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

Iowa News

UIHC emergency room nearing its capacity, CEO says
The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is on pace to see a record number of emergency room trips this year with 62,000 visits expected, hospital officials said Thursday. As a result of the increasing patient volume over the last few years, the hospital’s emergency room is nearing its capacity, UIHC Chief Executive Officer Ken Kates told the Iowa state Board of Regents at their telephonic meeting in Ames. (Iowa City Press-Citizen)

Oelwein leaders consider buying Mercy Hospital
Mayor Larry Murphy said the city is working with the Oelwein Health Care Foundation to explore financing options, which boil down to revenue bond, private financing and grants. “The value of the revenue bonds is that the city doesn’t have a stake in it. If the hospital was acquired and couldn’t cash flow the bond payments, the holders can’t come back on the city. They would have to put liens on the hospital and foundation,” Murphy said. “As a result, the interest rate they pay would be higher.” Murphy said despite the tight time frame — the community was given 90 days — he is confident they can at least move toward a sale before the deadline. (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)

Iowa State trains cadre of mental health first-aid responders
When Howard Tyler joined the Iowa State faculty 20 years ago, he felt prepared for most aspects of his job. But the first time a student in the throes of an emotional crisis walked into his office, he knew he had a lot to learn. That’s why Tyler — now an associate professor of animal science and biomedical engineering — was among the first to sign up for Student Counseling Service’s new Mental Health First-Aid training. (Inside Iowa State)

Spencer to be featured in ‘Blue Zones’ radio discussion
Spencer is one of three communities selected to participate in a statewide broadcast, on Iowa Public Radio Monday, focusing on the Blue Zones project. After a weekend where Spencer Blue Crew organizers coordinated a Splash and Flash effort culminating in more than 200 people participating a flash mob of blue at the Southpark Mall on Saturday, and resulting in almost 500 new votes of support for Spencer’s Blue Zones Community effort, Alison Simpson received a call from Healthways Wednesday regarding the IPR show. (Spencer Daily News)

Citizen support for Blue Zone application critical
Work continues on Marshalltown’s application to be selected as a Blue Zone Community, but citizens must show more support for the project now. Last month Marshalltown’s pre-application for Blue Zone Community status was approved and Carol Hibbs, Community Y CEO, with Kim Schryver, Y volunteer are working to complete the full application due Jan. 4. “We need to be in the 6,500 to 6,800 range of citizen supporters to be more competitive,” Schryver said. “It is extremely important. We’ve been told one-third of the application scoring will be based on citizen support.” (Marshalltown Times-Republican)

National News

When Critical Access Hospitals aren’t so critical
On an average day, fewer than four of the Hood Memorial Hospital’s 25 beds are occupied. Last year, Hood posted a $700,000 loss on its $7.5 million in total operating expenses. One of the few bright spots on Hood’s balance sheet: the extra money it receives from the federal government through a program for critical access hospitals — small facilities that receive a higher Medicare reimbursement rate to help keep them afloat. In the ongoing deficit reduction talks, critical access hospitals have been singled out at least twice as a program ripe for cutting: in President Obama’s budget proposal and by the Congressional Budget Office. (National Public Radio)

Ex-Medicare chief takes gloves off
Now that he’s not running the Medicare and Medicaid programs, Donald Berwick is taking off the gloves to attack his Washington critics. Dr. Berwick, a former pediatrician, ran the two programs until last week, when he stepped down because his recess appointment was about to run out. Senate Republicans showed no signs of confirming him, so Marilyn Tavenner, already a top official at the agency, took over. In a speech Thursday in Orlando, Fla., Dr. Berwick had particularly sharp words for those who described the 2010 health overhaul as containing “death panels.” (Wall Street Journal)

Patient data losses jump 32%
The frequency of patient data losses at health care organizations has increased by 32 percent compared to last year, with nearly half (49 percent) of respondents citing lost or stolen computing devices such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones, according to recently published figures from the Ponemon Institute’s second annual benchmark study on patient data security. The latest report–2011 Benchmark Study on Patient Privacy and Data Security–estimates that data losses and security breaches cost the U.S. healthcare industry about $6.5 billion. And healthcare organizations face challenges in their ability to stem those losses. (InformationWeek)

Our health care spending, in one map
Alaska and Massachusetts don’t tend to have much in common when it comes to health care, but they do have this: The two spend vastly more per capita on health care than any other state in the country. That’s among the findings from a new, decade-long review of state health care spending published Wednesday by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It found huge geographic variations that can’t be explained away by any one factor. Here’s what the map looks like. (Washington Post)

The top 12 stories of 2011
As 2011 winds down, HealthLeaders reviews its most popular online stories of the year. Quality concerns, readmissions, Accountable Care Organizations, value-based purchasing, and uncertainty about the future of healthcare all share the spotlight. (HealthLeaders News)