Washington, DC: HHS announces $685M to support clinicians who deliver quality, patient-centered care
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (Washington, DC), through its ‘Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative,’ will award 39 national and regional healthcare networks and supporting organizations a total of $685 million to provide 140,000 clinicians with tools to improve quality of care, increase patients access to information, and reduce costs. This is one of the largest federal investments to date designed to support doctors and other clinicians in all 50 states through collaborative and peer-based learning networks.
North Carolina: Premier Inc awarded CMS contract for second round of Hospital Engagement Networks in the Partnership for Patients initiative
Premier Inc (Charlotte, NC) was awarded a contract from CMS (Baltimore, MD) to participate in the second round of Hospital Engagement Networks in the Partnership for Patients initiative. The Partnership for Patients initiative is focused on reducing preventable readmissions to hospitals by 20 percent and reducing preventable HACs by 40 percent. The $9.3 million contract began September 24, 2015 and runs through September 23, 2016. The contract is expected to contribute approximately $7.0 million in revenue to Premier’s FY 2016 financial results. Premier has received approximately 500 LOIs from hospitals to participate in its Hospital Engagement Network (HEN) for the second round of the program. In round two of the program, Premier will work with HEN participants to conduct intensive training programs to teach and support hospitals in making patient care safer; provide technical assistance to hospitals so they can achieve quality measurement goals; and establish, implement, and improve the system to track and monitor hospital progress in meeting the Partnership for Patients’ quality improvement goals.
Michigan: Henry Ford Health System to build $110M cancer center
Henry Ford Health System (Detroit, MI) plans to construct a 144,000-sq-ft, $110 million cancer center adjacent to Henry Ford Hospital (Detroit, MI). The five-story center will offer outpatient cancer services, including radiation oncology, retail items, and exercise and nutrition planning. It will also consolidate several cancer services currently located throughout Henry Ford Health System’s network. The center is part of planned $500 million expansion and neighborhood improvement initiative on 300 acres in downtown Detroit. Work on the center is expected to begin in spring 2016, with completion scheduled for summer 2018.
Hawaii: Hawaii Health System begins negotiations with Kaiser for hospital management
Hawaii Health Systems Corp (Honolulu, HI) elected to open negotiations with Kaiser Permanente (Oakland, CA) to manage its three hospitals in Maui. The Maui region has experienced financial problems, and Hawaii Health Systems narrowed its choice of hospital operators to Kaiser and Hawaii Pacific Health (Honolulu, HI). Kaiser Permanente already operates facilities in Hawaii but said its involvement would be limited to management of the Hawaii Health hospitals.