UNT briefs
\n(Denton Record-Chronicle © 09/02/2011)
Perry makes three appointments to board \n\n Texas Gov. Rick Perry has appointed three members to the University of North Texas system Board of Regents for terms to expire May 22, 2017. \n\n Donald Potts o");
document.write("f Dallas is founder of Capital Institutional Services, and is an institutional broker and dealer. He is a member of the UNT President’s Counci...\n
Hospital Association Honors Five Legislators for Work on Health Care Issues
\n(Texas Insider © 08/29/2011)
Texas Insider Repor");
document.write("t: AUSTIN, Texas? ? The Texas Hospital Association is honoring five of Texas? 181 state legislators with the Texas Hospital Advocacy Tribute award in recognition of their individual contributions to health care public policy in the 82nd Texas Legislature.\n\n\n?Although health care suffered budget cuts along with every other sector dependent on state funding, there were some bright...\n
Day 29: State Cuts Nursing Education Funding
\n(Texas Tribune © 08/29/2011)
Throughout the month of August, The Texas Tribune is featuring 31 ways Texans' lives will change come Sept. 1, the date most bills passed by the Legislature — including the dramatically reduced budget — take effect. Check out our story calendar here. \n\nDay 29: The state has dramatically reduced support for nursing education, meaning Texas will continue to face a critical shortage ...\n
Texas' newest seminary opening inside a state prison
\n(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 08/28/2011)
Texas' newest seminary will launch Monday - inside a Texas prison.It starts with 40 inmates who will be trained at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Darrington Unit in Rosharon, about 300 miles southeast of Fort Wor");
document.write("th.Fort Worth's Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary will play a big role in the seminary, as will the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and the Heart of Texas Foundat...\n
Health care policies focus of luncheon
\n(Lubbock Avalanche-Journal © 08/27/2011)
By Kellie Bramlet Copyright 20");
document.write("11 . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. \nAVALANCHE-JOURNAL \n\n\nLubbock residents will hear from state health care policy experts next week on an issue important to Lubbock community members. \n\nA panel will explain and discuss new health care policies and other issues at the Health Care Policy Luncheon: An Ex...\n
Local legislator honored by state association
\n(Lubbock Avalanche-Journal © 08/26/2011)
By Enrique Rangel Copyright 2011 . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. \nA-J AUSTIN BUREAU \n\n\nAUSTIN ? Once again, the Texas Hospital Association is honoring Sen. Robert Duncan and four other legislators for their work on health issues during this year?s session.\n\nIn a recently released statement, the association praised Duncan, R-Lubbock...\n
Business Calendar
\n(Lubbock Avalanche-Journal © 08/21/2011)
WEDNESDAY\n\nJob Search Seminar ? 9 a.m.-noon. Workforce Solutions, 1218 14th St. Cost: No charge. Registration is requested. For information or registration, contact Myra McNeil, seminar facilitator, at 765-5038, ext. 2131.\n\nFocus on Your Business ? 11:30 a");
document.write(".m.-1 p.m., Wells Fargo Center, 1500 Broadway, San Jacinto Room, second floor. Cost: $12 for Lubbock Chamber of Commerce members, $15 for non-me...\n
Close-up: Texas under Perry
\n(Houston Chronicle © 08/18/2011)
This is the second of four reports looking at the state of Texas infrastructure u");
document.write("nder the tenure of Gov. Rick Perry, a GOP candidate for president.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSeven years ago, when Jake Margo graduated from Texas A&M University medical school, he chose Rio Grande City, one of the poorest towns in Texas, to begin his career. There, he plunged into grueling 80- to 90-hour workweeks seeing a blur of ...\n
Fo");
document.write("ur ECHD trustees receive award
\n(Odessa American © 08/16/2011)
A state-wide organization recognized four trustees from the Ector County Hospital District board for their excellence several weeks ago.\n\nMary Lou Anderson, Judy Hayes, Richard Herrera and Virgil Trower were recognized at the Texas Healthcare Trustees Annual Conference July 28 to July 30 in Fort Worth, a press release stated.\n\n“We felt honored,” Trower said.\n\nThe award recognized indiv...\n
Business Calendar
\n(Lubbock Avalanche-Journal © 08/14/2011)
TUESDAY\n\nStart Your Own Business Workshop, Part 3 ? 6-9 p.m., Science Spectrum, Reception Room, 2579 S. Loop 289. Cost: $60 for all four sessions or $20 individually. Workshops cover basics of starting your own business concerning financing your business, marketing and the marketing plan, and a business plan. Call Elaine at 745");
document.write("-1637 to reserve a seat. Seating is limited. \n\n\nWEDNESDAY\n\nJob Search S...\n
Willcox receives Texas Healthcare Trustees Founders' Award
\n(The Anahuac Progress © 08/12/2011)
Willcox receives Texas Healthcare Founders?Award\r\n\r\nBen T. ?Tommy? Willcox, chair of the Chambers County Public Hospita");
document.write("l District Board of Directors, has received the Texas Healthcare Trustees? highest honor, the Founders? Award, for 2011. Willcox was honored at a luncheon last week held in conjunction with THT?s Annual Conference in Fort Worth.\r\n\r\nEstablished in 1972, the award is presented to tr...\n
Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce to ");
document.write("host health-care meeting
\n(El Paso Times © 08/07/2011)
In 2006, recognizing the need to address access and health coverage challenges in the region, the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce, through its Healthcare Council, engaged the Texas Health Institute (THI) to facilitate community collaboration and identify potential strategies to address these challenges. Using THI's Stakeholder Analysis Tool, the Healthcare Council identified key community lead...\n
East Texas Hospitals Recognized For Promoting Breast-Feeding
\n(Tyler Morning Telegraph © 08/07/2011)
By COSHANDRA DILLARD\nStaff Writer\n\nAfter trying to have a baby for three years, Christy Clinnard, 37, of Longview, finally received her miracle on July 30. In addition to the new tasks she will face caring for newborn Brooks, the new stay-at-home-mom must learn the art of breastfeeding.\n\n\n\"Let's");
document.write(" do this. How have you been holding him: Across you or beside you?\" asked Paula Hiett, a registered nurs...\n
John Phillips named chief of Methodist Mansfield
\n(Dallas Business Journal © 07/22/2011)
John Phillips named chief of Methodist Mansfield \r\nDallas Business Journal - by Bill Hethcock");
document.write(" , Staff Writer \r\n\r\nMethodist Health System has named John Phillips president of Methodist Mansfield Medical Center.\r\n\r\nPhillips, who serves as regional chief operating officer of Christus St. Michael Health System in Texarkana, will join the Methodist team Aug. 22.\r\n\r\nPhillips began his career at Hendrick...\n
Anti-abortion");
document.write(" measure targets Travis County
\n(Texas Tribune © 07/20/2011)
Anti-Abortion Measure Targets Travis County\r\nby Ari Auber\r\n \r\nAn amendment that conservative state lawmakers hoped would wipe out the only taxpayer-funded elective abortions in Texas ultimately might not do much at all.\r\n\r\nOne of many tacked onto an omnibus health care bill during the Legislature's special session in June, the amendment by Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center, aims to remove state fun...\n
Texas hopsital mistakes to be reported, new tools for patients
\n(KEYE-TV © 07/19/2011)
Texas hospital mistakes to be reported, new tools for patients\r\n\r\nReported by: Chris Coffey\r\nTuesday, July 19 2011\r\n\r\nTexas requires hospitals to report their medical errors, but patients have yet to see the results. KEYE-TV investigated what's causing the hold-up and how patients can help prevent futur");
document.write("e mistakes.\r\n\r\nKatherine Daniel had a lymph node removed as part of a cancer treatment in 2006...\n
San Angelo native stands tall and proud
\n(San Angelo Standard-Times © 07/19/2011)
San Angelo native stands tall and proud\r\nMan now serves in ceremonial unit\r\n\r\nBy Trish Choate Scripps Howard N");
document.write("ews Service Contact Texas regional reporter Trish Choate at 202-408-2709 or choatet@shns.com. \r\n\r\nTuesday, July 19, 2011 \r\n\r\nARLINGTON, Va. ? San Angelo native Maj. James Stultz practically had to learn how to march all over again before he took one solemn step for The Old Guard.\r\n\r\nWest P...\n
THA representatives visit with");
document.write(" Lubbock hospital officials
\n(Lubbock Avalanche-Journal © 07/13/2011)
By Kellie Bramlet Copyright 2011 . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. \nAvalanche-Journal \n\n\nAfter the close of the 82nd session of the Texas Legislature, representatives from the Texas Hospital Association traveled to Lubbock to meet with nearly 30 hospital staff members from across the South Plains on Tuesday morning and discuss how le...\n
Austin-area care providers brace for state cuts
\n(Austin American-Statesman © 07/11/2011)
With one action, the Texas Legislature sought to forbid Central Health from funding elective abortions for about 1,000 low-income women in Travis County. With another, it cut an estimated $2 million in family planning money to prevent unwanted pregnancies for thousands more Travis women.\r\n\r\n");
document.write("Those are among the new edicts that hospital, clinic and other health care officials in the Austin area are ...\n
How Long Should Texas Docs Treat Untreatable Patients? The Debate That Won't Go Away.
\n(Dallas Observer © 07/08/2011)
Jordan Allen's case will become part of Texas' annual debate");
document.write(" over medical futility.\nLast week, just outside of Houston, a little boy's parents were scrambling. Doctors at Texas Children's Hospital had told them there was nothing more they could do for the boy, 14-year-old Jordan Allen, whose brain is dotted with inoperable tumors. He was on a ventilator and in a coma, and further treatment ...\n
Medicaid payments go under the knife
\n(USA Today © 07/06/2011)
To curb rising Medicaid costs, about a dozen states are starting a new budget year by reducing payments to doctors, hospitals and other health care providers that treat the poor.\n\nSome health care experts say the cuts, most of which went into effect July 1 or will later this month, could add to a shortage of physicians and other providers participating in Medicaid.\n\"Further depressing payment rate...\n
HAROLD TRAMMELL
\n(Texarkana Gazette © 06/20/2011)
Harold Jerry Trammell, 74, of Texarkana, Texas, died Friday, June 17, 2011, in a local hospital.\n\nMr. Trammell was born Nov. 4, 1936, in Gilmer, Texas. He was former hospital administrator of Linden Hospital, Linden, Texas; former chairman of Texas Hospital Association, northeast divis... \n\nPublished: 06/20/2011\n\n\nSig");
document.write("n in to view full story or view our Registration Guide....\n
Hospital improves newborn care
\n(McKinney Courier Gazette © 06/16/2011)
Medical professionals throughout the state have joined new area mothers in recognizing how much Medical Center of McKinney (MCM) cares about breastfeeding.The ");
document.write("Department of State Health Services and the Texas Hospital Association recently designated MCM as a 2011 Texas Ten Step Facility, an award for birthing hospitals that provide an environment that supports the breastfeeding mother.\"We have wor...\n
First Reading: Sunday shows contemplate Perry candidacy
\n(");
document.write("Austin American-Statesman © 06/13/2011)
Perry speaks to thousands in California, Romney leads in latest Gallup poll and the NBA title comes back to Texas.\n\n\n(Happy birthday to Amanda Engler of the Texas Hospital Association.)\n\n\nSenate is in at 1:30. House is out until Tuesday.\n\n\nBig week for Gov. Rick Perry. It began Sunday with a speech at a 5,000-person anti-abortion event in Los Angeles. From Reuters: “The governor’s Engl...\n
Bounty of beds bad news for area hospitals
\n(Houston Chronicle © 06/13/2011)
Leaders of the city's largest private and public hospital systems say Houston has too many hospital beds.\nDespite the rise in population, there's a drop in the number of people using hospital beds and the length of the time they spend in them, said Dan Wolterman, CEO of the nonprofit Memorial Hermann Healthcare System.\n\"You can't grow population fast eno");
document.write("ugh to offset the declining use rate,\" he sa...\n
TRMC Medicare RAC standings higher than national average
\n(Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune © 06/07/2011)
TRMC Medicare RAC standings higher than national average \r\n\r\nBy MARCIA DAVIS-SEALE - Tribune City Editor\r\nTuesday, June 7, 2011 11:42 AM CDT");
document.write("\r\n\r\nRichard Schirmer. Courtesy photo.\r\n \r\nTitus Regional Medical Center officials say TRMC has admirably waded through the first year of healthcare reform?s mandatory Medicare payment audits. As reports of automated reviews and complex reviews of Medicare paym...\n
Birthrate falling at JPS
\n(Fort Worth S");
document.write("tar-Telegram © 06/06/2011)
Births at John Peter Smith Hospital are expected to fall more than 20 percent by next year, a development that officials at the public hospital district attribute in part to the stagnant economy.With just 3,300 deliveries through April of this fiscal year, births have decreased 12 percent from 2010, officials said.The hospital anticipates that deliveries will drop 10 percent more next year, said B...\n
Health bill would require hospitals to develop vaccine policies for employees
\n(Austin American-Statesman © 06/04/2011)
Published: 8:27 p.m. Friday, June 3, 2011\n\n\n\nUnder a wide-ranging health care bill approved Friday by the Texas Senate, hospitals would have to develop policies requiring immunizations for employees who have contact with patients.\n\nThe provision, which can include everyone from housekeepers to doctor");
document.write("s, is intended to protect patients from exposure to preventable diseases, ...\n
Stuart & Shaivitz: Spending cuts threaten health care
\n(Austin American-Statesman © 05/28/2011)
As the mothers of children whose lives were saved by health care providers in Texas, we are writing to add our voice");
document.write("s to the debate surrounding the Legislature's efforts to balance the state budget. Although we understand that there are fewer dollars available to meet the government's obligations, we believe that cuts to health care spending could cause permanent damage to the system.\n\nWe have fir...\n
Too-vague abortion restriction to be");
document.write(" cut from bill, panel leader says
\n(Austin American-Statesman © 05/28/2011)
A late-session House amendment banning state funding to any hospital or clinic that performs abortions will be rewritten or removed from a Medicaid overhaul bill, a key legislator said Friday.\n\nThe problem is a vaguely worded section of the amendment that also bans state family planning money for facilities that offer \"abortion-related services,\" said Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond, co-chairman of ...\n
\n(Bloomberg News © 05/28/2011)
Texas Legislators Pass Two-Year Budget That Shorts Schools by $4 Billion\r\nBy David Mildenberg - May 28, 2011 \r\n\r\nTexas lawmakers passed a two-year spending plan today that cuts spending on health care, hospitals and higher education in the second most-populous U.S. state,");
document.write(" and provides $4 billion less to schools than mandated by law. \r\n\r\nMembers of the House of Representatives and Senate voted most...\n
State budget deal calls for $15 billion in cuts
\n(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 05/27/2011)
AUSTIN -- A compromise budget that cuts state spending by $15.1 billi");
document.write("on over the next two years is heading to lawmakers for a final vote before Monday's legislative adjournment.But on another critical front, an impasse remained over school finance as House and Senate leaders near the make-or-break point for reaching a deal before time runs out.Negotiators approved the $172.3 billion biennial budge...\n
Hospital district trustees receive nurse staffing report
\n(Mineral Wells Index © 05/27/2011)
By Libby Cluett | lcluett@mineralwellsindex.com\n\n\n\n Palo Pinto General Hospital trustees welcomed new board member Lori Baker Tuesday for her first official meeting.\n\n\n\n Baker, a nurse for Dr. Richard Hoefelmann, replaces outgoing 20-year board veteran Jeanette Ender, who, although she filed for election, decided to resign at the end of her term.\n\n\n\n Board members J.C. Colton and Tim Hopkins will ...\n
Health care cuts affect lives, not just dollars
\n(San Antonio Express-News © 05/27/2011)
As the mothers of children whose lives were saved by health care providers in Texas, we are writing to add our voices to the debate surrounding the Legislature's efforts to balance the state budget. Although we understand that there are fewer dollars availabl");
document.write("e to meet the government's obligations, we believe that cuts to health care spending could cause permanent damage to the system.\n\nWe have fir...\n
Texas House approves new health care organizations
\n(El Paso Times © 05/25/2011)
The creation of the new type of health organization, known as a ");
document.write("collaborative, is intended to encourage insurers, hospitals and doctors to work together. A collaborative would collect payments from consumers in return for providing health care and also set fixed costs for medical procedures. \n\nCritics say it would violate anti-trust laws by allowing price fixing. \n\nThe bill's sponsor, Stat...\n
Dewhurst, others fire back at FTC
\n(Austin American-Statesman © 05/24/2011)
Swinging back, state Republican leaders sent a sharply worded letter to a federal commission that had been critical of a state Senate health care plan.\n\n\nLt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Attorney General Greg Abbott and Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, fired off the letter to the Federal Trade Commission today in response to the commission’s stance on Senate Bill 8. \n\n\nLast week the commission said...\n
Sensitive topic of futile medical care faces long road in Legislature
\n(Austin American-Statesman © 05/24/2011)
For the fourth consecutive session, Texas legislators are struggling with the \ndelicate issue of how and when doctors can allow patients to die by \nwithholding life-sustaining treatment against the wishes of family members.\n\n\n\n\nIt's a nuanced, diff");
document.write("icult question that can be ill-suited to the blunt-force \nnature of lawmaking.\n\n\n\n\nAnd true to form, tackling the issue this legislative session has spl...\n
State leaders defend SB 8 against FTC critique
\n(Lone Star Report © 05/24/2011)
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Atty. Gen. Greg Abbott fir");
document.write("ed back to the Federal Trade Commission, which last week said there are potential antitrust issues with SB 8.\n\nSB 8 aims to foster health care cooperatives intended to reduce the increasing costs of Medicaid. The cooperatives are ?unnecessary and will allow private health care collaboratives to engage in unsupervised anticompetitive conduct,\" a...\n
Higher demand makes air ambulances viable
\n(El Paso Times © 05/23/2011)
Sierra Providence Health Network recently announced it will operate a helicopter designed as a flying intensive-care unit around the clock. Las Palmas Del Sol Healthcare opened a new helipad at Del Sol Medical Center. Del Sol also plans to contract helicopter services in the future. El Paso's University Medical Center, a \"Level 1\" trauma center, also has a helipad. \n\nBoth private hospital netw...\n
Texas Hospitals Face Dramatic Payment Overhaul
\n(Texas Tribune © 05/23/2011)
The budget that state lawmakers are poised to accept attempts to eliminate wide variations in what hospitals are paid by Medicaid for performing the same procedures on similarly sick patients — a sweeping change in how Texas hospitals are funded.\n\nIn a controversial move");
document.write(", the state budget sets the same base payment rate — called a standard dollar amount, or SDA — for most Texas h...\n
Some cuts don?t heal
\n(Orange Leader © 05/22/2011)
ORANGE — \n CHRISTUS Hospital-St. Elizabeth and St. Mary, CHRISTUS Jasper Memorial Hospital, Baptist Hospit");
document.write("als of Southeast Texas, and The Medical Center of Southeast Texas are privileged to serve the health care needs of this region. Our more than 5,200 employees work around the clock, 365 days a year to provide area residents with the best care possible when they need it.\n\n\n\n Despite everyo...\n
Doc on the payroll
\n(Mineral Wells Index © 05/20/2011)
By Libby Cluett | lcluett@mineralwellsindex.com\n\n\n\n AUSTIN – A new Texas law recently passed by the Legislature and enacted by Governor Rick Perry is expected to assist rural hospitals recruit physicians.\n\n\n\n The new law removes a 100-year-old barrier to employing physicians, which was intended to prohibit hospitals from interfering with physicians’ independent medical judgment, explai...\n
Deal on state health spending aids docs but leaves Medicaid hanging
\n(Austin American-Statesman © 05/18/2011)
Backing away from most proposed health care cuts, legislative budget writers avoided the prospect of closing down nursing homes, forcing people with disabilities into institutions and shutting low-income people out of Texas' health care system.\n\nBut in avoiding the nightmare scenarios, the House-Senate budget conferen");
document.write("ce committee left a gaping shortfall in the state's health and human services bud...\n
Rural communities to get assistance to recruit physicians
\n(Gonzales Inquirer © 05/17/2011)
AUSTIN ? A new Texas law recently passed by the Legislature and\nenacted by Governor Rick Perry on Thursday May 12");
document.write(", 2011 will assist\nwith the recruiting of more physicians into much of rural Texas.\nThe new law removes a 100 year old barrier to employing physicians\nand will now allow most rural hospitals, including Gonzales\nHealthcare Systems the option of making a physician an employee of\nthe hospi...\n
Texas Health Care Industry Watche");
document.write("s Austin for Possible Medicaid Cuts
\n(KUHF-FM © 05/16/2011)
TX Health Care Industry Watches Austin for Possible Medicaid Cuts\r\n\r\nMay 16, 2011\r\n\r\nby: Carrie Feibel\r\n\r\nThe Texas Medical Association held its annual meeting this past weekend in Houston. More than 1,000 physicians from all over the state gathered here for continuing education and updates on health policy. As KUHF Health Science and Technology reporter Carrie Feibel found, the doctors are keepin...\n
Perry signs physicians'' bill into law
\n(Lubbock Avalanche-Journal © 05/14/2011)
AUSTIN ? The Medical Center of Dimmitt is fully staffed, and for Skylar Bizzell and three other doctors at the Castro County facility this is a big weight off their shoulders because it is not easy for them to recruit physicians.\r\n\r\nBut on Friday Bizzell was thrilled to hear the news that Gov. Rick Perry signe");
document.write("d a bill authored by Sen. Robert Duncan that allows rural hospitals like those in Ochiltr...\n
Rural physician employment legislation signed into law
\n(Lubbock KCBD (NBC) 11 © 05/14/2011)
KCBD -\n \n\nGov. Rick Perry signed into law legislation that proponents say will have a significant i");
document.write("mpact on rural healthcare in Texas.\n\nSB 894 authored by Sen. Robert Duncan and Rep. Garnet Coleman allows counties with a population less than 50,000 to directly hire physicians. Hospitals designated as critical access hospitals and a hospital that is the sole medical facility in the community w...\n
Rural hospitals may hire");
document.write(" physicians
\n(Lubbock Avalanche-Journal © 05/13/2011)
By Enrique Rangel \r\nA-J AUSTIN BUREAU \r\n\r\nAUSTIN ? Rural hospitals in West Texas and across the state have something to celebrate. \r\n\r\nGov. Rick Perry on Thursday signed a bill by Sen. Robert Duncan that will allow hospitals in counties with populations of no more than 50,000 to hire their own doctors. \r\n\r\n?I am really pleased,? Duncan, R-Lubbock, said after Perry?s office notified his office that...\n
Hospitals to Budget Conferees: Cuts Hit Us Too Hard
\n(Texas Tribune © 05/12/2011)
Texas hospitals have a pointed message for the lawmakers hashing out the final details of the 2012-13 budget: The proposed cuts hit them too hard. \n\nSteep Medicaid rates cuts, coupled with a 23 percent reduction in trauma funding, \"will curtail growth in the health care sector, lead to more unemployment and re");
document.write("duce access to health care services in communities statewide,\" Dan Stultz, president...\n
Sensitive topic of futile medical care faces long road in Legislature
\n(Austin American-Statesman © 05/09/2011)
For the fourth consecutive session, Texas legislators are struggling with the \ndelicate is");
document.write("sue of how and when doctors can allow patients to die by \nwithholding life-sustaining treatment against the wishes of family members.\n\n\n\n\nIt's a nuanced, difficult question that can be ill-suited to the blunt-force \nnature of lawmaking.\n\n\n\n\nAnd true to form, tackling the issue this legislative session has spl...\n
Elections:");
document.write(" Abilene Mayor Norm Archibald wants 'three more years'
\n(Abilene Reporter-News © 05/01/2011)
Age: 60\n\nOccupation: Vice president, Hendrick Health System\n\nPolitical experience: Mayor of Abilene, elected 2004, re-elected 2005 and 2008. Abilene City Council, elected 2000 and re-elected 2003.\n\nEducation: Bachelor of science, Texas A&M; Master of education, Texas A&M; Master of science, Abilene Christian University; Doctor of education, Texas Tech University.\n\nCommunity Activities: Abilene Cha...\n
St. David's HealthCare CMO stepping down
\n(Austin Business Journal © 04/27/2011)
Berkowitz\n \n\n\n \n\nDr. Steve Berkowitz is stepping down from his post as St. David?s HealthCare chief medical officer to launch a consulting business.\n\n\nBerkowitz, who has been with St. David?s for 13 years, is leaving the health care");
document.write(" system on May 18 to start SMB Healthcare Consulting.\n\n\nBerkowitz plans to consult with hospitals around the country.\n\n\nDu...\n
Infections top safety issues for hospitals
\n(Houston Chronicle © 04/25/2011)
The most common hospital-contracted malady among older patients in Houston is systemic ");
document.write("vascular infections, a problem often caused by unsanitary or improper procedures during their hospital stay, a new study of Medicare claims shows.Among 46 hospitals within a 50-mile radius of the city of Houston, half reported vascular infections in Medicare patients through catheters, the tubing used for variou...\n
Healthc");
document.write("are figures point to Tarrant County hospital flaws but can be confusing
\n(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 04/24/2011)
The woman's path to gangrene began with a simple, painful fall.At Baylor Surgical Hospital at Fort Worth after surgery in 2008, the 67-year-old, disoriented and on pain medications, called for help, according to a lawsuit filed in state district court in Fort Worth.But nurses failed to respond, the lawsuit says, and Edna Faye Smith fell from bed and broke her leg and ankle. When nurses placed her ...\n
Lucio: I will vote against the Senate budget
\n(Rio Grand Guardian © 04/21/2011)
AUSTIN, April 20 - The Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote out its version of the state budget for the 2012-13 biennium this week.\n\n\nThis will mark only the next step of a process that is entering its most critical phase. \n\n\nEarlier this month the Te");
document.write("xas House voted out its version of the budget. It was described as a ?bare bones? budget, coming in at $164.5 billion. \n\n\nMembers of the Sena...\n
Senate Budget Takes Aim at Texas Hospitals
\n(Texas Tribune © 04/19/2011)
It doesn’t include a “sick tax.” But the Senate versio");
document.write("n of the state’s 2012-13 budget still takes direct aim at hospitals, in an effort to find hundreds of millions of dollars in cost savings and narrow the state’s revenue gap.\n\nSeveral budget riders the Senate Finance Committee quietly approved late last week curb how much hospitals are paid for uninsured and underin...\n
Betty Jane Dalrymple
\n(Waco Tribune-Herald © 04/19/2011)
Betty Jane Dalrymple went home to be with the Lord Sunday, April 17, 2011. A private graveside service will be held at Oakwood Cemetery in Waco. \n\nBetty was born June 10, 1924, in Otto, Texas, to Leonard and Ruby Williams. Betty Jane, or \"BJ\" as she was known to her grandchildren and legion of friends, was the oldest of their four children, and the big sister to John Ed, David and Bill George Will...\n
Jose Luna: Budget cuts would hurt El Paso health care
\n(El Paso Times © 04/17/2011)
University Medical Center of El Paso is privileged to serve the health-care needs of our community. Our more than 2,200 associates work around the clock, 365 days a year to provide area residents with the best care possible when they need it. \n\nDespite everyone's best efforts, some illnesses or injurie");
document.write("s can't be healed. And it's the same way with the budget cuts that have been proposed in Austin. ...\n
Anti-abortion groups disagree on end-of-life law
\n(Texas Tribune © 04/12/2011)
Anti-Abortion Groups Disagree On End-Of-Life Law\r\n? by Emily Ramshaw\r\n\r\nThe state?s two leading anti-abortion ");
document.write("groups agree on where life begins, but not on a law governing how it may come to an end. \r\nTexas Right to Life wants doctors and hospitals to continue treating terminal patients as long as they or their families want ? or until they can find another medical facility that will. They?re endo...\n
Health care cuts will leave st");
document.write("ate in critical condition, foes say
\n(Austin American-Statesman © 04/10/2011)
Deep spending cuts in the recently passed House budget would profoundly change the state's medical system, placing tens of thousands of Texans in the difficult position of finding alternate care from a dwindling list of prospects, health care advocates warn.\n\nMuch of the impact would be on elderly Texans, adults with disabilities, those in need of mental health care and low-income families in sear...\n
");
document.write("Chamber Notepad: Some cuts won't heal
\n(Corsicana Daily Sun © 04/10/2011)
By Paul Hooper\n \n\n Corsicana Daily Sun\n The Corsicana Daily Sun\n \n \n \n\nSun Apr 10, 2011, 11:00 AM CDT\n\n\nCorsicana — \n This past week a number of meetings were held across our community concerning the impact the budget cuts being discussed in Austin. I do not envy the task the legislators");
document.write(" have. It is obvious there will be cuts in education, health care, social and criminal programs, etc...\n
Medicaid payments at Waco hospitals differ greatly for same services
\n(Waco Tribune-Herald © 04/10/2011)
By Cindy V. Culp \n Tribune-Herald staff writer\n Sunday April 10, 2011...\n
<");
document.write("br/>
What a hospital tax could look like in Texas
\n(Texas Tribune © 04/08/2011)
What A Hospital Tax Could Look Like in Texas\r\nby Emily Ramshaw and Ryan Murphy April 8, 2011 Texas hospitals are abuzz over quiet conversations in the Senate about a possible \"quality assurance fee,\" or tax on hospitals t");
document.write("o raise revenue to beef up Medicaid. Such a tax looks highly unlikely; lawmakers have said the hospitals would largely have to be on board before they'd risk it ? and the hospita...\n
New Braunfels birthing center progress announced
\n(San Antonio Express-News © 04/07/2011)
Officials from Chr");
document.write("istus Santa Rosa Hospital?New Braunfels March 30 announced plans during a formal reception to renovate the hospital's birthing center. The work is estimated to cost approximately $500,000.\n\nUpgrades include the conversion of private rooms from the present 11 to a total of 16, each decorated to create a comfortable environment for families of newborns.\n\nThe full renovation include...\n
Hospitals, Advocates at Odds Over Preemie Bills
\n(Texas Tribune © 04/05/2011)
Lawmakers agree that curbing elective inductions of labor and so-called “convenience” cesarean sections would prevent premature births and save the state money. But how best to do it has left child welfare advocates and hospitals at odds.\n\nHospitals are backing legislation by Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, that would cut off Medicaid reimbursements for providers who induce labor befor...\n
GUEST COLUMN: Proposed health care cuts damaging
\n(Lufkin Daily News © 04/03/2011)
Both Memorial Health System of East Texas and Woodland Heights\nMedical Center are privileged to serve the health care needs of\nLufkin, Angelina County and surrounding areas. In our two\nhospitals, more than 2,200 employees work ar");
document.write("ound the clock, 365\ndays a year to provide residents with quality health care when they\nneed it. Hospitals are not like schools, where grandparents,\nparents and children a...\n
Stultz: Deep budget cuts will harm health care at Texas hospitals
\n(Austin American-Statesman © 04/02/2011)
Texas i");
document.write("s tops in attracting business to the state, winning Site Selection magazine's latest Governor's Cup award for the number of new or expanded corporate facilities.\n\nThis recognition affirms Texas' stellar track record in creating new jobs. But our success could be our downfall if we don't make smart investments in essential services. Unless we adequately fund our hospitals, schools and transp...\n
H.C. workers may need vaccines
\n(Austin Business Journal © 04/01/2011)
A proposed bill that would require health care workers to receive vaccines for preventable diseases will be heard by Texas legislators.\n\n\nThe proposal, introduced by State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, requires health care facilities ? including hospitals and senior care facilities ? to have policies in place that specify what Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-recommended vaccines the...\n
Work under way for $800M hospital at UTSW
\n(Dallas Business Journal © 04/01/2011)
Adding space: The new 460-bed University Hospital will replace the 270-bed University Hospital-St. Paul. Officials will decide later what to do with the existing facility.\n \n\n\n \n\nT");
document.write("he University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center has started preconstruction work on an $800 million, 460-bed hospital that will create as many as 1,000 jobs when it opens ...\n
Local hospital leaders warn against cuts
\n(San Antonio Express-News © 04/01/2011)
Warning that San Antonio's med");
document.write("ical sector stands to lose $200 million over the next two years if proposed state budget cuts take place, the leaders of San Antonio's four major hospital systems predicted the result would be job losses, service cuts, higher insurance premiums and higher local taxes. \n\nAt a news conference Thursday at the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce also attended by Count...\n
Proposed Health Care Cuts Strike Close To Home
\n(San Antonio KSAT (ABC) 12 © 04/01/2011)
SAN ANTONIO -- On Thursday, the day before the state budget goes before lawmakers, hospital systems leaders spoke about the proposed health care cuts.\n\n\n\n \n\nWatch Stephanie Serna's Report \n\n\nCEO's with Santa Rosa, Baptist, Methodist and University Health systems said if those budgets go through, San Antonians are going to see a $200 million reduction locally.\n\nThey said the reduction in funding...\n
San Antonio hospital systems say cuts will be devastating
\n(San Antonio WOAI (NBC) © 04/01/2011)
SAN ANTONIO - Major San Antonio hospital systems are worried and frustrated about the severe impact health care cuts would have on all of us, including uninsured children.\n\nAutumn Padgett depends on Medicaid to get ");
document.write("the critical care her two children with serious health issues need. Lawmakers are looking at cutting funding for Medicaid substantially. County leaders and hospitals realize those cuts ...\n
Protests swamp budget process
\n(Amarillo Globe-News © 03/31/2011)
AUSTIN - It was a sunny and breezy ");
document.write("Wednesday morning, perfect for about 300 people gathered outside the State Capitol to protest proposed cuts to health care services to offset a revenue shortfall of up to $27 billion.\n\nDan Stultz, president and CEO of the Texas Hospital Association, which represents 480 hospitals, or 85 percent of all hospitals in the state, went straight to his point regarding t...\n
Editorial: Texas Senate is pursuing more rational health care cuts
\n(Dallas Morning News © 03/31/2011)
The budget bill the Texas House is considering Friday understandably is drawing fire from Texans concerned about health care, including from medical providers.\n\nThe House?s two-year spending plan takes a big swing at the payments made to doctors and hospitals that treat Medicaid patients. It slices and dices payments to nurses. And it eviscerates spending for nursing homes.\n\nThe tea party movement...\n
Healthcare key to keep Texas at the top
\n(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 03/31/2011)
Texas is tops in attracting business to the state, winning Site Selection's latest Governor's Cup award for the number of new or expanded corporate facilities.This recognition affirms Texas' stellar track record in creating");
document.write(" new jobs. But our success could be our downfall if we don't make smart investments in essential services. Unless we adequately fund our hospitals, schools and transportation in...\n
Health care advocates protest cuts at Capitol
\n(Longview News © 03/31/2011)
AUSTIN (AP) ? Teresa Little needs");
document.write(" Texas Medicaid services if she\ndoesn?t want to lose her granddaughter to a devastating\ndegenerative disease she says is s lethal combination of muscular\ndystrophy, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis and cancer all rolled\ninto one.\n \n \n\nBut a state House budget slated for a vote within days would\nseverely cut health care funding for the state?s poorest citizens,\nin...\n
Hundreds rally in Austin against proposed state budget cuts
\n(Lubbock Avalanche-Journal © 03/31/2011)
It was sunny and breezy at the Texas Capitol on Wednesday morning, picture perfect for about 300 people gathered outside to protest cuts to health care services the Legislature is considering to offset a revenue shortfall of up to $27 billion. \n\niPad News Update: \n\nDo not add this story to the iPad News Update RSS feed. \n\nA-j Austin Bureau \n\nAUSTIN ? It was sunny and breezy at the Texas Capit...\n
\n
Health care advocates protest cuts at Capitol
\n(Lufkin Daily News © 03/31/2011)
Teresa Little needs Texas Medicaid services if she doesn't want\nto lose her granddaughter to a devastating degenerative disease she\nsays is lethal combination of muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy,\ncystic fibrosis and cance");
document.write("r all rolled into one.\n \n \n\nBut a state House budget slated for a vote within days would\nseverely cut health care funding for the state's poorest citizens,\nincluding children...\n
Texas Republicans considering new approach to budget
\n(Austin KEYE (CBS) 42 © 03/30/2011)
Facing criticism an");
document.write("d with critical service cuts on the line, Texas Republicans may be rethinking their approach to balancing the state's budget.\n\nJohn Zerwas, R-Richmond, says the House must consider new sources of revenue. It's a drastic change in attitude since the start of the 82nd Texas Legislature when members of the GOP said no to new revenue sources.\n\n\"I think we're at a point with this bud...\n
Highlights Tuesday from the Texas Capitol
\n(Houston Chronicle © 03/30/2011)
AUSTIN, Texas\n — Texas lawmakers considered 17 proposals that could expand gambling in the state, including measures to build billion-dollar casinos and install slot machines at racetracks.\n \n\nThe bills range from the modest addition of slot machines at existing dog and horse racing tracks to a 16-page constitutional amendment allowing development of eight Las Vegas-style destination c...\n
Hospital officials address House
\n(Lubbock Avalanche-Journal © 03/30/2011)
Anticipating a House budget vote later this week, hospital officials spoke warned of the possible effects of the budget cuts. Here is a press release sent out by the Texas Hospital Association on the subject: \r\nTexas Hospitals Urge Leg");
document.write("islature to Protect Funding for Local Hospitals, Doctors and Nurses\r\nSlashing state funds shifts burden to local taxpayers, those with insurance\r\n \r\nAUSTIN...\n
Hospitals in danger of state budget cuts
\n(Tyler KYTX (CBS) 19 © 03/30/2011)
AUSTIN (TEXAS NEWS NETWORK) - It's only a mat");
document.write("ter of days before the Texas House votes on a bleak budget and some say if the current proposal passes several hospitals will be forced to close their doors and some ambulances off the streets. Texas News Network reporter Jennifer Black shows us why leaders say deep cuts to Texas' hospitals won't heal.\n\nWhen it comes to medicaid cuts, o...\n
House bill could cut funding, reduce services for hospitals
\n(University Texas Daily Texan © 03/30/2011)
Hospitals, nursing homes and physicians could be forced to cut services if lawmakers pass House Bill 1 this Friday, said leaders of the Texas Hospital Association on Tuesday.\n\n\nThe association?s leaders urged members of the Texas House of Representatives to protect funding for local hospitals, doctors and nurses. The bill would also cut Medicaid reimbursement and hospital?s access to federal suppl...\n
Hospitals Oppose Current Texas Budget Bill
\n(Waco KWTX (CBS) 10 © 03/30/2011)
AUSTIN (March 29, 2011)--Members of the Texas Hospital Association lobbied the Legislature Tuesday to oppose the current House draft of the budget.\n \n \n \n\nHospital administrators complained that the House draf");
document.write("t would force hospitals to lay off workers and charge patients with insurance more because the state is no longer caring for the poor.\n \n ...\n
Chairman says Senate won't approve gambling
\n(Austin American-Statesman © 03/29/2011)
House hearing today may not matter, en");
document.write("vironmental group presents budget ideas and Straus brushes off Villarreal request.\n\n\n(Happy birthday to Jennifer Jones, who works at the Sunset Advisory Commission, and lobbyist Frank Galitski.)\n\n\nHouse is in at noon. Senate is in at 11.\n\n\nThe House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee meets at 8 a.m. today in E2.012 for what looks to be a lengthy...\n
Hospitals bracing for budget cuts by state
\n(KUHF-FM Houston Public Radio © 03/29/2011)
Hospitals Bracing for Budget Cuts by State\r\n\r\n\r\nMarch 29, 2011\r\n\r\nby: Carrie Feibel\r\n\r\nTexas hospitals could be hit hard by state budget cuts. At a press conference in Austin today, the Texas Hospital Association warned legislators that Medicaid reductions will lead to layoffs and cutbacks on medical care. KUHF health science and technology reporter Carrie Feibel has more.\r\n\r\nThe proposed budget c...\n
Texas Hospitals Urge Legislature to Protect Funding for Local Hospitals, Doctors and Nurses
\n(Texas Insider © 03/29/2011)
Slashing state funds shifts burden to local taxpayers, those with insurance\n\n\nTexas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas ? Leaders from the Texas Hospital Association and other hospital groups today urged me");
document.write("mbers of the Texas House of Representatives to protect funding for local hospitals, doctors and nurses.?\n\n\nThe House later this week is expected to begin consideration of its proposed version of the s...\n
Texas Hospitals: Budget Cuts Are Too Deep
\n(Texas Tribune © 03/29/2011)
Texas hospital");
document.write(" officials, anticipating a House budget vote later this week, warned this morning that the current proposal could mean funding cuts of up to 37 percent for some hospitals.\n\n\"The proposed budget before the House cuts into the core,\" said Dr. Dan Stultz, president and CEO of the Texas Hospital Association, said in a statement. \"Hospital services — and jobs — will be lost, a...\n
Texas Medicaid Costs Vary Widely By Hospital, Area
\n(Texas Tribune © 03/27/2011)
The cost of common medical procedures paid for by Medicaid — the joint state-federal health care program for indigent children, the disabled and the very poor — varies dramatically from hospital t");
document.write("o hospital and region to region, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of claims by and payments to hundreds of hospitals across the state.\n\nA routine delivery at St. Luke’s The Woodland...\n
Plano rehab hospital violated federal care standards last year
\n(Dallas Morning News © 03/25/2011)
The Plano rehabilitation hospital that abruptly closed Wednesday faced several patient complaints last year, including one that resulted in findings that threatened its federal funding.\n\n\nIntegra Hospital Plano, however, corrected those problems and did not lose its Medicare funding, which the majority of its patients used to pay for their\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTo read the full story, you need Subscriber Con...\n
PPGH to acquire digital mammogram machine
\n(Mineral Wells Index © 03/25/2011)
By Libby Cluett | lcluett@mineralwellsindex.com\n\n\n\n Palo Pinto General Hospital will soon get an upgrade in technology after board members Tuesday approved purchasing a digital, or DR, mammogram machine.\n\n\n\n The current machine at PPGH relies on film mammography to examine breasts and aid in the early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer.\n\n\n\n CEO Harris Brooks said the difference in image qual..");
document.write(".\n
House panel urged to kill Texas driver surcharge program
\n(Dallas Morning News © 03/23/2011)
AUSTIN ? A House committee was urged Tuesday to repeal the Texas Driver Responsibility Program because of its many failures ? including the fact that 1.2 million drivers are unable or unwilling t");
document.write("o pay the steep surcharges levied under the program.\n\nCritics said the program has failed to live up to the goals set by the Legislature: to deter Texans from driving drunk, not carrying insurance, driving...\n
The ripple effect of budget cuts
\n(San Antonio Express-News © 03/23/2011)
Texas i");
document.write("s tops in attracting business to the state, winning Site Selection's latest Governor's Cup award for the number of new or expanded corporate facilities.\n\nThis recognition affirms Texas' stellar track record in creating jobs. But our success could be our downfall if we don't make smart investments in essential services. Unless we adequately fund our hospitals, schools and transportation infr...\n
Legislators Consider Repealing Driver Fees
\n(Texas Tribune © 03/23/2011)
Lawmakers at the Capitol today debated eliminating a surcharge on traffic tickets that has been riddled with problems almost since its inception.\n\n\"We have created a bigger problem than we solved,\" said state Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, whose bill that would abolish the Driver Responsibilty Program was debated in the House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee.\n\n\nThe Driver Responsibili...\n
Maternity Wards, NICUs Face Budget Scrutiny
\n(Texas Tribune © 03/20/2011)
An unlikely battlefield in Texas&rs");
document.write("quo; budget war is a hushed pink-and-blue hospital nursery, where 1- and 2-pound babies bleat like lambs under heating lamps and neonatal nurses use tiny rulers to measure limbs no bigger than fingers.\n\nState health officials, searching for solutions to Texas’ multibillion-dollar budget shortfall, have set their sights on these neonatal intensive care units...\n
In Search of Cuts, Health Officials Question NICU Overuse
\n(New York Times (State Version) © 03/19/2011)
An unlikely battlefield in Texas’ budget war is a hushed pink-and-blue hospital nursery, where 1- and 2-pound babies bleat like lambs under heating lamps and neonatal nurses use tiny rulers to measure limbs that are no bigger than fingers. \n\n\n\n\nState health officials, searching for solutions to Texas’ multibillion-dollar budget shortfall, have set their sights on these neonatal ...\n
\n
Lawmakers Push for Changes to Hospital Hiring Law
\n(Texas Tribune © 03/18/2011)
The House County Affairs Committee today heard heated testimony on a number of bills targeting hospitals' ability to hire physicians.\n\nCurrently, law does not allow hospitals to hire doctors directly. Instead, doctors mus");
document.write("t set up an individual practice.\n\nLawmakers laid out a number of different bills that would remove the corporate practice law from individual hospital districts, citing the ne...\n
Ripple effect of hospital cuts could cost Texas jobs
\n(Houston Chronicle © 03/17/2011)
Texas is tops in att");
document.write("racting business to the state, winning Site Selection's latest Governor's Cup award for the number of new or expanded corporate facilities.\nThis recognition affirms Texas' stellar track record in creating new jobs. But our success could be our downfall if we don't make smart investments in essential services. Unless we adequately fund our hospitals, schools and transportation i...\n
Valley hospitals wary of funding losses
\n(McAllen Monitor © 03/14/2011)
Wanting to plug a hole in the state's budget deficit, health officials who looked to save nearly $300 million by expanding managed care to the Rio Grande Valley risked losing more than $2 billion in federal funds that help cover statewide losses from Medicaid.\n\n\nBut under a waiver forged with federal health officials, the state may achieve its goal of both cutting state costs and preserving federa...\n
Use trauma fund for intended care
\n(San Antonio Express-News © 03/08/2011)
Access to a designated trauma center when there is a serious injury can be a matter of life or death. The Legislature recognized that in 2003 when it set aside a portion of the fines on bad drivers to support trauma care in the state.\n\nThe sta");
document.write("te, however, has never disbursed all the money collected in that designated fund and trauma care could see a big reduction in funding if the money in the fun...\n
Proposed Medicaid cuts may close area hospitals
\n(Longview News © 03/06/2011)
Proposed cuts to Medicaid funding could lead to a ");
document.write("reduction of\nhealth-care services in rural East Texas, hospital administrators\nsay. Deep cuts could make it impossible for some services to\ncontinue, and could lead to closures of hospitals.\n \n \n\n?Historically, the Texas Legislature has recognized the\nimportance of maintaining health-care services in rural areas, and\nhas taken this into consider...\n
Proposed Medicaid cuts could close East Texas hospitals
\n(Marshal News Messenger © 03/06/2011)
Proposed cuts to Medicaid funding could lead to a reduction of\nhealth-care services in rural East Texas, hospital administrators\nsay. Deep cuts could make it impossible for some services to be\ncontinued, and could lead to closures of hospitals.\n \n \n\n?Historically, the Texas Legislature has recognized the importance\nof maintaining health-care services in rural areas, and has taken\nthis into cons...\n
State budget to slash education, medical funds
\n(Graham Leader © 03/05/2011)
(Posted Today 03:38 pm)\n\neditor@grahamleader.comLocal school districts are bracing for what is expected to be major budget cuts over the next two years, but the school districts are far from alone.A report from the Center for Public Policy P");
document.write("riorities reveals that while school districts will take a big hit, the budget cuts could also impact doctors, patients and North Central Texas College.I...\n
Mapping Where Federal Hospital Dollars Go in Texas
\n(Texas Tribune © 03/04/2011)
State health officials hope they've reached a breakt");
document.write("hrough in their effort to achieve two seemingly competing goals: expanding Medicaid managed care, and keeping $1 billion in federal health care dollars flowing into Texas hospitals every year.\n\nLawmakers want to expand managed care to hospitals — which are currently exempt — in order to save the state money, a priority when they'...\n
Texans push importance of trauma funding
\n(Bryan-College Station Eagle © 02/23/2011)
Lives could be at risk if proposed cuts to emergency medical and trauma-care funding are enacted, said Texans who converged on the Capitol Tuesday to urge legislators against the move. \n\n\"You don't really think about trauma services and the impact funding them makes until it's you or your family who needs them,\" said Sherry Jennings, trauma coordinator for St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Brya...\n
DRP Helps Trauma Centers Save Lives, Supporters Say
\n(Texas Tribune © 02/23/2011)
Lives are at stake if the Legislature fails to appropriate the full amount of the Driver Responsibility Program fund, medical professionals said at a Capitol press conference today.\n\nIntended to solve the problem of uncompensated trauma care, th");
document.write("e program receives the proceeds from surcharges for moving violations like driving while intoxicated and speeding more than 10 miles per hou...\n
Budget cuts mean hospitals will pass more costs on to the insured
\n(Waco Tribune-Herald © 02/19/2011)
By Cindy V. Culp \n Tribune-Herald sta");
document.write("ff writer\n Saturday February 19, 2011...\n
Dewhurst gets behind Senate health care bills
\n(Austin American-Statesman © 02/17/2011)
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who has been an outspoken critic of federal health care reform, unveiled two state-level health care bills on Wednesday.\n\nAnd even tho");
document.write("ugh no one asked, Dewhurst told those at the news conference that the bills were nothing like the health care plan that President Barack Obama signed into law in March.\n\n\"This isn't Obamacare,\" the Republican lieutenant governor said. \"It's ...\n
Dewhurst, Senate propose their own health care overhaul for Texas
\n(Dallas Morning News © 02/17/2011)
AUSTIN ? Texas? government and private health insurance plans need new methods of paying caregivers, Senate Republican leaders said Wednesday.\n\nDoctors and hospitals should not be reimbursed for volume of treatment but for quality and good results for patients, said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound.\n\nThey reintroduced two bills that died in the House two years ago. One ...\n
Bills would tweak medical reimbursement
\n(San Antonio Express-News © 02/17/2011)
The state would pay doctors and hospitals based on the quality rather than the quantity of care they provide under two bills introduced Wednesday in the Texas Legislature.\n\nLt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Sen. Jane Nelson, the bills' sponsors, said the legislation would overhaul the health care payment system, creating incentives that tie funding t");
document.write("o patient outcomes. Currently, funding is tied to the ...\n
GOP Lawmakers Introduce Health Care Bills
\n(Texas Tribune © 02/17/2011)
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Grapevine, introduced two bills Wednesday they believe could save the state a significant amount of money and p");
document.write("roduce \"healthy patient outcomes.\" The duo repeated those words throughout a press conference in the Capitol, flanked by stakeholders from the Texas Medical Association, the Texas Hospital Association and House Public Health Committee Chairw...\n
Health care bills to change Texas payment system
\n(El Pas");
document.write("o Times © 02/16/2011)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Two bills introduced into the Texas Senate would change health care billing procedures to encourage doctors to focus on patient outcomes, best practices and maintaining good health, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Sen. Jane Nelson said on Wednesday. Dewhurst said the U.S. health care system was the most expensive in the world, yet produced poor results. He said Senate Bills 7...\n
Changing the face -- and cost -- of health care?
\n(Houston Chronicle © 02/16/2011)
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and leaders of the legislative health committees are pushing legislation to pay doctors and hospitals based on health outcomes instead of the procedures that are done.\n\n\nIt's unclear how much money the legislation could save in the coming two-year budget period, when lawmakers face a shortfall of $15 billion to more than $27 billion - the la");
document.write("tter figure taking into account t...\n
It???s Complicated
\n(Texas Monthly © 02/11/2011)
Gov. Rick Perry may talk about the Texas budget picture with an Aggie yell leader???s positive gusto (all smiles and rah-rah, though we???re down 28 in the fourth quarter), but his appointee to the top p");
document.write("osition at the Health and Human Services Commission did not dispel the discouraging tone of recent budget talks during his appearance before House Appropriations this morning. In fact, Commissioner...\n
Tomball center, other hospitals brace for cuts
\n(Houston Chronicle © 02/08/2011)
In an e");
document.write("ra of overcrowded emergency departments, Tomball Regional Medical Center's emergency room has become an efficiency leader, a model of how to quickly stabilize patients, move them to hospital beds and keep the waiting room manageable.\nHospital officials are worried that the good times are about to end.\nThe officials fear the ER will be the recipient of a crush of Medicaid patients suddenly s...\n
Service award: Las Palmas Del Sol Healthcare awarded at annual conference
\n(El Paso Times © 02/04/2011)
Las Palmas Del Sol Healthcare, which includes Las Palmas Medical Center, Del Sol Medical Center and the University Medical Center of El Paso, were given the 2010 Excellence in Community Service Award by the Texas Hospital Association.\n\nHospital representatives received the award Thursday during association's annual conference in Austin.\n\nThe hospitals were recognized for coordinating ");
document.write("a community ...\n
State leaders respond to blackouts
\n(Austin American-Statesman © 02/03/2011)
Dewhurst and Perry explanations differ, former PUC commissioner already working for CenterPoint and taxpayers paying high price for prison health care.\n\n\nHouse is in at 10 a.m. Senate is out until");
document.write(" 1:30 Monday.\n\n\nThe latest, from the Statesman and KVUE: Round Rock, Pflugerville, Hutto, Leander schools starting two hours late. Austin ISD holding classes as scheduled.\n\n\nAs of about 5:40 this morning,...\n
Hospitals can't solve crisis alone
\n(Dallas Morning News © 02/03/2011)
Re: \"Not f");
document.write("ree enough with care? Area hospitals offer more charity than IRS requires, but critics say it's too little,\" Jan. 26 news story. \n\n\nIn 1993, Texas passed legislation establishing a minimum level of charity care that nonprofit hospitals must provide to retain tax-exempt status. Not only do hospitals support the law, but they continue to fully meet its requirements. \n\n\nIn fact, because Tex...\n
Babies and grandmas: Who will Texas' Medicaid cuts hurt? All of us - but the oldest and youngest most of all
\n(Houston Chronicle © 02/03/2011)
If we played drinking games during editorial-board meetings, the phrase \"penny-wise and pound-foolish\" would be the death of our livers. In these dark days, in our endless discussions of the terrifying state budget proposed for Texas, it is the Cliché That Cannot Be Avoided. \nIt comes up in meeting after meeting, e-mail after e-mail, from grou");
document.write("p after group, from outfits representing senior ...\n
Balance state budget without raiding dedicated funds
\n(Houston Chronicle © 02/02/2011)
It's official. With the comptroller's revenue estimate released, the task ahead for Texas lawmakers will be extremely challenging. No one expected any");
document.write("thing less. With a multibillion dollar budget shortfall, it will take some tough choices and maybe some creative accounting to write a balanced budget before the Legislature leaves Austin in June.\nAs they go about this difficult task, I hope the memb...\n
Surcharge deal overly generous
\n(Dallas Morning ");
document.write("News © 01/31/2011)
Re: \"Driver surcharges on the skids -- Amnesty offered on added penalties for DWI and other offenses after many don't pay,\" last Tuesday news story.\n\n\nThe Dallas Morning News failed to mention a crucial fact about the Driver Responsibility Program: Part of the fines collected supports the trauma system.\n\n\nThe program was created to hold bad drivers accountable for their often-dangerous behavior. S...\n
Medicaid cuts could lead to higher taxes, insurance premiums
\n(Austin American-Statesman © 01/28/2011)
Cutting Medicaid could have outcomes beyond fewer services for the poor, several local officials in the health care industry said.\n\nNotably, taxpayers in Central Texas could end up with increased local taxes and higher insurance premiums, according to several Central Texas health care professionals.\n\nTom Banning, the CEO for the Texas Academy of Fa");
document.write("mily Physicians, said the proposed cuts don't equ...\n
JPS warns of damaging effects of Texas' budget cuts
\n(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 01/26/2011)
State budget proposals would cost Tarrant County's public hospital an estimated $8.5 million in annual Medicaid payments, while possibly steer");
document.write("ing more patients to the John Peter Smith Hospital emergency room and psychiatric ward, hospital officials say.Budget drafts call for a 10 percent reduction in payments to Medicaid providers and deep cuts in health and human services spending, including ment...\n
Texas hospitals could face cuts in federal funds
\n(Texas Tribune © 01/25/2011)
Texas Hospitals Could Face Cuts in Federal Funds\r\nby Emily Ramshaw\r\nJanuary 25, 2011\r\n\r\nTexas hospital administrators aren?t thrilled by the Medicaid rate cuts they?re facing in the House?s proposed 2012-13 budget. But it?s the state?s plan to expand Medicaid managed care that?s keeping their CFOs up at night.\r\n\r\nProposed cuts in the rates health care providers are paid for treating patients cover...\n
Boo hooLots of folks crying about state budget cuts
\n(Gilmer Mirror © 01/24/2011)
Health and human services funding is cut by 24.6 percent in the proposed budget released this week by the Texas House of Representatives. ?Reductions of this magnitude will seriously jeopardize access to health care and shift more health care costs to local governments and insured Texans,? said Texas Hospital Association (THA) president/CEO Dan Stu");
document.write("ltz, M.D., FACP, FACHE. ?These cuts also will resu...\n
Let Texas control health insurance
\n(Houston Chronicle © 01/24/2011)
While it is no secret that I oppose the federal health care reform bill, if we don't act now to create the Texas Health Insurance Connector, our state could be forced");
document.write(" to cede regulatory control of a significant chunk of its health insurance market to the federal government. The desire to avoid such oversight has generated broad support for the connector, which I am proposing in House Bill 636. In ...\n
State budget cuts could be felt throughout Texas economy, experts say<");
document.write("BR>\n(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 01/23/2011)
AUSTIN -- A draft state budget that proposes deep cuts in government services could also produce a broad economic chain reaction across the state, endangering tens of thousands of public- and private-sector jobs when Texas is rebounding from the nation's recession, according to economic analysts and advocacy groups.\"There is nobody immune in this budget,\" said Terry Clower, director of the Center ...\n
Texas Lawmakers Begin Spirited Debate Over Budget
\n(Texas Tribune © 01/20/2011)
Lawmakers still have months to determine the gory details of the shrinking Texas budget. But as House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, laid out the first grim round of proposed cuts on Wednesday — aimed at balancing the budget without new taxes or tapping the Rainy Day Fund — even some of his Republic");
document.write("an colleagues couldn't stifle their objections. House D...\n
Texas Legislature
\n(Houston Chronicle © 01/10/2011)
EDUCATION \n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\nPublic school officials are preparing for the worst — think teacher layoffs - as they try to predict how much state lawmakers will slash from their budg");
document.write("ets. \n\n\nThe most commonly cited estimate: $4 billion over two years. Education consultant Lynn Moak, who has been involved in Texas school funding for four decades, said he can't remember a tougher time\n\n. \"This is the wor...\n
Webster good for MCH
\n(Odessa American © 01/09/2011)
On Dec. 5,");
document.write(" 1949, Medical Center Hospital opened as Ector County Hospital run by the Commissioners Court. The hospital served all residents of Ector County without regard to ability to pay.\n\n\nIn the late 1980s the hospital was several million dollars in debt. The possibility of losing the hospital was recognized by the CEO, Michael Stephans and the community. The decision was made to go to the comm...\n
Texas Hospital Association appoints St. David's CMO to board
\n(Austin Business Journal © 01/07/2011)
St. David's HealthCare Chief Medical Officer Steve Berkowitz was picked to help lead the Texas Hospital Association (THA).\n\n\nThe 80-year-old hospital group elected Berkowitz to its board of trustees. He assumed the post Jan. 1.\n\n\nBerkowitz has served as a physician representative on THA?s Council on Policy Development and as chair for its Hospital Physician Executives Constituency Council. H");
document.write("e is a...\n
Midland Businesses Learn to Deal With New Health Care Reform
\n(Midland KWES (NBC) 9 © 01/06/2011)
by Victor Lopez\nNewsWest 9\n\nMIDLAND--Small businesses make up over 90% of businesses in Texas. Local businessmen and women want and need to know how these healt");
document.write("h care changes are going affect them and their employees. Who better to share that information with them then people who know best?\n\n\"We brought in a couple of people that are experts in the field,\" Rob Cunnin...\n
Local Business Owners Learning About New Healthcare Bill 1/5/11
\n(Odessa KOSA (");
document.write("CBS) 7 © 01/06/2011)
Meron Berkson\nCBS 7 News\nmberkson@cbs7.com\nJanuary 5, 2011\n\nMidland, Texas\n\nObama Health Care has been on the top of everyone's minds, and especially for the local businesses that will be affected by all the changes. \n\nWednesday, the Midland Chamber of Commerce tried to educate those businesses about the new 200 page healthcare bill. \n\n\"Most businesses are confused about where they are and what th...\n
LEBOUEF ELECTED TO STATEWIDE HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION BOARD
\n(Cypress Times © 01/04/2011)
AUSTIN ? Lynn LeBouef,\npresident/chief executive officer of Tomball Regional Hospital in Tomball, has\nbeen elected to the Texas Hospital Association?s 2011 Board of Trustees. He\ntook office on the first of January and will serve a two-year term.\n\nLeBouef joined Tomball Regional\nHospital in 1978 and was named president/CEO in 2005. He was a member of\nTHA?s Council");
document.write(" on Policy Development, and current...\n
Texas Medicaid, workforce issues top of mind
\n(Austin Business Journal © 12/31/2010)
Texas Medicaid, workforce issues top of mind\r\nby Sandra Zaragoza , ABJ Writer\r\n\r\nWith the budget shortfall, the 2011 Legislature will consider a number of health car");
document.write("e-related cuts. In turn, organizations such as the Texas Hospital Association, Texas Medical Association, Texas Association of Family Physicians have outlined their priorities, including Medicaid, workforce shortages and physician empl...\n
Support trauma fund
\n(DallasMorning News © 12/31/2010)");
document.write("
Posted at 1:49 PM on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2010\r\nLetter to the Editor \r\nSupport trauma fund \r\n\r\n\r\nAs a trauma care physician, the holidays have dual meanings for me. I enjoy spending time with my family, but I also know our emergency rooms will be slammed with cases -- most as a result of drunken driving.\r\nWho pays for all of this care? One resource that hospitals depend on is funds generated from th...\n
Protect Texas trauma program
\n(San Antonio Express-News © 12/31/2010)
Although none of us expects to spend New Year's in a trauma center, the reality is quite different. This time of year is one of the busiest for Texas EMS and trauma centers. Texans who drink and drive account for the majority of this increase.\n\nAs you travel Texas roads and highways, we are sure you expect that if you do become a holiday trauma statistic, a team of EMS and trauma specialists will ...\n
<");
document.write("br/>
Stewart, Mattox and Mangram: Funding for Texas trauma centers too important to cut
\n(Austin American-Statesman © 12/29/2010)
As you travel Texas roads and highways, we are sure you expect that if you do become a holiday trauma statistic, a team of EMS and trauma specialists will be standing rea");
document.write("dy to save your life. Fortunately, in most parts of Texas, that is the case, thanks in part to the expansion of trauma centers facilitated by the Texas Legislature's establishment of the Driver Responsibility Program in 2003. Howe...\n
Stewart, Mattox, Mangram: Texas trauma fund crucial to patient care
\n
Although none of us expects to spend New Year's in a trauma center, the reality is quite different. This time of year is one of the busiest for Texas EMS and trauma centers. Texans who drink and drive account for the majority of this increase.As you travel Texas roads and highways, we are sure you expect that if you do become a holiday trauma statistic, a team of EMS and trauma specialists will be...\n
2010 Year in review: Smoking ban at UMC seen as acceptable
\n(El Paso Times © 12/26/2010)
Since Oct. 1, when University Medical Center of El Paso stopped hiring smokers, 14 applicants have been turned away, hospital officials said.\n\n \"We have not heard anything from a negative standpoint about the policy,\" Jim Valenti, UMC's chief executive officer, said in a telephone interview last week. \"I have been getting 'thank yous' from ");
document.write("(employees) and patients and other community leaders for t...\n
Let's keep money flowing to Texas trauma centers
\n(Houston Chronicle © 12/24/2010)
Although none of us expects to spend Christmas or New Year's in a trauma center, the reality is quite different. This time of year is one of the");
document.write(" busiest for Texas emergency medical services and trauma centers. Texans who drink and drive account for the majority of this increase. \n\n\nAs you travel Texas roads and highways, we are sure you expect that if you do become a holiday trauma statistic, a te...\n
Valenti joins Texas Hospital Association
\n");
document.write("(El Paso Times © 12/21/2010)
Valenti joins state Hospital Association\r\nBy Chris Roberts \\ EL PASO TIMES\r\nPosted: 12/21/2010 12:00:00 AM MST\r\n\r\n\r\nJim Valenti, University Medical Center's chief executive officer, will be involved in critical decisions on statewide health care challenges that include the uninsured, access to health care and work-force shortages.\r\n\r\nValenti was chosen by the nonprofit Texas Hospital Association...\n
University Medical Center CEO named to Texas Hospital Association committees
\n(El Paso Times © 12/20/2010)
University Medical Center CEO named to Texas Hospital Association committees\r\nTimes staff report\r\nPosted: 12/20/2010 11:31:17 AM MST\r\n\r\n\r\nUniversity Medical Center CEO Jim Valenti has been named to two positions with the Texas Hospital Association. Valenti will serve on the association's executive committee and on its Special Task Force");
document.write(" on Medicaid Reform.\r\nHe is the only El Pasoan to serve on ei...\n
State?s Tort Reform Makes Lawyers Wary of Taking on Patients
\n(New York Times (State Version) © 12/19/2010)
The leg pain Connie Spears felt was excruciating and familiar. She’d had blood clots before, and doctors had i");
document.write("nstalled a filter in one of her heart’s main veins. At a Christus Santa Rosa hospital in San Antonio, where Mrs. Spears sought help the Friday before Memorial Day, the emergency room doctor ran some tests and discharged her with “bilateral leg pain.” He told her to ...\n
Injured ER Patients Cant Find Attor");
document.write("neys, Blame Tort Reform
\n(Texas Tribune © 12/19/2010)
The leg pain Connie Spears felt was excruciating and familiar: She’d had blood clots before, and doctors had installed a filter in one of her heart’s main veins. But at a Christus Santa Rosa hospital in San Antonio, where Spears went the Friday before Memorial Day seeking help, the emergency room doctor ran some tests and discharged her with “bilateral leg pain.” He told he...\n
BUSINESS NOTEBOOK
\n(Abilene Reporter-News © 12/18/2010)
Hendrick CEO named Chair-Elect of statewide hospital association\n\nTim Lancaster, president and CEO of Hendrick Health System, has been elected chairman-elect of the Texas Hospital Association?s 2011 board of trustees. He will take office on Jan. 1 next year and will assume the role of chairman on Jan. 1, 2012. \n\nLancaster, a fellow in the ");
document.write("American College of Healthcare Executives, has served in hi...\n
Proposed legislation calls for routine HIV screening
\n(Houston Chronicle © 12/02/2010)
Texans having blood drawn as part of any routine medical testing would be screened for the infection that causes AIDS under proposed new st");
document.write("ate legislation.\nThe bill, filed Wednesday by Texas Sen. Rodney Ellis, would require that health care providers inform patients that an HIV test will be performed on their blood unless they opt out. The bill is based on a 2006 recommendation by the U.S. Centers...\n
George M. Brewer
\n(Lubbock Avalanche-");
document.write("Journal © 11/27/2010)
George M. Brewer was born on January 4, 1916 in Glazier, Hamphill County, Texas to Robert Edward and Blanche Palmer Brewer.\r\n\r\nHe graduated from high school in Dimmett, Texas and attended West Texas State Teacher's College in Canyon, Texas before accepting a position as clinic manager for a group of doctors in Pampa, Texas in 1937. This experience was a first step toward a career in hospital...\n
El Campo Meltdown earns outstanding program award
\n(El Campo Leader-News © 11/17/2010)
Each year, the Texas Rural Health Association recognizes rural health projects that make a significant difference in improving the health of residents in Texas communities, such as the El Campo Meltdown which was recognized as an outstanding program in 2010.The El Campo Meltdown, a weight loss competition and training for a new and better lifestyle for communit");
document.write("y participants, was developed and imp...\n
Conservative legislators in Texas seek to opt out of Medicaid
\n(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 11/14/2010)
AUSTIN -- A push from conservative legislators for Texas to opt out of Medicaid is stirring alarm among healthcare providers and nursing homes, w");
document.write("hich say the potential loss of billions of federal dollars could drastically undercut efforts to provide healthcare for the poor.The opt-out plan has quickly emerged as another high-profile topic for the 2011 Legislature, pushed by Gov. Rick Perry and a n...\n
Doctor deficiency plagues the state
\n(Odess");
document.write("a American © 11/14/2010)
Texas suffers a major shortage of doctors. It’s expected to get much worse under our nationalized health care system. Some Republicans have said they will use their new majority in the U.S. House of Representatives to invalidate the plan, but don’t expect it. The party doesn’t have enough votes to counter a filibuster or override a presidential veto.\n\n\nRepealing Obamacare wouldn&...\n
In Good Company
\n(Victoria Advocate © 11/11/2010)
In Good Company\r\n\r\nOriginally published November 11, 2010 at midnight, updated November 13, 2010 at 6:20 p.m.\r\n \r\nAmie Plunkett and Cynthia Rivas Lerma, registered nurses, passed their bariatric exam and are now certified bariatric nurses at Citizens Bariatric Center. In order to sit for the exam, registered nurses must have worked in the bariatric field for a minimum of two years. \r\n\r\nDoug Goa");
document.write("d i...\n
Doc deficiency
\n(Brownsville Herald © 11/10/2010)
Texas — especially South Texas — suffers a major shortage of doctors. It’s expected to get much worse under our nationalized health care system. Some Republicans have said they will use their new majority in the U.");
document.write("S. House of Representatives to invalidate the plan, but don’t expect it. The party doesn’t have enough votes to counter a filibuster or override a president...\n
Other Voices
\n(Denton Record-Chronicle © 11/10/2010)
Too few doctors \n\n Texas, already short of doctor");
document.write("s, will fall even further behind unless it starts to provide more residency positions for its medical school graduates, claim the state’s medical educators and administrators. \n\n Currently, many graduates who would prefer to do their residencies in Texas are forced to leave because no slots ar...\n
Too few doctors
\n(Houston Chronicle © 11/03/2010)
Texas, already short of doctors, will fall even further behind unless it starts to provide more residency positions for its medical school graduates, claim the state's medical educators and administrators. \r\nCurrently, many graduates who would prefer to do their residencies in Texas are forced to leave because no slots are available. The shortage is nationwide — this year, about 30,500 medic...\n
Strake, Respected Houston Civic Leader, Backs Prop 3
\n(Texas Insider © 11/01/2010)
Businessman joins broad Campaign to ?Save Houston Lives?\n\n\nTexas Insider Report: HOUSTON, Texas ??Former Texas Secretary of State, and respected Texas civic leader George Strake has endorsed voting FOR Prop 3, which can be found at the very end of Harris County’s historically long Fall 2010 bal");
document.write("lot.??Strake joins a broad?array of Houstonians supporting the life-saving benefits of the red ligh...\n
I'm voting for Joe Heflin ? again
\n(Big Spring Herald © 10/21/2010)
Wednesday, 20 October 2010 \n \n\n\n \n \n \n\nBy JOHN A. MOSELEY\n\nFor the past few elections, the Big Spring He");
document.write("rald has opted not to officially endorse political candidates. That decision was made — not so much because the Herald's Editorial Board members have differing political views, with they do — but we feel if one of us feels that strongly about a candidate or issue, i...\n
Tech gets boost for border HSC");
document.write("
\n(Lubbock Avalanche-Journal © 10/21/2010)
Texas Tech got closer Wednesday to a full-fledged Health Sciences Center on the U.S.-Mexico border. \nAVALANCHE-JOURNAL\nTexas Tech got closer Wednesday to a full-fledged Health Sciences Center on the U.S.-Mexico border.\nChancellor Kent Hance announced a $10 million gift from the Hunt Family Foundation to develop an autonomous, fully accredited nursing school in El Paso.\nThe school marks the second ...\n
Medical emergency: Keeping doctors in Texas
\n(Houston Chronicle © 10/18/2010)
Texas is losing potential doctors because it doesn't have enough residency slots to train all the medical students the state pays to educate. \n\n\n\nThe problem, expected to loom large as health care reform's influx of the newly insured strains a Texas physician workforce already in short supply, could get worse as a result of the 82nd Le");
document.write("gislature's projected budget shortfall of as much as $21 billio...\n
Moody-Margo: Who?s endorsing whom?
\n(El Paso Inc © 10/12/2010)
The election battle between state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, and his Republican challenger Dee Margo is hitting its stride. \r\n\r\nAfter months of preparation ? o");
document.write("rganizing, walking, sending mailers ? their campaigns to represent District 78 in the Texas House are about to hit the media in a big way.\r\n\r\nBoth candidates filed their campaign finance reports last Monday. Margo reported $192,000 in the ba...\n
Woman Sues Hospital over Sex Assault Exam
\n(KTBC (FOX 7) ");
document.write("Austin © 10/12/2010)
An Austin woman is taking St. David's Medical Center and one of its doctors to court. The woman claims in July 2009 she went to St. David's and requested a sexual assault exam but a nurse and a doctor told her she could not get one because she had not filed charges with police. \n\nHowever, Texas lawmakers had passed a law saying sexual assault victims could get a \"rape kit\" without reporting it fir...\n
Christus to develop new urban hospital
\n(San Antonio Business Journal © 10/08/2010)
Christus Santa Rosa Health System plans to spend roughly $25 million to expand an existing building along U.S. Highway 281 south of Loop 410 into a new surgical specialty hospital.\n\n\nOfficials with the nonprofit Christus believe the new hospital represents a major step in the creation of a medical campus for the Alamo Heights area.\n\n\n“Certainly there is a gro");
document.write("wing need in terms of population ...\n
TOMBALL REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER RECOGNIZED FOR TEXAS TEN STEP PROGRAM
\n(Cypress Times © 10/05/2010)
TOMBALL,\r\nTX- For the second year, Tomball Regional Medical Center has been designated as\r\nan official Texas Ten Step Hospital. The Texas Hospital Assoc");
document.write("iation and\r\nthe Texas Department of State Health Services together have developed the Texas\r\nTen Step Facility Program in an effort to improve the health of Texas mothers\r\nand infants by promoting breastfeeding.\r\n\r\n\r\nTRMC\r\nsupports breastfeeding as...\n
Health care reform leave you confused? Join the club ...");
document.write("
\n(Memorial Examiner © 09/23/2010)
It?s called the Affordable Care Act, but most know it as health care reform. And it?s causing a great deal of confusion among, well, just about everybody.That?s what attendees at Friday?s Houston West Chamber of Commerce?s Health and Wellness Luncheon walked away with ? a healthy dose of confusion mixed with not a little skepticism.?I can?t wait to see how this shakes out,? said Greta E. Cowart, k...\n
Valley hospital chiefs defend fight to retain millions of Medicaid dollars
\n(Rio Grand Guardian © 09/23/2010)
EDINBURG, Sept. 22 - Officials at two Rio Grande Valley hospitals have defended the way their institutions fought to ensure that millions of Medicaid reimbursement dollars stayed on the border.\n\n\nDr. Carlos Cardenas, chairman of the board at Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, and Tim McVey, chief financial officer at Miss");
document.write("ion Regional Medical Center, say Health and Human Services Commissioner Tom Sue...\n
High Court: Broken Bed Falls Under Malpractice Cap
\n(Texas Tribune © 09/22/2010)
Does a broken hospital bed constitute a medical mistake?\n\nAs a federal judge considers the constitutionality of Texas’ ");
document.write("2003 medical malpractice reform — and Gov. Rick Perry campaigns for more lawsuit restrictions — the Texas Supreme Court has narrowly ruled that hospital injuries seemingly unrelated to doctor error can still fall under the state’s s...\n
Experts support health reform goals, but wor");
document.write("ry about funding
\n(Brownsville Herald © 09/19/2010)
In the six months since its passage, no piece of legislation has become more firmly politicized than the health care reform bill, with criticism on the right and the left ranging from the reasonable to the ridiculous, though the question really boils down to: What’s in it for me?\n\n\nPlenty, potentially, for the Rio Grande Valley, according to health care insiders interviewed by The Brownsvill...\n
Here's how health reform affects you
\n(Lubbock Avalanche-Journal © 09/19/2010)
The prelude to the health reform bill was fierce debate and down-to-the-wire voting. \n\nSARAH NIGHTINGALE \n\n\nAVALANCHE-JOURNAL\n\nThe prelude to the health reform bill was fierce debate and down-to-the-wire voting.\n\nThe six months after President Barack Obama signed it into law have been more pensive.\n\nThe Texas Legislatu");
document.write("re ? like state officials, insurance companies and providers ? is grappling with...\n
Perry gets endorsement of hospital assn
\n(Austin KXAN (NBC) 36 © 09/15/2010)
DALLAS (KXAN) - Gov. Rick Perry received the endorsement of the Texas Hospital Association HOSPAC on Tuesday during a visit to D");
document.write("allas. \n\nThe state HOSPAC was created in 1981. A 33-member board of directors, made up of hospital and health care system leaders from across Texas, governs the state and federal arms of HOSPAC. \n\n?Under Gov. Perry?s leadership, Texas passed sweeping medical liability ref...\n
Perry won't budge, still won't debate till Whit");
document.write("e releases more tax returns
\n(Dallas Morning News © 09/15/2010)
Perry won't budge, still won't debate till White releases more tax returns\n\n12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 15, 2010\n\nBy GROMER JEFFERS Jr. and WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News \n \n\n\nRick Perry reaffirmed Tuesday that he won't debate rival Bill White unless the Democratic nominee for governor publicly releases income taxes from his years as deputy U.S. energy secretary.\n\n\"I'm pretty mu...\n
Perry won't budge, still won't debate till White releases more tax returns
\n(Denton Record-Chronicle © 09/15/2010)
Rick Perry reaffirmed Tuesday that he won't debate rival Bill White unless the Democratic nominee for governor publicly releases income taxes from his years as deputy U.S. energy secretary.\n\n\"I'm pretty much set on doing what I said I would do,\" Perry said in a Dallas vis");
document.write("it. \"He needs to come clean with the people of this state. There's obviously something in those tax returns, or he would have re...\n
Perry-White debate appears extremely unlikely
\n(Fort Worth Star-Telegram © 09/15/2010)
By Anna M. Tinsleyatinsley@star-telegram.com\n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n ");
document.write(" DALLAS -- The line has been drawn in the sand.And neither Gov. Rick Perry nor his Democratic challenger, Bill White, plans to cross it.Perry set today as the deadline for White to release old tax returns showing what he earned when he served as deputy energy secretary in the Clinton administration and as head of the Texas Democ...\n
Hospital board recognized
\n(Odessa American © 09/12/2010)
Three members of the Ector County Hospital District board have been recognized for “excellence in governance” by Texas Healthcare Trustees.\n\nCeretha Cartwright, David Dunn and Mary Thompson received the award at the organization’s annual conference. In a news release, Peggy Allison, president of the board of directors for the THT Foundation, said recognition indicates a commitmen...\n
Vote for safety
\n(Houston Chronicle © 09/05/2010)
In an election showdown that pits public safety and health officials against traffic-court lawyers and libertarians, the Chronicle urges voters to support the city's red-light-camera system in the upcoming municipal referendum.\n\n\nAs Chronicle columnist Lisa Falkenberg noted in a recent column, both sides in the referendum have mon");
document.write("etary stakes in the outcome. The city of Houston, its police departm...\n
East Texas hospital designated as mother-friendly worksite - KLTV 7 News Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville |
\n(Tyler KLTV (ABC) 7 © 09/01/2010)
Released by the Shepherd Medical Center:\n\nLONGVIEW, TX — Good Shep");
document.write("herd Medical Center has again been designated as a 2010-2011 Texas Ten Step Facility by the Department of State Health Services and the Texas Hospital Association. Good Shepherd also received designation as a Mother-Friendly Worksite from the Department of State Health Services. Both recognize Good Shepherd Medical Center...\n
PJC names 2010 Distinguished Alumni
\n(Paris News © 08/30/2010)
Two former Paris Junior College students, Elmer G. Ellis and Jack E. Carter, have been selected as Paris Junior College?s 2010 Distinguished Alumni. They will be feted at the 86th Annual Homecoming Luncheon Saturday, Nov. 13.\n\n ?These two gentlemen are well known in their respective professional circles and have brought recognition to PJC throughout their careers,? said PJC president Dr. Pam Angli...\n
PPGH budget $81 million
\n(Mineral Wells Index © 08/26/2010)
MINERAL WELLS — \n Palo Pinto General Hospital trustees adopted Tuesday an $81.6 million 2010-11 fiscal year budget, reflecting a hospital budget that has doubled in a decade.\n\n\n\n “While we had minor renovations and expansion and the census has changed over the past 10 years, our outpatient business has signific");
document.write("antly grown,” noted hospital CEO Harris Brooks. “In 2000, we had...\n
Health care reform to be addressed at chamber luncheon
\n(Memorial Examiner © 08/18/2010)
With an economic development impact of more than $1.6 billion dollars by hospitals in the West Houston community, health");
document.write(" care reform is a serious topic.The Houston West Chamber of Commerce?s Health and Wellness Committee?s annual luncheon addresses that topic with ?The Implications of Health Care Reform on Business,? keynoted by Greta E. Cowart, partner at Haynes and Boone, LLP.Cowart will introdu...\n
Questions for Cain
\n<");
document.write("b>(Paris News © 08/18/2010)
After reading Erwin Cain?s column in a recent edition of The Paris News, I have a few questions for him.\r\n\r\n Mr. Cain, do you know that a state legislator has no more standing or influence with the President of the United States than any other citizen? Do you not think your reactionary right brethren have already asked your questions a sufficient number of times? Do you understand that the issues ...\n
New image sought for University Medical Center Brackenridge
\n(Austin Business Journal © 08/14/2010)
The push is on to expand the reputation of University Medical Center Brackenridge so it’s known as more than just a place to go for emergencies. Doctors want Austin’s oldest and busiest hospital to become a haven for plastic surgery.\n\n\nDr. Sanjay Sharma and Dr. Patrick Kelley a year ago launched the Seton Institute of Reconstructi");
document.write("ve Plastic Surgery, a nonprofit sanctioned by the Texas ...\n
HCHD chairman receives special award
\n(Borger News Herald © 08/13/2010)
on 12-08-2010 11:51\n \n \n\n\n \n \nAUSTIN (July 31, 2010) - The T");
document.write("exas Healthcare Trustees recently recognized select Texas hospital trustees for excellence in governance or continuing excellence ingovernance.\nDr. Jock Lee, DVM, a member of the Hutchinson County Hospital District Board of Directors, received...\n
Physician-Owned Hospitals Prepare for Bleak Futures
\n(T");
document.write("exas Tribune © 08/13/2010)
The biggest losers in federal health care reform — the country’s physician-owned specialty hospitals — are on pins and needles. With a ban on new facilities, expansion plans quashed and doctor ownership curtailed, 70 such hospitals in Texas are plotting their next move.\n\nSome plan to sell out to big hospital systems. Others are scouring the legislation for legal loopholes an...\n
Seniors told Medicare benefits not cut by reform bill
\n(Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune © 08/12/2010)
THURSDAY AUGUST 12, 2010 Last modified: Thursday, August 12, 2010 10:54 AM CDT \r\n\r\n(photo)\r\nDan Stultz, M.D., President of the Texas Hospital Association, answer questions about the new healthcare reform bill at Wednesday's Forever Young Lunch and Learn event. TRIBUNE photo by Marcia Davis-Seale \r\n\r\nSeniors told Medicare benefits not cut by re");
document.write("form bill\r\n\r\nBy MARCIA DAVIS-SEALE - Tribune Staff Wr...\n
Doctors and Hospitals Team Up for Payment Reform
\n(Texas Tribune © 08/09/2010)
Doctors and Hospitals Team Up for Payment Reform\r\nby Emily Ramshaw\r\nAugust 9, 2010 \r\n\r\nAcross Texas, hospital systems are scooping up physician groups an");
document.write("d solo practitioners, scrambling to create the kinds of coordinated medical teams that federal health care reform puts a premium on.\r\n\r\n?Nobody really knows the right thing to do, but they?re doing something ? because doing nothing is like you?re...\n
Hospital groups: Red light cameras make Houston safer
\n");
document.write("(River Oaks Examiner © 08/05/2010)
Motorists may not be crazy about those cameras that catch them running red lights ? but three powerful hospital groups think they?re making Houston safer ? and cutting the demand for health care from accidents.Three hospital groups in Texas and the Houston area announced recently that they endorse the city of Houston?s intersection safety camera program as an effective means for fighting red light...\n
CTMC observes 50-year anniversary in THA
\n(San Marcos News © 08/03/2010)
Texas Hospital Association (THA) Membership Manager Della Vallejo presents Central Texas Medical Center President/CEO Gary Jepson with an award recognizing the hospital’s 50th year in the THA.\n\n\nSTAFF REPORT\n\n\nCentral Texas Medical Center (CTMC) marked its 50th anniversary as a member of the Texas Hospital Association (THA) in a ceremony last month.\n\n\nC");
document.write("TMC is one of six hospitals throughout ...\n
Texas Children's expects $25M budget shortfall
\n(Houston Chronicle © 08/02/2010)
Texas Children's Hospital, long one of the Texas Medical Center's most profitable hospitals, is projecting a $25 million budget shortfall for the current fiscal year");
document.write(", a possible portent for other hospitals in the state not already feeling the pinch. \nIn an e-mail to staff on July 13, Texas Children's President Mark Wallace attributed the projected shortfall to an \"abnormally low\" patient census, s...\n
![](\"http://www.newspaperclips.com/npcapp/publisherUsage.aspx/19727/20814/189/image.gif?rnd=634505577575356287\"){kind=small}
\n");