Citizens Action Coalition Education Fund and Indiana Legal Services Inc. claim that “a good number” of Indianapolis south-side residents who should have qualified for reduced or waived bills at St. Francis were instead steered into payments plans.
Say what? “Excessive hospitality” while promoting its drug Byetta got Eli Lilly and Co. dinged by the U.K.-based Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority, a self-regulatory group. And what exactly counts as “excessive”? Seven pints of beer, two gins, two whiskies, seven whisky liqueurs and three large glasses of red wine—oh, and a taxi fare afterward, according to a summary of the case posted by the practice authority. The booze was purchased at an Indian restaurant for three Lilly sales reps and two diabetes nursing specialists. The occasion was the endocrinologist speaking about off-label uses of Byetta. The practice authority asked Lilly to look into the complaints of an ex-employee, but Lilly said there was no case to answer. The authority determined otherwise, which is why it gave Lilly its public flogging.
Indiana University Health has pulled a prominent practice of cancer physicians into its fold. Central Indiana Cancer Centers sold its five facilities to IU Health and transferred its 150 employees to the Indianapolis-based hospital system. The 16 physicians in the practice will remain independent, but they have signed a service agreement with IU Health. Financial terms of the deal, which closed June 1, were not disclosed. But it is a big win for IU Health, as Central Indiana Cancer Centers has a well-established presence in Carmel, Fishers, Greenfield, Greenwood and the east side of Indianapolis. Cancer services are key financially for hospitals because of the growing prevalence of the disease, and also because cancer patients often need surgery. IU Health now has more than 60 medical oncologists, not counting any of its radiation oncologists or cancer surgeons. Central Indiana Cancer Centers, established near Community Hospital-East in 1976, also had discussions with the three other major hospital systems in Indianapolis: Community, St. Vincent Health and Franciscan St. Francis Health. A partnership with a hospital became essential for Central Indiana Cancer Centers as hospitals have spent the past three years gobbling up physicians of all stripes—both primary care doctors and specialists. IU Health Physicians now employs more than 500 doctors and Community Health Network has more than 550.
City officials on Thursday unveiled a long-term plan to redevelop an industrial stretch northwest of downtown with the goal of attracting hundreds of residents and dozens of high-tech companies to the area. The ambitious urban renewal effort, dubbed the 16 Downtown Technology District, builds from a strategy discussed over more than a decade to turn the corridor between IUPUI and 16th Street into a life-sciences research hub. The idea is to create a trendy urban district where residents can live within blocks of work. The project could require $15 million to $20 million in public investment and hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment. It is expected to take 10-20 years to complete. Officials said a final agreement is near for the redevelopment of the historic Bush Stadium site, which is wedged between 16th Street and the White River near Harding Street. The city is contributing about $5 million to the $23 million project, including tax dollars generated in the area and more that will be transferred from the consolidated downtown tax-increment financing district. Developer John Watson said he also is seeking a federal loan to help finance part of the project. Indianapolis also will invest another $3 million in public money to renovate Indiana Avenue from roughly 10th Street to 16th Street with new landscaping, walking paths, bike lanes and other streetscape elements designed to brand the area. That funding will come from initial proceeds from the sale of the city’s water and sewer utilities to Citizens Energy Group.
Central Indiana Cancer Centers sold its five facilities to IU Health and transferred its 150 employees to the Indianapolis-based hospital system. The 16 physicians in the practice will remain independent, but they have signed a service agreement with IU Health that pulls the two entities into a tight embrace.
Aaron O'Mara, co-owner of Augustino's, expected to open several locales until the economic downturn and a dip in sales scuttled those plans. Now he hopes to hold the line.
A federal experiment of accountable care organizations produced lackluster results, adding to withering criticism of federal rules proposed for ACOs. But local hospital systems like Indiana University Health aren’t backing away from the idea.
So much for that prediction. A week after a report declared Indianapolis hospitals near saturation on physician hiring, two more deals were announced.
Over the last three years, all major hospitals in Indianapolis have been active in hiring physicians. Competition was especially intense for cardiologists.
Eli Lilly and Co. lost the first round of its family legal dispute with Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. The California-based company won an injunction that prevents Indianapolis-based Lilly from using the same sales force to sell the Amylin-created drug Byetta as well as a new drug called Tradjenta, made by Germany-based Boerhinger Ingelheim GmbH. Both drugs are for patients with Type 2 diabetes, and therefore would compete against each other. Byetta is an injectable medicine and Tradjenta is an oral agent. Lilly said it is disappointed with the first ruling and will keep fighting Amylin’s lawsuit.
Franklin-based Johnson Memorial Hospital and Indianapolis-based Community Health Network will put their clinical collaboration agreement into effect June 1. The agreement was reached in February, after Johnson Memorial also considered proposals from Franciscan St. Francis and Indiana University Health. The deal, while not an acquisition, solidifies Community’s presence in the fast-growing southern suburbs of Indianapolis, where it already maintains a 150-bed hospital along County Line Road. Johnson Memorial, located nearly 15 miles south, is licensed for 101 beds. Hospitals and doctors are being pushed by health insurance plans to partner up to keep patients healthy—both before and after they actually seek medical care. But Community and Johnson Memorial are also looking to expand their offerings, particularly for heart patients.
Advion BioServices, a subsidiary of New York-based Advion BioSciences Inc., has opened its 22,000-square-foot drug-discovery and bioanalytical laboratory at the Purdue Research Park of Indianapolis' technology center at the Ameriplex Business Park near the Indianapolis International Airport. The new facility, staffed with 50 employees, was announced in March. Advion, a contract-research organization, will focus on earlier-stage, drug-discovery and metabolism bioanalytical services that evaluate how a potential new medicine is absorbed and metabolized in experimental models. Many of these services generate the data needed to prepare a molecule for human trials.
Indianapolis-based BioStorage Technologies announced Thursday it has opened a 60,000-square-foot biorepository facility in Indianapolis. The $4.6 million facility, located near the Indianapolis International Airport, will be used to prepare, store and transport tissue and blood samples. BioStorage serves biotech companies, such as Massachusetts-based Biogen Idec, as well as medical-device makers such as Minnesota-based Medtronic Inc. and academic research institutions. The facility will allow BioStorage to prepare samples for its clients via automated equipment, which the company says provides the accuracy needed by high-volume medical researchers. BioStorage, founded in 2002, is one of a handful of central Indiana companies that have developed a specialty in life sciences logistics. Others include Indianapolis-based Sentry BioPharma Services Inc., Plainfield-based MD Logistics Inc., and Bloomington-based BioConvergence LLC.
Indianapolis may be reaching a saturation point for hospitals employing physicians, according to the latest report from the Center for Studying Health System Change.
Bob Brody, CEO of Franciscan St. Francis Health, which operates three hospitals in central Indiana as part of the 13-hospital Franciscan Alliance system, discussed the rationale for its decision to take control of Visiting Nurse Service Inc.
Visiting Nurse Service Inc., a 200-employee agency based in Indianapolis, will operate under the umbrella of Franciscan St. Francis Health, the organizations announced Thursday.
Recent acquisitions by IU Health and Franciscan Alliance keep up a trend of physicians becoming employees of hospital systems, in preparation for changes under health care reform.
Tippecanoe County residents may despise Indiana University sports teams, but they seem to have had no problem welcoming IU to their community to provide health care.
Community Hospital South has hired Dr. Sheryl King as director of inpatient pediatrics. She holds a medical degree from the Indiana University School of Medicine. King practiced in Bloomington for 12 years before moving her practice to Johnson County in 2007.
Community South Hospital named Cheri Pfahler, a registered respiratory therapist, as its neonatal and pediatric cardiopulmonary manager. She comes to Community after serving as clinical coordinator of respiratory care for women’s and children’s services at Franciscan St. Francis Health.
Community Health Network named Jessie Westlund, a registered nurse, its chief integration officer. Westlund has previously been CEO of Community’s home health services unit.
Community Health Network also named Tom Malasto as chief operating officer of its three Indianapolis hospitals: Community North and the Indiana Heart Hospital in Castleton, Community East and Community South, along the county line between Marion and Johnson counties. Malasto has previously been CEO of the Indiana Heart Hospital.
Victor Esan has accepted the position of chief practice officer of IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, where he will work to form and grow physician partnerships in and around Muncie. Esan previously worked at Howard Regional Health System in Kokomo. He earned master's degrees in public management and business administration from Indiana University Kokomo.
India J. Taylor Owens, a registered nurse, has been selected as director of emergency services at Franciscan St. Francis Health, overseeing the emergency departments at Franciscan’s Beech Grove, Indianapolis and Mooresville hospitals. Owens most recently served as director for emergency services at Indiana University Health West Medical Center in Avon.
WellPoint Inc. named Meg Rush vice president of consumer experience and e-marketing. Most recently, Rush served as vice president of product management and design for WebMD Health Services. Rush holds a bachelor's degree from St. John Fisher College in New York and a master's of management degree from Pennsylvania State University.
Adam Chavers has joined Indiana University Health as executive director of corporate real estate for the chain’s hospitals statewide. Before joining IU Health, Chavers served for seven years as Indianapolis-based Kite Realty Group Inc.’s vice president of acquisitions, dispositions and investor relations.
Dr. Kevin B. Gebke has been named OneAmerica Professor of Preventive Health Medicine and chairman of the Indiana University Department of Family Medicine. He has been interim co-chair of the department since July 2009. He succeeds Dr. Douglas McKeag, who chaired the department for 10 years. Gebke received his medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine.
Dr. Lisa Altuglu, a pediatrician, has joined St. Vincent Physician Network in Indianapolis. Altuglu earned her medical degree from Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Rootstown, Ohio.
Sarah Knisely-King, a registered nurse, has been named director of the emergency department at Community Hospital South. She returned to Community South after serving as interim nurse manager and assistant director of emergency care at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, Fla. She earned her nursing degrees at Purdue University.
Dr. Aasha Trowbridge has been appointed medical director for Franciscan St. Francis Neighborhood Health Center, succeeding Dr. Mercy Obeime, who has been promoted to the newly created role of director for global and community health. Obeime will continue to see patients at the neighborhood clinic, but will also help expand Franciscan St. Francis Health’s involvement in health problems that extend beyond its local and national boundaries.
