A 2011 CDC report showed the percentage of Georgia births at “Baby-Friendly’’ hospitals — those that promote breastfeeding — stood at zero. This year’s updated report card shows Georgia still at zero. State public health officials, though, aim to help put Georgia hospitals on the “Baby-Friendly’’ map. The Georgia Department of Public Health and the…
North Carolina-based Novant Health made waves in Georgia health care recently when it struck a partnership deal with Memorial Health in Savannah. But Novant already had a substantial footprint in Georgia health care. It operates 20 medical imaging centers in Georgia, mostly in metro Atlanta, through its MedQuest subsidiary. Novant is not the only nonprofit, out-of-state…
Hospitals can’t simply shut down at the end of the night. They are 24/7 energy consumers, needing power to run their arrays of complex equipment and care for their patients. They use large quantities of water as well. And they can create a lot of waste that needs to be disposed of — more than…
The battle over Georgia’s hospital tax suddenly heated up last week, ignited by the attention-grabbing entrance of national anti-tax leader Grover Norquist. The Washington-based activist, in a letter to Georgia legislators, said renewing the hospital fee, which raises money for the state’s Medicaid program, would kill jobs and raise health costs. He urged state lawmakers…
Since the Supreme Court ruling on the health reform law, many Georgians involved in health care have been hyper-interested in the state’s decision whether to expand Medicaid. The reform law envisions that the states will expand Medicaid, and it originally limited their flexibility to refuse. But the court, in its June ruling, restored that flexibility….
A major hospital accreditation organization is recognizing 620 U.S. hospitals as ‘‘top performers,’’ and 23 of them are in Georgia. The Joint Commission said these hospitals –- 18 percent of those it accredits nationally — followed recommended protocols at least 95 percent of the time. The Georgia hospitals cited range from big urban facilities such…
Emory Healthcare is adding another facility to its metro Atlanta network of hospitals. The Atlanta-based system announced Monday that it had reached an agreement to manage Southern Regional Health System in Riverdale. Under the agreement, effective next month, Emory said it will strengthen physician partnerships and its presence in the region south of Atlanta called…
A low-profile drug discount program is getting increased attention from a federal agency and members of Congress, including scrutiny of a South Georgia hospital’s medication purchases. The 340B drug discount program allows hospitals and other safety-net organizations to get big discounts when buying medications. Several U.S. lawmakers, in letters to the Health Resources and Services…
Earlier this week, GHN posted two articles on Gov. Nathan Deal’s decision not to expand Medicaid, as outlined under the Affordable Care Act. Deal, in the articles, was quoted as saying he supported the idea of a ‘’block grant’’ approach to Medicaid. That proposal would result in the federal government giving a fixed amount of…
Grady Memorial Hospital’s finances have seen a sharp turnaround this year, heading into positive territory after a 2011 laden with red ink. Grady officials have told Georgia Health News that through July, the Atlanta safety-net hospital has a surplus for the year of $1 million. While that’s not a huge cushion, Grady was losing $17…