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Skilled Healthcare Group announces fourth-quarter and full-year 2009 results

Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. today reported consolidated revenues for the year ended December 31, 2009 of $759.8 million, an increase of 3.6 percent compared to 2008. Consolidated revenues were $189.0 million for the three-month period ended December 31, 2009, compared to $189.8 million for the three-month period ended December 31, 2008.

9 Feb 2010

Gentiva Health Services sells respiratory/HME and infusion therapy businesses to Lincare Holdings subsidiary

Gentiva Health Services, Inc., a leading provider of comprehensive home health services, announced today that it has sold its businesses providing respiratory therapy and home medical equipment, and infusion therapy to a subsidiary of Lincare Holdings Inc. in an all-cash transaction. Terms were not disclosed.

5 Feb 2010

Ohio changes Medicaid drug program, N.C. weighs cuts in Medicaid personal care services

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Ohio's seven Medicaid managed care plans this month will make changes in the prescription drug plans that cover about 1.5 million people, although many of those beneficiaries will not face increased costs.

3 Feb 2010

Amedisys acquires De Queen Home Health Agency in Arkansas

Amedisys, Inc., one of America’s leading home health and hospice companies, today announced that it has acquired De Queen Home Health Agency located in De Queen, Arkansas, a Permit of Approval state.

2 Feb 2010

HHS appoints new members to Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today the appointment of 24 new members to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). The PACHA’s chair, Dr. Helene Gayle, was appointed in August 2009.

2 Feb 2010

Mich., R.I. look for cuts in Medicaid costs; Mass. Governor suggests taxes, fees to cover rising costs

The Holland (Mich.) Sentinel reports on possible Medicaid cuts in Michigan: "After an 8 percent reduction in Medicaid reimbursement for 2010, state health organizations say additional cuts for 2011 could be overwhelming.

2 Feb 2010

Nursing jobs no longer recession-proof

"A few years ago, hospitals were offering nurses $10,000 signing bonuses, loan payoffs, even cars as incentives to battle a nursing shortage in Texas. Today, some nursing school graduates say they're fortunate to find a job," The Star-Telegram reports. "Three years ago there were three job offers for every graduate, said Dr. Pamela Frable, director of nursing at Texas Christian University's Harris College of Nursing and Health Sciences. But at graduation last summer, there were more students without a job than ever before.

2 Feb 2010

NINR provides $1.27M in grant to improve end-of-life care in prison

Improved delivery of end-of-life care in prison is the focus of a $1.27-million grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research that has Penn State researchers working with employees from six Pennsylvania prisons and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

28 Jan 2010

Palliative care program may complement patients' ongoing care with symptom management and support

Georgia Sue Huston knew she was really sick. Every time the 82-year-old woman tried to turn over in her bed in the coronary care unit at Stanford Hospital & Clinics, she’d panic because she couldn’t get enough air and because it hurt so much.

28 Jan 2010

Day Kimball Healthcare selects athenaClinicals to improve care and outcomes for patients

athenahealth, Inc., a leading provider of internet-based business services to physician practices, today announced that Day Kimball Healthcare has selected athenahealth’s electronic health record (EHR) service, athenaClinicalsSM, as part of a new clinical connectivity platform designed to improve care and outcomes for patients across its healthcare system.

27 Jan 2010

Doctors delay talking about end-of-life care

A study published this month finds doctors delay talking about end-of-life care, which often proves very costly. The Los Angeles Times reports: "Most doctors don't talk about end-of-life issues with their cancer patients when those patients are feeling well, a new survey has found." Physicians also tended to delay these conversations "until treatments have been exhausted. Those delays mean patients might not be able to make truly informed choices early in their treatment.

27 Jan 2010

Health care reform: Opportunities and challenges in palliative care

Opinion leaders in the field of palliative medicine explored the unparalleled opportunities that now exist for the palliative care community, which matches treatment to the desires of informed patients and their families, to help define evolving health care reform policy. The thought-provoking Roundtable discussion, "Palliative Medicine: Politics and Policy," is published online ahead of print in Journal of Palliative Medicine, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc..

18 Jan 2010

CKD patients do not receive adequate end-of-life care

Patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) often do not receive adequate end-of-life care and are unhappy with the medical decisions made as their conditions worsen, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). The findings indicate that end-of-life care should be improved to meet the needs of CKD patients.

18 Jan 2010

ACP issues position paper to guide ethical relationships among patients, physicians and caregivers

The American College of Physicians (ACP) has issued a position paper to guide ethical relationships among patients, physicians, and caregivers.

13 Jan 2010

Kindred Healthcare announces plans for development of new centers

Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (the “Company”) today announced plans for a replacement hospital, the opening of a new hospital, development of six new hospital-based subacute units and a new transitional care center in several of its key markets in Texas, Florida, California, Ohio, Indiana and Washington.

12 Jan 2010

MSHA selects Allscripts EHR and PM solutions to enhance patient care

Allscripts announced today that Mountain States Health Alliance (MSHA) has selected the Allscripts Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Practice Management (PM) solutions for 300 employed and affiliated physicians and mid-level providers to enhance the quality of patient care, improve patient communications, and better manage the cost of care delivery.

7 Jan 2010

Odyssey HealthCare acquires Westchester

Odyssey HealthCare, Inc., one of the largest providers of hospice care in the United States, today announced that it has acquired Westchester, Illinois-based Generations Healthcare, expanding the Company’s presence in the Chicago metropolitan area.

6 Jan 2010

Bioheart signs distribution agreements to market Home Heart Failure Monitoring Systems in U.S.

Bioheart, Inc. announced today that the company has signed distribution agreements with Restoration Medical, McRay Medical, Alamo Scientific and Morey Medical. These distributors will assist Bioheart with introducing its Home Heart Failure Monitoring Systems to physicians and hospitals throughout the United States.

6 Jan 2010

Trinity Health purchases 1,200 “bundled” NextGen EHR and NextGen EPM software licenses

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: QSII), and a leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, today announced that Trinity Health has purchased 1,200 “bundled” NextGen® EHR (Electronic Health Records) and NextGen EPM (Enterprise Practice Management) software licenses.

5 Jan 2010

Americans willing to consider significant changes in Medicare program, finds report

Although Americans see Medicare as a key part of the country's social contract and want to preserve it in some recognizable form, they are willing to consider significant changes in the program to hold down its costs as the U.S. population ages.

30 Dec 2009

Hospice News and Research

Skilled Healthcare Group announces fourth-quarter and full-year 2009 results

Gentiva Health Services sells respiratory/HME and infusion therapy businesses to Lincare Holdings subsidiary

Ohio changes Medicaid drug program, N.C. weighs cuts in Medicaid personal care services

Amedisys acquires De Queen Home Health Agency in Arkansas

HHS appoints new members to Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

Mich., R.I. look for cuts in Medicaid costs; Mass. Governor suggests taxes, fees to cover rising costs

Nursing jobs no longer recession-proof

NINR provides $1.27M in grant to improve end-of-life care in prison

Palliative care program may complement patients' ongoing care with symptom management and support

Day Kimball Healthcare selects athenaClinicals to improve care and outcomes for patients

Doctors delay talking about end-of-life care

Health care reform: Opportunities and challenges in palliative care

CKD patients do not receive adequate end-of-life care

ACP issues position paper to guide ethical relationships among patients, physicians and caregivers

Kindred Healthcare announces plans for development of new centers

MSHA selects Allscripts EHR and PM solutions to enhance patient care

Odyssey HealthCare acquires Westchester

Bioheart signs distribution agreements to market Home Heart Failure Monitoring Systems in U.S.

Trinity Health purchases 1,200 “bundled” NextGen EHR and NextGen EPM software licenses

Americans willing to consider significant changes in Medicare program, finds report

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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