Rural hospitals have long struggled to stay afloat. But now, the sector is facing a wave of closings under additional financial pressures, some caused by the pandemic that has strained resources.
The fines are one way Medicare is clamping down on hospitals, using penalties and incentives authorized by the Affordable Care Act to push for better outcomes, fewer safety problems and a lower number of readmissions.
Most of Indiana’s hospitals have shelved elective surgeries—the medically necessary procedures that are normally scheduled at a patient’s convenience and often require an overnight stay, such as tonsillectomies, hernia repairs and hip replacements.
Central Indiana hospitals diverted ambulances for nearly 3,000 hours during a six-week period this fall, according to information IBJ received from the Indiana State Department of Health through an open-records request.
In an effort to relieve workforce shortages and encourage vaccinations, the chamber is partnering with the Franciscan Health Immunization Department to offer free Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine clinics on site to employers in all 92 counties.
Three large hospital systems are asking Hoosiers in a multipronged media campaign to get fully vaccinated and wear masks. It’s the latest signal that hospitals are facing a tipping point in the pandemic.
IU Health sued the physician group last month, claiming trademark infringement and unfair competition, after it learned Methodist Sports Group and Franciscan Health were teaming up on a new hospital.
Some hospitals across Indiana warn they are operating near full capacity due to the latest COVID-19 surge and that their doctors, nurses and other staffers are already exhausted.
Franciscan issued a three-paragraph statement, saying it had “re-examined its next steps” for the COVID-19 vaccine and was now adopting a Jan. 4 deadline to comply with the federal mandate.
Riley Hospital for Children’s $142 million maternity tower is getting ready to make a big splash this fall in central Indiana’s highly competitive maternity-hospital market.
The Crawfordsville Republican spent the past eight legislative sessions as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and suggests he will propose a tax cut for Hoosiers as he departs the legislature in 2022.
The departures represent less than 1% of the 5,700 employees at the Health and Hospital Corp. of Marion County, the organization that includes Eskenazi Health and the Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services
The Catholic hospital system is stepping up its vaccination mandate for employees, telling them they must get their first dose by Oct. 15 and their second dose by Nov. 15, or submit to weekly testing.
A panel of health care experts in Indianapolis on Friday endorsed President Biden’s order that all businesses with more than 100 employees require their workers to be immunized or face weekly testing.
The Rophe Free Clinic was named IBJ’s top honoree in the category called Community Achievement in Health Care. The clinic was the brainchild of Curtis McManus, who—after a career in the pharmaceutical industry—was directing mission work in Haiti for Solid Word Bible Church, in Pike Township when he saw a need locally.
Lilly’s BLAZE-1 study examined antibody therapy engineered from one of the first individuals in the United States to recover from COVID and was specifically designed to attack the virus that causes it, SARS-CoV-2.
