Cartoon – Importance of Objective Standards
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Bankrupt North Philadelphia Health System to sell shuttered hospital
North Philadelphia Health System, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Dec. 30, has inked a deal to sell St. Joseph’s Hospital in Philadelphia, which closed in March 2016, according to a motion filed in bankruptcy court Monday.
According to the sales contract attached to the motion, NPHS has agreed to sell the hospital to MMP Hospital Partners in Philadelphia for $8.12 million. NPHS filed the motion Monday to sell the hospital free and clear of liens.
The closing of the sale is conditioned on NPHS receiving approval from the bankruptcy court, and the system said the sale is slated to take place within two weeks of the entry of a court order approving the motion. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for March 22 at 11:00 a.m.
NPHS currently operates two facilities in Philadelphia: Girard Medical Center, a 168-bed psychiatric hospital, and Goldman Clinic, a substance abuse treatment center.
Lawyer sentenced to prison for stealing $1.2M in patient payments from St. Luke’s
Alan B. Gallas, 65, was sentenced Friday to one year and one day in federal prison for stealing more than $1.2 million from Kansas City, Mo.-based St. Luke’s Health System between 2009 and July 2015, according to the Department of Justice.
Mr. Gallas’ firm, Gallas & Schultz, collected past-due payments from patients for the hospital network. Money collected by the firm on behalf of St. Luke’s was supposed to go into a trust account. However, Mr. Gallas admitted in April that he had employees put holds on more than $1.2 million in St. Luke’s collections and then transfer the funds to the law firm’s operating account.
Mr. Gallas’ law partner Mark J. Schultz, 57, pleaded guilty Friday to participating in the fraud conspiracy. He admitted to transferring funds from the trust account to the law firm’s operating account. The total amount of funds diverted by Mr. Schultz will be determined by the court at his sentencing hearing, according to the DOJ. He faces up to five years in federal prison for his role in the scheme.
In addition to his prison term, Mr. Gallas was ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution.
21 recent hospital transactions and partnerships
The following healthcare mergers, acquisitions and general partnerships took place or were announced in the past week.
A state-by-state breakdown of hospital adjusted expenses per inpatient day
Here are the adjusted expenses per inpatient day in 2015, organized by hospital ownership type, in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the latest statistics from Kaiser State Health Facts.
These figures, which are based on information from the 2015 American Hospital Association Annual Survey, include all operating and nonoperating expenses for registered U.S. community hospitals, defined as public, nonfederal, short-term general and other hospitals. The figures are an estimate of the expenses incurred in a day of inpatient care and have been adjusted higher to reflect an estimate of the volume of outpatient services, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
United States
- State/local government hospitals — $2,013
- Nonprofit hospitals — $2,413
- For-profit hospitals — $1,831
Kaiser Permanente operating income grows as membership booms
Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente saw revenue and operating income increase in 2016, according to recently released bondholder documents.
Kaiser said operating revenue for its nonprofit hospital and health plan unit climbed 6.4 percent year over year to $64.6 billion in 2016. After factoring in expenses, Kaiser ended 2016 with operating income of $1.9 billion, up from $1.8 billion in the year prior.
Kaiser reported a strong year in health plan membership growth. The system ended 2016 with 10.7 million members, an increase of 4.2 percent from the year prior. After completing its acquisition of Seattle-based health plan Group Health Cooperative Feb. 1, Kaiser’s health plan membership now tops 11 million.
In 2016, Kaiser’s capital spending increased to $2.8 billion, up slightly from $2.7 billion in 2015. The system opened a new technology campus in Atlanta and 12 new medical offices and two new dental offices last year.
Fueled by strong nonoperating income, Kaiser reported net income of $3.1 billion in 2016, up from $1.8 billion in 2015.
Words of wisdom for new nurses
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2017/02/words-wisdom-new-nurses.html
These are my words of wisdom. My rules. Maybe this will help you absorb the rhyme and rhythm of nursing.
1. Stay alert, take a 30-minute break, take yourself to the bathroom, decompress. 12 hours is a very long day.
2. Be kind and gentle to all, from the janitor to the CEO to the poverty stricken homeless person. Treat everyone as an equal. There is no elite; there is no VIP unless everyone is a VIP.
3. Always keep your cup half-empty. I always thought the nurse that thought she knew everything was the most dangerous nurse. Medicine, cures, procedures, diagnosis and treatments are always changing. So keep your mind open.
4. Stay far away from the “bully trap.” The lateral violence. It’s not worth it, and you can be a part of ruining a person’s self-worth. Forever. Stay far away. Stand up to the bully, fight them off. Report them. Protect your fellow nurse and nursing staff.
5. Know your facts about your patient before you call an MD, PA or NP. Write down your problems.
6. Do not ever apologize to an MD for calling him or her about a patient that you need new orders for or you need to report a new condition in the patient. That is their job to assist you. You are the protector, the teacher, the nurse of your patients.
7. Chose your battles wisely. Managers can be wonderful, but they also can be a slippery slope. Chose your friends wisely also. Deception sadly comes in sheep clothing.
8. The worst shift can be the most wonderful shift if you engage, empower and help your fellow team. It is beyond any retirement gold watch you’ll ever receive when you have a good crew to work with and to depend on.
9. Watch out for burnout. That is the wonders of being a nurse. To go from psychiatry, ER, maternity nursing to newborn ICU, trauma ICU or neuro ICU to peace corps or travel nurse, to getting your BSN, or masters degree or doctorate to become an NP or an anesthetist: The world of nursing is wide open.
My bottom line to you all:
- Keep your chin up, decompress, take a vacation, follow your heart.
- Be kind to each other.
- Respect one another. The old nurse and the new nurse.
- No question is ever dumb.
- Questions are good and much safer than not questioning and therefore potentially making a grave mistake.
- Empower each other.
We’re all in this together. This circle of life. From birth to dying with dignity.
Focus, love, and empower.
IN NEARLY 25% OF BUSINESSES LEADERS BELIEVE 30%-50% OF EMPLOYEES AVOID RESPONSIBILITY*
In nearly 25% of Businesses Leaders Believe 30%-50% of Employees Avoid Responsibility*
3 surprising steps toward accountable leadership*:
#1. See yourself through your own eyes.
Growth begins when you see yourself, not until. Leaders who lack self awareness believe others need to change, they don’t. A sure sign that you’re out of touch is expecting others to take responsibility while letting yourself off the hook.
Lack of self awareness results in blaming behaviors. Blame creates frustration, because you wrongly believe others are the solution to issues you should address.
#2. See yourself through the eyes of others.
Leaders develop when they appreciate the impact of their behaviors on others.
#3. Meet the standards of others.
- Own mistakes and commit to make them right.
- Provide credible performance in the eyes of others.
Sean said, “We tend to meet standards that we think are important. What we have to remember is that we are credible in other people’s eyes. … Seek out, understand, and try to meet the standards of others.”
Cartoon – The Bad News
Cartoon – World Views
