AI transformation officer, chief nursing executive, and chief digital and information officer. The appointments span...
UNC Health, UNC-Chapel Hill Debut Platform for AI Development
UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC Health have launched SHIRE, a secure cloud‑based platform that lets credentialed researchers access curated electronic health record data for AI development. The system, built by the NC TraCS Informatics team, offers scalable computing power while maintaining...
Imaging Delays Surge as Radiology Workforce Hits Limits: Study
Imaging interpretation turnaround times for Medicare fee‑for‑service patients have more than doubled between 2014 and 2023, rising from roughly 2.2 hours to 4.6 hours on average. The slowdown is especially acute for advanced modalities, with CT scans experiencing a 318%...
Minnesota System CEO to Retire
Astera Health CEO Joel Beiswenger announced his retirement effective July 1, ending an 18‑year tenure that began as CFO in 1998 and as CEO since 2008. Under his leadership, the system completed a merger to form Astera Health, partnered with Wadena...
DEA Issues Emergency Suspension to Tennessee Pharmacy
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued an Immediate Suspension Order against A+ Pharmacy in Chattanooga, Tennessee, revoking its authority to handle controlled substances. The action resulted from a joint investigation with the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy that uncovered violations of...
EHR Giant Convenes App Developers with Open@Epic
Epic is hosting its second annual Open@Epic conference in Verona, Wisconsin, in October, inviting app developers to expand its connected health data ecosystem. Since the inaugural event, monthly patient‑directed data exchanges via Epic APIs have climbed from roughly 3.1 billion to...
Premier Health Launches 2 Clinical Decision-Support Tools
Premier Health, a five‑hospital system in Dayton, Ohio, is deploying two AI‑driven clinical decision‑support tools across its network. The first, UpToDate Expert AI, merges evidence‑based medical content with advanced artificial intelligence and has received approval from the system’s AI governance...
Pharmacist-Led Discharge Programs Show No Overall Benefit: 4 Study Notes
A randomized trial at Cedars‑Sinai evaluated pharmacist‑led transition‑of‑care programs for adults 55 and older on multiple or high‑risk medications. Across 6,478 hospitalizations, the intervention did not significantly lower 30‑day overall or same‑hospital utilization compared with usual care. However, among patients...
Children’s Minnesota Resumes Gender Health Services After Pause
Children’s Minnesota, the only pediatric‑only health system in the state, has resumed all services in its Gender Health program after a temporary pause that began on Feb. 27. The pause was lifted following a March federal court ruling that invalidated...
UPMC Hospital Union Decertification Bid Dismissed
The National Labor Relations Board dismissed a petition to decertify SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania as the bargaining representative for roughly 290 service and maintenance workers at UPMC Washington Hospital. The board ruled that a collective bargaining agreement ratified on February 10 2025, and...
Kansas Law Trims Requirements for Nursing Instructors
Kansas Senate Bill 334, now law without Governor Laura Kelly's signature, eliminates the requirement that nursing faculty hold a credential one level higher than the program they teach. The change targets the chronic shortage of nursing educators by allowing instructors...
BJC Executives: Key Questions Shaping Value-Based Care Strategy
BJC Health System, now a 24‑hospital, $10.7 billion organization after its 2024 merger with Saint Luke’s, is deepening its value‑based care strategy across a continuum that links clinical, operational and financial teams. Executives highlighted lessons from pioneering an ACO in 2012,...
Rhode Island Hospital Birthing Center to Remain Open Amid Funding Push
Newport Hospital’s Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center will stay open only if it secures roughly $4.9 million in additional annual funding from the state and private donors. An independent Kaufman Hall review confirmed the center’s high‑quality, around‑the‑clock obstetric, pediatric and anesthesia...
OHSU CEO Out After 3 Months
Oregon Health & Science University announced that CEO Tarek Salaway, who took the helm in mid‑December, has been terminated after just three months. The university said his dismissal stemmed from his concerns about bias and resource waste being dismissed. Chief...
Arkansas System Names CEO
Arkansas’s Mississippi County Hospital System has appointed Lacey Carter, MSN, as its new chief executive officer, effective immediately. Carter joins from Ozarks Healthcare in Missouri, where she served as chief operating officer, chief nursing officer and executive director of nursing....
Sanford Health CIO Steps Into New Role
Brad Reimer has been elevated from CIO to chief technology and digital officer at Sanford Health, the 58‑hospital system based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. After nearly four years overseeing the network’s IT operations, he will now steer digital transformation,...
More Medical Schools Swap Lectures for Active Learning
U.S. medical schools are increasingly adopting flipped classroom active learning. The approach gives students material before class and uses in‑person time for discussion, problem‑solving, and hands‑on exercises. A 2025 study showed higher knowledge‑based test scores at schools using active learning....
Buffalo Bills, Kaleida Health Extend Naming Rights Partnership
Buffalo Bills and Kaleida Health have renewed their partnership, granting Kaleida naming rights to the team’s training complex, now called the Kaleida Health Performance Center. The agreement keeps Kaleida as the Bills’ official health‑care provider and expands joint community‑health initiatives...
HCA Houston Healthcare Hospital Taps New CFO
HCA Houston Healthcare Tomball announced Francis Tezanos as its new chief financial officer, effective Jan. 12. The 350‑bed facility, part of the Nashville‑based HCA Healthcare system, expects Tezanos to steer budgeting, revenue‑cycle management and strategic financial planning. Previously, he served as...
How the $100K H-1B Visa Fee Will Affect Hospitals: AHA
The Trump administration’s September executive order raised the H‑1B petition fee from roughly $3,500 to $100,000, targeting specialty‑occupation visas used by hospitals for physicians, nurses and technicians. The American Hospital Association (AHA) warns that the fee will deepen the current...
19 Health Systems Dropping Medicare Advantage Plans | 2026
Nineteen hospitals and health systems are terminating contracts with Medicare Advantage (MA) plans in 2026, citing chronic prior‑authorization denials and delayed reimbursements. The exits span major networks such as UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Aetna, and Anthem, affecting institutions from Mayo Clinic to...
Meta Gets Into Health Wearables with AI Glasses
Meta announced AI-powered smart glasses that now support prescription lenses and include a hands‑free food‑tracking feature. Users can log meals by speaking a command or snapping a photo, with the device extracting nutritional information and syncing it to the Meta...
UT Southwestern, Children’s Health Land $100M Gift for Dallas Pediatric Campus
UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Health received a $100 million gift from the Stephens Greth Foundation to advance their $5 billion joint pediatric campus in Dallas. The campus, scheduled to open in 2031, will feature Moody Children’s Hospital with 552...
131 Hospitals Sue HHS over DSH Cuts: 5 Notes
More than 130 hospitals have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, challenging a 2023 CMS rule that changes how disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments are calculated. The rule counts Medicare Advantage Part C patient...
MAHA Movement Slows
The White House’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) campaign, launched in early 2025 to curb chronic disease through lifestyle medicine, nutrition training, and revamped hospital food, has stalled as of March 2026. Leadership turmoil at the CDC—no permanent director since...
Intermountain Joins National Trauma, Grief Network
Intermountain Children’s Health and its Primary Children’s Hospital have become members of a national trauma and grief network led by the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute. The network, which also includes hospitals in Michigan, Louisiana and Texas, aims to standardize...
A $1B Campus, Leadership Handoff and Unchanged Mission: Grady’s Next Chapter
Grady Health System announced that President and CEO John Haupert will retire at the end of 2026 after a 35‑year healthcare career, with COO Anthony Saul slated to assume the role on Jan. 1, 2027. The transition coincides with a $1 billion...
Children’s Minnesota Taps New Vice President of Finance From Optum
Sannah Kahal has been appointed vice president of finance at Children’s Minnesota, a Minneapolis‑based health system, effective immediately. The announcement, posted on LinkedIn on March 31, highlights her responsibility for capital planning, controllership, enterprise reporting, financial planning and analysis, decision support,...
Beth Israel Lahey Hospital President to Retire; Successor Named
Jonathan Lind has been appointed president of Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital‑Plymouth, effective May 4, succeeding retiring leader Kevin Coughlin. Lind previously served as president of Swedish Hospital in Chicago, where he drove ambulatory growth and achieved the highest employee‑engagement scores across...
Labor Deal Ratified by Nearly 3,000 Nurses at 6 Tenet Hospitals
Nearly 3,000 registered nurses at six Tenet Healthcare hospitals in California ratified a three‑year labor contract with 93% support. The agreement, effective July 1 2025 through June 30 2028, includes wage increases of 11% to 18% over the term, a dedicated rapid‑response nurse at...
Retail Pharmacy Growth Raises Stakes for Hospitals
Retail giants are accelerating their pharmacy footprints, with Amazon planning same‑day prescription delivery in 4,500 U.S. cities by the end of 2026 and Walmart promoting 3,000 pharmacy technicians while raising wages to $22‑$40.50 per hour. Walgreens and CVS are also...
Southcoast Health Creates 12-Officer Force to Combat Workplace Violence
Southcoast Health announced the creation of an in‑house police department, deploying a 12‑officer force led by newly appointed chief Marc Duphily. The move follows five years of using Massachusetts State Special Police and is driven by a sharp rise in...
Payers’ Prior Authorization Denial Rates Go Public: 5 Notes
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized an Interoperability and Prior Authorization Rule that obliges payers to publish annual aggregated prior‑authorization metrics, with the first set due March 31 for calendar‑year 2025. The rule also shortens decision timelines to seven...
Texas Health Resources CEO to Retire, Successor Named
Barclay Berdan, CEO of Texas Health Resources, will retire in September after four decades with the system, having overseen major clinical, digital, and operational transformations since taking the helm in 2014. The board has appointed senior executive vice president and...
ACA Enrollment at 23.1 Million in 2026
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported ACA enrollment at 23.1 million for 2026, a 5% dip from the 2025 peak but still 8% above 2024 and 41% higher than 2023. New consumer sign‑ups fell 13% to 3.6 million, while returning...
Hidden OR Capacity Challenges: 8 Perioperative Leaders on What’s Draining Surgical Time
Operating rooms are losing significant capacity through hidden inefficiencies that traditional metrics like first‑case start times and turnover rates fail to capture. Perioperative leaders cite double‑block and swing‑room scheduling models, research‑driven case extensions, and over‑allocated surgeon blocks as major contributors...
Florida State University Set to Acquire Tallahassee Hospital
Florida State University’s board and the Florida Board of Governors approved the acquisition of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare’s property, converting the city‑owned hospital into an integrated academic medical center. The university will own the facility while Tallahassee Memorial continues operations under...
As Maternity Units Close, AdventHealth Restores OB Care in Rural Kansas
AdventHealth Ottawa, part of the Florida‑based AdventHealth system, reopened its Family Birth Place labor and delivery unit in September 2025 after a temporary closure in 2023. The hospital hired 11 full‑time maternity staff and plans additional providers in 2026, enabling...
MercyOne Hospital to Transition Labor and Delivery Services
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center will cease scheduled labor and delivery services after May 26, redirecting patients to MercyOne birth centers in Davenport, Dubuque and Silvis. The health system cited unsustainable demand, shifting demographics, staffing shortages and inadequate reimbursement as drivers...
6 Maternity Service Closures in 2026
In 2026, six hospitals across the United States will end or relocate their labor and delivery services, adding to the 29 maternity unit closures reported in 2025. The facilities—spanning West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Iowa, and Arkansas—cited chronic staffing shortages,...
UCLA Health Creates Leadership Role for AI Innovation
UCLA Health has appointed Katherine Andriole, PhD, as the inaugural associate dean for health AI strategy and innovation at the David Geffen School of Medicine, effective March 26. She also assumes directorship of the UCLA Center for AI and SMART Health....
1st Jesuit Medical School Advances with $2M Gift
Xavier University in Cincinnati will launch the world’s first Jesuit osteopathic medical school in fall 2027 after a $2 million gift from alumni Gary and Connie Sharpe, split with a new nursing program. Ground was broken in 2024 for a 130,000‑square‑foot...
NYC Health + Hospitals Rolls Out AI Tool to Boost Maternal Safety
NYC Health + Hospitals has launched a $2.75 million program deploying PeriWatch Vigilance, an AI‑driven early‑warning and decision‑support system for maternal‑fetal care. The tool, currently active at the North Central Bronx hospital, will be expanded to all 11 system hospitals by...
CMS Unveils New Pediatric Care Model
CMS announced the Accelerating State Pediatric Innovation Readiness and Effectiveness (ASPIRE) Model, a ten‑year voluntary initiative for up to five states to improve whole‑person care for Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries up to age 21. The model places accountability for quality...