News & Updates

November 19, 2014

POLITICS

Senate panel OKs Kasich’s controversial choice to lead health department  A Senate committee recommended confirmation of Gov. John Kasich’s appointment of Richard A. Hodges as director of the Ohio Department of Health. 

Ohio Politics Now: How will Gov. Kasich keep Medicaid expansion?  Remember when Republican Gov. John Kasich did an end-run around the GOP-led legislature that was against expanding Medicaid last year by going to the Controlling Board, which approved the spending? The issue is about to come up again. 

How will new House speaker pick affect Cincy?  COLUMBUS -- Clinton County Rep. Cliff Rosenberger will serve as the next speaker of the Ohio House, after beating out Dayton-area Rep. Jim Butler in a Wednesday vote among Republicans. 

Top Obamacare official praises John Kasich  Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell Thursday touted how easy it should be to sign up for health insurance using the agency's revamped website that suffered massive crashes and slowdowns in its initial rollout last year. 

Post-ballot Ohio legislature to act fast  As Ohio House Speaker William G. Batchelder heads into the final two months of his 38-year legislative career, he described the upcoming lame-duck session this way: “You never know what the hell is going to happen next.” 

SURGEONS 

Surgeon who contracted Ebola virus in Sierra Leone dies at Nebraska hospital  A surgeon who contracted the Ebola virus while working in Sierra Leone died Monday at a Nebraska hospital where he was being treated in a biocontainment unit, the facility said in a statement. 

Medical industry healthy in Mid-Ohio  MANSFIELD – OhioHealth MedCentral Health System's new $49 million medical office building will be under roof by winter. 

States with lowest HPV vaccination rates have more cervical cancer, study shows; Ohio in the middle  The percentage of girls who have started getting vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) is much lower in states whose rates of cervical cancerdiagnoses and death are highest, according to data presented this week at a conference held by the American Association for Cancer Research

The Right Choice? Paternalism, Autonomy, and the Incidental Finding  The case had been straightforward. My patient had primary hyperparathyroidism and her localization studies had shown a single parathyroid adenoma. In the operating room, with her under general anesthesia, I had found and removed the abnormal parathyroid gland. The intraoperative parathyroid hormone levels were being run outside the OR door. I was getting ready to close with my fellow when I happened to palpate the thyroid isthmus. There was a firm nodule right in the center of the isthmus. The thyroid looked fine, but the nodule was unmistakable 

Laser Spine Institute Officially Opens Doors to New Cleveland Ambulatory Surgery Center  New center provides greater access to minimally invasive spine care; adds nearly 50 jobs to Cleveland community 

EDUCATION

Council Meritorious Service Award  Catherine Anna Marco, MD, FACEP, of Dayton, Ohio, received the Council Meritorious Service Award for her dynamic commitment to the ACEP Council since 2004.  Dr. Marco is a professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and active in clinical practice at Miami Valley Hospital.

Brain power  Wright State’s Jim Olson bringing the study of neuroscience to young students across the nation

Boonshoft School of Medicine Master of Public Health program offers two scholarships for incoming students  DAYTON, Ohio—The Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree program is offering two one-year $7,500 scholarships for students accepted into its program for fall 2015.   

Partnership Creates Pathway for Health Care Careers  Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C®) and Cleveland State University (CSU) announced the launch of the RN-to-BSN Nursing Continuum, a program designed to provide a smooth transition from Tri-C’s associate degree program to earning a bachelor’s degree at CSU.

Ellison Named Interim COM Dean   ​E. Christopher Ellison, MD, was named as interim dean of the College of Medicine by Provost Joseph Steinmetz. The appointment is effective Nov. 15 and subject to approval by the Board of Trustees. Dr. Ellison has a long and distinguished career as a clinician, educator, researcher and senior leader at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and the Wexner Medical Center. He currently serves as senior associate vice president for Health Sciences, CEO of the Faculty Group Practice and vice dean of clinical affairs in the College of Medicine and will remain in these roles while also serving as interim dean. Dr. Ellison replaces Ed Funai, MD, who will leave Ohio State in mid-November. Dr. Funai has accepted a position at the University of South Florida where he will be the vice president and chief operating officer of USF Health and also serve in a new role as the USF System vice president for strategic development.​ 

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Dean, Department Chair Elected to Prestigious Institute of Medicine  DEAN PAMELA B. DAVIS, MD, PHD, AND DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOPHYSICS CHAIR WALTER BORON, MD, PHD, HONORED FOR EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERIES WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE FIELDS 

Minnesota Resident Travels to UC for Unique Robotic Surgery  On a snowy evening in December 2010, Nancy Bemis, a New Market, Minnesota resident, woke up to a scary gastrointestinal bleed that led to a trip to the emergency room at a small community hospital.  "They did an abdominal CT scan as part at of a workup to try to find the cause of the bleeding, and the radiologist found a pancreatic cyst,” she says. "Several days later, I was transferred to the Mayo Clinic for further evaluation and treatment.” 

HOSPITALS 

University Hospitals receives $5 million gift to transform travel medicine services, research  CLEVELAND, Ohio – A $5 million gift from a local philanthropist is being used to establish the Roe Green Center for Travel Medicine at University Hospitals. The donation by Green, a Lyndhurst woman who has provided significant funding to a variety of local causes for years, will help transform UH's travel medicine clinics. 

Health plans lead to more hospital pre-pays  LOUISVILLE — Before Mark Edwards ever reclined on a hospital operating table in September, he'd received two bills for his outpatient procedure and was asked to remit $500. 

Hospitals race to sign up schools for athletic-training and medical-services  Ohio State University’s new athletic-training and medical-services agreement with Upper Arlington schools is upping the ante in the bidding war among central Ohio’s hospital systems, which are seeking greater access to high-school athletes and their families. 

Ohio District Court Deems Hospital Alliance a Single Entity Incapable of Conspiring Under the Antitrust Laws  On October 21, 2014, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio granted Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, holding that Premier Health Partners (“Premier”) and its affiliate hospitals, Atrium Health Systems, Catholic Health Initiatives, MedAmerica Health Systems, Samaritan Health Partners, and Upper Valley Medical Center (collectively, “Defendants”), operating under a joint operating agreement (“JOA”), constituted a single entity incapable of conspiring in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The Medical Center at Elizabeth Place v. Premier Health Partners, et al., Case No. 3:12-cv-26 (S.D. Ohio, Oct. 21, 2014). 

100 Hospitals With Great Neurosurgery and Spine Programs  Dublin (Ohio) Methodist Hospital. Dublin Methodist Hospital is a 92-bed community hospital with robust neurosurgery services that break the mold for an organization its size. Dublin Methodist pools its resources with parent organization OhioHealth, which will be opening a 224-room Neuroscience Institute in two years. Neurosurgeons, spine surgeons and brain tumor specialists highlight Dublin Methodist's program, which is a Blue Distinction Center for Spinal Surgery. 

TELEMEDICINE 

Rite Aid to test HealthSpot telemedicine booths at Ohio stores  HealthSpot Inc. has landed its first deal with a nationwide pharmacy chain: Rite Aid Corp. announced Friday that it will test-market the Dublin company's enclosed telemedicine stations in some Ohio stores, but not yet the Columbus area. 

Xerox Invests in HealthSpot To Accelerate Deployment of Telehealth Kiosks  Xerox announced today it is investing in HealthSpot Inc., a pioneer in patient and provider driven healthcare technologies. HealthSpot’s telehealth platform allows patients to interface via Skype with nationally recognized doctors and healthcare professionals in a 40-square-foot telehealth kiosk. The average visit takes just 15 minutes, offering patients convenient and affordable access to doctors. The terms of the investment were not disclosed. 

TWC Makes A Telemedicine Connection  Expanding its reach into a new growth market, Time Warner Cable Business Class has inked a deal to help OhioHealth remotely provide care to patients throughout the state. 

TRAUMA 

The Legal Fight to Save Cincinnati’s Last Clinic  Cincinnati is a metropolitan area of more than two million residents, and if state Republicans get their way, it will become the nation’s largest urban area without a single abortion clinic

Life in the Trauma Center  Stepping back, it feels as though you are looking at a control center: it’s an amazing whirl of activity, energy and emotion. Phones ring, fingers tap on computer keyboards. Nurses and techs, in an ombré of blue scrubs, move around and flit in and out of rooms. Yet, somehow there is a stillness to the air. The smell is sterile – it’s the absence of smell, a distinct nothingness. 

Breast Cancer Patient Says Don't Blow Off Annual Mammogram  Frankfort resident benefits from treatments offered at the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center at Silver Cross Hospital. 

Vital Signs is distributed to alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends of Boonshoft School of Medicine.  Trauma: When care is critical

RURAL

Rural Americans encouraged to sign up for Affordable Care Act on Saturday  PECULIAR, MO (KCTV) - Sign up for insurance at healthcare.gov re-opens Saturday. It's the second round for coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Friday, to kick-off enrollment for the Affordable Care Act, a high ranking cabinet official paid a visit to Kansas City and he is encouraging a particular group of Americans to enroll in health insurance.

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