Iowa news
American Healthcare Systems will assume operations of Mercy Iowa City
Preston Hollow Community Capital, one of Mercy Iowa City’s principal creditors, has won the bid to control the 194-bed hospital, beating out the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in a bankruptcy auction. If the bankruptcy court gives final approval, Iowa City’s oldest hospital would be managed by American Healthcare Systems, a Los Angeles-based health care operator. Preston Hollow and American Healthcare Systems are expected to take over hospital operations and its finances as early as mid-November. (Des Moines Register)
UnityPoint Health and Presbyterian Healthcare Services no longer pursuing partnership
After “significant planning and consideration,” Albuquerque, New Mexico-based Presbyterian Healthcare Services and West Des Moines-based UnityPoint Health have agreed not to pursue a cross-market merger that would have created a system of nearly 50 hospitals. The nonprofit systems proposed the partnership in March, suggesting the merger would generate “administrative efficiencies” for both systems. The Federal Trade Commission did not challenge the merger. Presbyterian CEO Dale Maxwell said regulatory approvals did not factor into the decision to end the merger process. (KWWL)
Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids to break ground on new Marion emergency department
Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids will host a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Marion emergency department at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17. The new ER is next to the MercyCare Marion clinic and will be the second off-site, hospital-based extension of Mercy’s Emergency Department. Mercy’s Hiawatha emergency location opened in 2020. Mercy officials say the new Marion ER location is in response to the changes in the community and the need for more capacity. Building another off-site ER also helps the hospital’s main emergency department, which has seen growth and was facing the prospect of having to expand. (Corridor Business Journal)
National news
Where hospital profitability is trending up
Hospitals have had a rough year financially, but things may be looking up. The latest Kaufman Hall Hospital Flash Report showed operating margins were up 8% for hospitals nationally year over year in August, and rocketed 17% for the first eight months of the year compared to the same period in 2022. Earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization also improved 10% year-to-date in August compared to the previous year. But not every region experienced the same success. (Kaufman Hall)
Six Joint Commission sentinel alerts, safety advisories in 2023
So far in 2023, The Joint Commission has issued a total of six sentinel alerts and safety advisories. Sentinel alerts describe common underlying causes regarding certain sentinel and adverse events and high risk conditions. They also offer steps to reduce risks. The accrediting body also issues safety advisories, which outline an incident or trend in health care that pose a risk to patient safety. In August, The Joint Commission published a sentinel alert regarding cybersecurity in health care, outlining the risks linked to these attacks. (Becker’s Hospital Review)
As new primary care models, including retail health clinics, continue to scale, the national supply of clinical providers will become even more constrained. For health systems, hospitals and medical groups, competition for the shrinking pool of nurses and physicians will intensify, according to a new analysis. (Fierce Healthcare)