Featuring hospital and health care headlines from the media and Web.

Iowa News

Legislative strike a big home run for Clarinda MHI center
A single legislative strike may prove to be a political home run for Clarinda. The local fight to save the Clarinda Mental Health Institute (MHI) from possible closure took a dramatic turn on Friday afternoon, Feb. 12, when the Iowa House of Representatives approved a second degree amendment to the government reorganization bill that removed the entire section of that bill dealing with mental health institutes and the delivery of mental health services in Iowa. (Shenandoah Valley News)

Hospital work is nearly on schedule
The new Crawford County Memorial Hospital building project is on schedule for completion in about 17 months, despite weather-related delays. According to site manager Bob Long, the construction crew finished installing the final pre-cast concrete wall panels last week. (Omaha World-Herald)

Progress continues at hospital
Clarke County Hospital invites the public to Come See Our Progress at an open house Sunday, Feb. 21 from noon to 4 p.m. at the local healthcare facility. With all of the changes in recent months and the past three years at CCH, progress is an appropriate theme for the open house. (Osceola Sentinel-Tribune)

New office space in old hospital won’t be posh, Iowa lawmaker says
Hospital wings will still look like hospital wings, even though state workers will soon occupy the old Mercy Capitol building. The idea is to keep the old hospital building as office space for 10 years. Until lawmakers figure out whether to replace the Wallace Office Building, and whether to keep the old hospital longer, the state will not spend much on improvements. (Des Moines Register)

U.S. News

HHS warns of double-digit increase in health premiums
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius held a news conference to highlight a department report showing double-digit percentage increases in health insurance premiums in California, Michigan, Connecticut, Oregon and Maine. The report specifically cites Anthem Blue Cross of California, a company owned by Wellpoint Inc., for premium increases as high as 39 percent for their insurance plans on the individual market. (Wall Street Journal)

Why are fewer patients enrolling in hospice?
Suddenly, many hospices are admitting fewer patients. Others are increasingly caring for people for just days or hours before they die. The result: cash-strapped hospices are cutting back on nurses and aides, and patients are missing out on critical end-of-life care. It is not clear why it’s happening, but some hospice officials blame both a bad economy and Medicare rules that unintentionally discourage doctors from referring all but those who are about to die. (Kaiser Health News)

Medicaid cuts would hurt hospitals, Virginia economy, hospital association says
Every $1 cut from the state’s Medicaid program costs the state’s economy $4.25, according to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association. The association released its analysis on the same day Gov. Bob McDonnell introduced a state budget with deep cuts to education and health care. (Newport News Daily Press)

Bill would require state to investigate health care costs
The bill would require an annual public hearing at which insurers, doctors and hospitals would share financial information. (New Hampshire Public Radio)

Patient-friendly ER lobby designed to reduce stress
A new emergency department lobby at Portland, OR-based Adventist Medical Center is designed to help patients relax and relieve their anxiety while they wait. The 2,500-square-foot waiting room was modeled after a hotel lobby, and features an oversized fireplace, plasma televisions, a family-friendly seating area, free Internet access, and multiple windows for natural lighting. (HealthLeaders Media)

Technology, medical tests ‘changing the face of health care’
A boom in medical technology over the past decade or two has led to a surge in certain medical tests and increased prescription drug use, say authors of a report that provides a snapshot of Americans’ health today. (USA Today)

CMS assigns second-in-command despite lack of a leader, plans realignment
While President Obama still has yet to nominate anybody for the vacant position of administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the organization already has assigned the job of second-in-command to a former Virginia health official. CMS also plans a three-pronged structural realignment–its first reorganization in roughly 10 years–focusing on beneficiary services, program integrity and strategic planning. (Fierce Healthcare)