Calif. bill could affect out-patient surgery centers; some Florida public hospitals prosper

Also in news about local hospitals, the Mayo Clinic announces plans to develop a new medical school branch in Arizona and a Minn. hospital is accused of dumping a patient.

Los Angeles Times: Pending Bill Would Tighten Scrutiny Of Outpatient Surgery Centers
Outpatient surgery centers, including those that perform weight-loss procedures after which five Southern California patients have died, could face additional scrutiny under a bill pending before Gov. Jerry Brown. Both houses of the state Legislature have approved a bill that would reshape laws governing clinics such as Valley Surgical Center, where Paula Rojeski underwent Lap-Band surgery before her Sept. 8 death (Pfeifer, 9/28).

The Miami Herald: South Broward Public Hospitals Prosper As Miami-Dade's Struggle
The four public hospitals in the Memorial Healthcare System can reduce their tax rate [by 41 percent] because they have brought in $232 million the past two fiscal years, by attracting paying patients while keeping costs down. In contrast, Miami-Dade's Jackson Health System has lost $337 million over that same time (Dorschner, 9/27).

Arizona Republic: Mayo Clinic Plans Medical School In Scottsdale
Mayo Clinic will join forces with Arizona State University to develop a new $266 million medical-school branch in Scottsdale that could begin teaching medical students by 2014. ... Mayo Clinic's plan to raise and spend millions of dollars is the latest example of Arizona's health-care providers pursuing lucrative investments in new buildings, technology, education and research despite the poor economy and uncertainty related to the nation's new health-care law (Alltucker, 9/28).

(St. Paul, Minn.) Pioneer Press: Hospital Accused Of Patient 'Dumping'
The Minnesota Department of Health on Tuesday said it had substantiated a complaint of patient "dumping" by Unity Hospital in Fridley. The hospital could be out of compliance with a federal law that governs treatment of emergency-room patients, the Health Department said, after a patient who sought treatment at Unity's ER in April was not given a screening examination (Snowbeck, 9/27).