News

08/8/2019 Bookmark and Share Share Post
Pharmaceuticals

A North Texas Partnership to Fight Chronic Pain with Ketamine

Principal Spine and Pain Consultants have partnered with Kalypso Wellness Centers to bring ketamine infusion therapies to North Texas to fight chronic pain. According to the CDC, 50 million Americans suffer from chronic pain and depression affects about 16 million American adults every year. Ketamine has a long history of being used in the operating room during surgery and has been included on the World Health Organization’s most essential medicines. More recent studies show that ketamine can treat depression, anxiety, bipolar, PTSD, pain, inflammation as well as migraines and headaches. Ketamine works to counteract these health issues by working on several… Full Story

08/7/2019 Bookmark and Share Share Post
Hospitals

Texas Supreme Court Will Hear Ebola Suit Against Texas Health Dallas

The Texas Supreme Court has agreed to hear the lawsuit filed by an Ohio bridal shop against Texas Health Dallas. When a nurse visited the bridal shop after contracting Ebola from a patient at the hospital, the lawsuit claims the nurse’s visit resulted in the closing of the shop. Amber Vinson was part of the team of nurses that attended to Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in October 2014, and released the nurses days after Duncan’s death, according to a Texas court document. Following Duncan’s treatment and death, Vinson, who was newly engaged at the time, traveled to… Full Story

08/7/2019 Bookmark and Share Share Post
Hospitals

12 North Texas Hospitals Honored for Premier Women’s Care

Healthgrades has recognized 12 Dallas-Fort Worth area hospitals for outstanding women’s services in their 2019 Women’s Care Awards. Medical City Dallas and Medical City Children’s Hospital, Methodist Charlton Medical Center, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, and Baylor Surgical Hospital at Las Colinas were among the group of hospitals selected to be honored in this year’s awards. In total, nine Medical City facilities were recognized for outstanding women’s care. Honorees are recognized for their superior performance in three areas of women’s services; obstetrics and gynecology, labor and delivery, and gynecology surgery. Each of the aforementioned hospitals received a 5-star rating in one… Full Story

08/7/2019 Bookmark and Share Share Post
Hospitals

Update: Tenet Healthcare Foundation Donates $350,000 to Support El Paso

Update: Tenet Healthcare presented a $350,000 donation to the El Paso Community Foundation after originally pledging $100,000 with  $50,000 to match employee contributions. Tenet Healthcare’s employees and business partners exceeded the original goal.  Tenet Healthcare has made a $350,000 contribution to support the victims and families following the mass shooting in an El Paso Walmart over the weekend. Tenet has 5,300 employees in El Paso, and operates four The Hospitals of Providence facilities as well as 50 outpatient clinics and other care facilities. The donation is made on behalf of The Hospitals of Providence, Tenet’s United Surgical Partners International and Conifer… Full Story

08/6/2019 Bookmark and Share Share Post
Hospitals

JPS Has One of the Busiest ERs in the Country – And it’s Growing

Earlier this year, news outlets reported that John Peter Smith hospital in Fort Worth declared a Code Yellow due to high volume. While the emergency department at JPS is almost always crowded, an expansion is in the works. It turns out, being inundated with patients is somewhat the norm for the county hospital, according to Dr. Jessica Kirby, Medical Director of the JPS Emergency Department. They spend around 90 percent of their time in crowded status, which is below code yellow. Code Yellow is reserved for a pending emergency, a missing patient, severe weather or another emergency. But why was JPS on… Full Story

Jason Signor Caddis 08/5/2019 Bookmark and Share Share Post
Insurance/Benefits

CEO Perspective: How Self-Insurance Slashed Our Healthcare Spending

By self-insuring our healthcare benefits, our small company is able to save 20 to 30 percent annually on healthcare costs. Our firm consists of 63 employees, most of whom rely on us for their healthcare insurance. Outside of payroll expense, healthcare insurance was our second largest expense as a company. From 2014 to 2018, our health insurance premiums increased 67 percent (or 17 percent on average per year).  The cost of our single employee’s PPO election increased from $380 to $805 per month and our High Deductible Plan increased from $409 to $627 per month.  The only reason the high… Full Story

08/5/2019 Bookmark and Share Share Post
Finance

BCBSTX Parent Company Has Now Lost Their CFO

More changes are on the way for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas’ parent company Health Care Services Corporation, as CFO Eric Feldstein resigned earlier this week. The resignation follows the exit of HCSC’s President and CEO Paula Steiner last week, and was confirmed by a spokesperson to Crain’s Chicago Business.  Like Feldstein, Steiner had been in her position for around three years at HCSC, and the departure follows a move earlier this year to open several clinics around Texas, following Humana and UnitedHealtchare by moving into the provider space. HCSC spokesperson Greg Thompson told Crain’s that the company’s “talented… Full Story

08/5/2019 Bookmark and Share Share Post

Texas Health CEO Pays Tribute to Dr. John Geesbreght

It’s with tremendous sadness that we share the news that Dr. John Geesbreght, medical director of emergency medicine for more than 40 years at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, suffered a massive stroke over the weekend and died Sunday morning. Dr. Geesbreght was the consummate servant leader. He helped Texas Health Fort Worth’s ER and trauma program achieve regional and national recognition for quality care. Among many business accomplishments, he founded the first scribe company in the U.S. and formed the ER physician group that has provided emergency medicine services to Texas Health facilities throughout the region. As… Full Story

Roger Nolan TPC 08/2/2019 Bookmark and Share Share Post
Hospitals

TPC Names New CEO and President

TPC named Roger Nolan as the healthcare group’s new president and chief executive officer.  TPC is a partnership of healthcare providers that work together so that they can have the financial and operational benefits of a single system without having to sacrifice independence. Nolan will begin his role in September. Nolan has been in the healthcare industry for over 30 years and most recently worked as a principal in business development and practice operations with the Irving-based company Vizient. He has experience with TPC, as he led the MedAssets team that was assigned to the TPC account from a previous… Full Story

08/2/2019 Bookmark and Share Share Post
Government/Law

PCCI Joins Federal Effort to Fight Kidney Disease

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced earlier this month that the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation will be contributing its capabilities to support the “Advancing American Kidney Health Initiative.” Nearly 100,000 Americans are waiting on the list to receive a kidney transplant, with kidney disease ranking as the ninth leading cause of death in America, costing Medicare $114 billion a year. PCCI is focused on improving healthcare for vulnerable populations by using advance data science and clinical experts and will now advance efforts to learn more about kidney health. With 37 million patients suffering from chronic kidney… Full Story