March 28 • Tennessee Kidney Foundation Spring Soirée • 6-11 pm • Omni Nashville Hotel: The evening’s events include a cocktail reception, dinner, entertainment, live auction and dancing with a late party following the main program. The event raises awareness and funds to help support the more than 500,000 Tennesseans considered at risk for chronic kidney disease. For more information or to reserve tickets, go to springsoiree.org.
TriStar Skyline Offering O-Arm for Spine Surgery
TriStar Skyline Medical Center recently became the first hospital in Middle Tennessee to offer the O-arm® Intra-operative Imaging and Navigation System by Medtronic for spine surgeries. The advanced imaging and navigation systems enable surgeons to pre-operatively plan treatment and operate in the complex and delicate area of the spine by allowing surgeons to visualize the patient's anatomy in 3D during surgery and see the precise position of their surgical instrumentation throughout the procedure. Potential benefits include smaller incisions, less pain, quicker recovery time, and a decreased chance of infection or other complications.
"The O-arm technology is like having a GPS navigation system for spinal surgery," said Brett Babat, MD, orthopaedic spine surgeon at TriStar Skyline. "The technology gives surgeons the ability to visualize and track in real-time the position of their surgical instruments and thus avoid critical structures such as the spinal cord."
WMC Introduces Newest Member of the Surgical Team
Officials with Williamson Medical Center, along with several of the area’s top orthopaedic surgeons, recently unveiled the hospital’s newest surgical assistant, the RIO® Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopaedic System.
WMC is the only facility in Middle Tennessee offering the RIO System operated by fellowship-trained joint surgeons to offer a minimally invasive procedure for early- to mid-stage osteoarthritis. Cory Calendine, MD, Colin Looney, MD, Brian Perkinson, MD, Christopher Stark, MD, and Paul Thomas, MD, each specializing in knee and hip replacement, are credentialed to use this new robotic technology, which allows for a smaller incision, less pain and scarring, a shorter hospital stay, improved range of motion, and quicker return to normal activity than traditional replacement surgery.
Thomas said the equipment allows for better planning and execution. “It enables the surgeon to do a more thorough pre-operative evaluation, plan the most effective procedure and then execute it more precisely than ever,” he noted.
Lung Cancer Specialist Johnson Joins SCRI
Melissa Johnson, MD, has recently joined Sarah Cannon Research Institute as associate director, Lung Cancer Research. Her responsibilities include supporting the growth of the Phase 2/3 lung program clinical trial portfolio, while also furthering the development of early phase compounds for thoracic malignancies in the Drug Development Unit.
Johnson, a medical oncologist with Tennessee Oncology, received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her residency in internal medicine at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and her fellowship in medical oncology and hematology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Johnson spent four years as a faculty member at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and Feinberg School of Medicine, where she was a founding member of the Northwestern Medical Developmental Therapeutics Institute (NMDTI) before joining SCRI. She is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology.
Burner Joins Radiology Alliance
Kevin L. Burner, MD, who specializes in interventional and diagnostic radiology, has recently joined Radiology Alliance, PC, which is the exclusive market-wide radiology provider for inpatient and outpatient services at TriStar Health System’s 10 hospitals in Tennessee and Kentucky.
Since 2003, Burner has served as the medical director of Medical Imaging at TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital in Bowling Green, Ky., and the board certified radiologist will continue in this leadership role. He received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and performed a diagnostic radiology residency with an emphasis on interventional radiology at University Hospitals of Cleveland.
Saint Thomas Health, Healthways Partner to Improve Diabetes Care
Saint Thomas Rutherford is partnering with Healthways, Inc. to improve the care of diabetic patients in the community. Healthways has offered comprehensive diabetes programs for more than 30 years and has been a part of a successful diabetes program at Saint Thomas Midtown since 1997, and more recently at Saint Thomas West.
Beginning last month, a specially trained Advanced Nurse Practitioner has been made available for inpatient consult via computerized physician order entry (CPOE) for diabetes education or disease management. The program will be under the direction of Matt Moody, with Dr. Cheryl Fassler, MD, providing oversight of the nurse practitioner. Healthways will assume leadership responsibility for the Saint Thomas Rutherford Outpatient Diabetes Center, providing a seamless transition of care for patients with diabetes.
Hulin to Become Next President of MTSA
Christopher P. Hulin, CRNA, DNP, the current dean and program administrator of the Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia (MTSA) will become the fourth president in the school’s 65-year history. Hulin will assume his new role on July 1, 2015 upon the retirement of Kenneth L. Schwab, EdD, who has served as MTSA president since 2010.
Hulin earned his doctor of nursing practice degree from Samford University in 2010. He earned his master’s with a focus in nurse anesthesia from MTSA in 2006. Hulin also holds an MBA from Regis University and a master’s in nursing administration from Vanderbilt University.
Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About!
Awards, Honors, Achievements
Michael Greer, RN, MHA, CPHQ, CJCP has been named to the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) Board of Directors. Greer, who is senior director of regulatory and accreditation for LifePoint Hospitals, is NAHQ’s president-elect.
Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, director of the Center for Cancer Targeted Therapies; director of the Breast Cancer Program; and associate director for Clinical Research at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center is one of 11 luminaries in the field of cancer research chosen for the 2015 class of fellows of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Last year proved to be a record-breaker for ReviveHealth, a Top 10 marketing communication agency for the health and healthcare industry. Last month, the company announced 62 percent growth for 2014, with $8.7 million in revenue, 42 new clients, 23 new professionals (doubling staff size), the addition of new digital capabilities, and acquisition of Minneapolis-based agency Interval and the opening of a new office in Minneapolis. The agency is on the short list for PRWeek’s Small Agency of the Year for 2015, which will be announced this month.
Last month, Nashville-based Clearwater Compliance announced that its entire suite of solutions has earned the exclusive endorsement of the American Hospital Association (AHA). The endorsement, the first in Clearwater’s category, signals a growing awareness of the critical need for proven approaches to information privacy, security, compliance and risk. The AHA lauded the company’s “team of veteran experts in HIPAA/HITECH and information risk management who understand and exclusively serve the healthcare field.”
Certifications & Accreditations
Sarah Cannon at TriStar Health recently announced the Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) has named five facilities Screening Centers of Excellence. Sarah Cannon at TriStar Centennial Medical Center, TriStar Skyline Medical Center, TriStar Summit Medical Center, TriStar Southern Hills Medical Center and TriStar Horizon Medical Center have been recognized for ensuring best practices developed by the American College of Radiology (ACR), the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program (I-ELAP) for controlling screening quality, radiation dose and diagnostic procedures within an experienced, multi-disciplinary clinical setting.
Wishes Granted
The HCA Foundation recently awarded Progress, Inc. a $300,000 grant funded over three years towards the agency’s capital campaign to fund a new building on Progress’s campus at 319 Ezell Pike. Progress, Inc. is a non-profit that has served people with disabilities and seniors for more than 43 years.
Neighborhood Health has received a $65,000 grant from Baptist Healing Trust in the most recent grant cycle. The funding will help support services for over 2,500 Neighborhood Health patients who suffer with diabetes.
Centerstone Research Institute has secured $19.8 million in grants and contracts from state and federal organizations to enable Centerstone and its partners to launch and expand community-based behavioral health programs serving individuals throughout Tennessee. The grant funding will allow for the implementation of programs designed to prevent and reduce rates of suicide, violence, disparities in prenatal care and homeless or soon-to-be homeless veteran families. Additionally, the programs will support foster children lacking safe housing and individuals within the criminal justice system who require treatment, recovery assistance and trauma care.
h3gm Adds Two Associates
Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner, P.C. (h3gm) recently announced the addition of two associates.
Brad Sayles, a member of the firm’s Healthcare Practice Group, assists providers with state and federal regulatory compliance, including defending both individual practitioners and large corporations facing allegations of non-compliance with the Stark law, Anti-Kickback statute, 340B, and HIPAA. Sayles earned his law degree from The University of Kentucky School of Law. He comes to h3gm from a well-known Kentucky healthcare law firm where he represented some of the state’s largest providers in both state and federal court.
Nathaniel Greene is a member of the Corporate Practice Group, where he assists clients with a variety of complex legal issues including: secured and unsecured financing transactions; leasing, acquisition, disposition and financing of real estate and commercial properties; and general contract negotiation. Greene earned his degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law where he was an articles editor for the Tennessee Law Review and a research editor for Transactions: The Tennessee Journal of Business Law.
Crosslin, STAT Solutions Promote Two
STAT Solutions and Crosslin & Associates have promoted two team members within the companies.
Kathi Carney has been named director of operations for STAT Solutions. She is a certified professional coder, certified coding instructor, certified professional medical auditor, and has 11 years of physician medical coding experience. Additionally, she spent 19 years as a practice manager, billing manager, and business manager for physician practices.
Elisabeth Harper has been promoted to forensic and valuation consultant. She has more than six years of experience in public accounting and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Furman University, an MBA from Middle Tennessee State University, and a law degree from the University of Memphis.
Senior Solutions Home Care Expansion
Brentwood-based Senior Solutions At Home, Inc. (d/b/a Senior Solutions Home Care) has recently expanded its market into West Tennessee, becoming one of the largest non-medical home care providers in the state. The expansion makes services available in Jackson and the surrounding areas. With this expansion, the company, which was founded in 2010, grows to more than 300 caregivers.
HCA Announces Executive Appointments
Nashville-based hospital giant HCA recently announced the appointment of Sam Hazen as the company’s chief operating officer. A 32-year company veteran, Hazen has served as president of operations for the company since 2011 with oversight of HCA’s 166 hospitals and 113 freestanding surgery centers, domestically and in the United Kingdom. Prior to that, he served in a number of leadership roles at the company, most notably as president of HCA’s Western Group with responsibility for seven divisions and 63 hospitals in nine states.
Hazen began his career in Humana’s Financial Management Training Program in 1983. He has served as CFO for hospitals in Georgia and Nevada and as a regional CFO in Kentucky. Hazen earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Kentucky and his MBA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Lyn Ketelsen, RN, MBA has been named the company’s first chief patient experience officer. In this role, Ketelsen is responsible for leveraging best practices that have been developed at HCA’s 166 affiliated hospitals and other healthcare providers throughout the company to help ensure patients have the best experience possible.
A registered nurse for more than 29 years, she has worked in a variety of healthcare settings and has clinical experience in pediatrics as well as neonatal intensive care. For the first 17 years of her career she worked with Genesis Health System. She comes to HCA after more than 12 years with Studer Group, an organization that helps providers improve outcomes. She holds an associate’s degree in nursing from Black Hawk College in Illinois, a bachelor’s degree in business administration from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, and an MBA from the University of Iowa.
Veteran Healthcare Banker Joins Avondale Partners
Stephen Scott recently joined Avondale Partners’ Investment Banking team as a managing director focusing on companies in the healthcare sector. Scott has almost 20 years of investment banking and healthcare experience and has completed 40 healthcare M&A advisory, equity, and debt transactions during his career.
Previously, he spent 8 years at Stephens Inc. most recently as a senior vice president of the Healthcare Investment Banking team. He has also worked in the Healthcare Investment Banking team at Jefferies & Co. and in corporate finance positions at HCA and PhyCor. Scott earned an MBA with Honors from Vanderbilt University and graduated summa cum laude from Miami University in Ohio.
TriStar Summit Welcomes Amin
TriStar Summit Medical Center recently announced the addition of Chirag J. Amin, MD, an oncologist with Tennessee Oncology, to the hospital’s medical staff.
Amin received his medical degree from Indiana University in Indianapolis. He then completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and his hematology/oncology fellowship at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Bounds Joins Nashville Vision Associates
Inez B. Bounds, MD, has joined the practice of Nashville Vision Associates, which now includes four board-certified ophthalmologists who perform cataract surgery, in addition to a range of other ophthalmic services.
Bounds, who received her medical degree at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, completed her internship at Methodist Hospital in Memphis followed by a fellowship at Vanderbilt. She is practicing at the Nashville Eye Center, adjacent to Saint Thomas West. Nashville Vision Associates also serves patients in Williamson County through their office at Brentwood Medical Center.
Means-Powell Joins Tennessee Oncology
Tennessee Oncology, one of the largest independent oncology practices in the country, recently announced the addition of Julie Means-Powell, MD, who will see patients in the Franklin and Springfield clinics.
Previously, the board certified medical oncologist practiced at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center for 10 years. Means-Powell’s special interest is in breast cancer, and she has researched and co-authored several studies about the disease. After medical school and internship at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, she completed her residency and a fellowship at Vanderbilt.
LifePoint Names Four VPs
Brentwood-based LifePoint Hospitals recently announced the appointment of four new vice presidents.
Kathy Winn has joined the company as vice president, marketing services. She will work with LifePoint’s hospitals to define marketing and business development strategies to support growth, enhance service line development and facilitate sharing best practices system-wide. Winn brings nearly 20 years of marketing experience to the role, most recently as market director of marketing for HCA/Parkridge Health System in Chattanooga.
Sharon Marti has joined as vice president, integration and transition services where she will support the integration of new facilities into the LifePoint system. Previous experience includes serving as vice president of operations for Diabetes Care Group, The Little Clinic and Gambro Healthcare. Marti, who has a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Alabama - Birmingham, has also served as an adjunct faculty member at Vanderbilt School of Nursing since 2012.
Dana Begley has joined as vice president, post-acute services where she will focus on hospital transitions of care and develop an integrated model across the care continuum including home health, hospice, skilled nursing, behavioral health and inpatient/outpatient rehabilitation. Most recently, she was vice president, medical management and post-acute services at Duke LifePoint’s Conemaugh Health System in Pennsylvania. She has a master’s degree in healthcare administration from the University of Pittsburgh and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Cathy Florek has been promoted to vice president, supply chain and clinical services and will lead all facets of supply chain management. Previously, she was senior director, contracting and value analysis, transitioning local vendor agreements to regional and national contracts across the LifePoint system. She joined the company in 2012 from HealthTrust Purchasing Group and prior to that worked with HCA. Florek has an MBA with a concentration in healthcare marketing from Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
Tennessee Oncology, Clinicast Partner on Patient Risk Analytics
It was recently announced that Tennessee Oncology would partner with Clinicast for risk stratification and analytics. The technology company, based of out Milbrae, Calif., said the large independent practice would be implementing the Clinicast ARTO™ Oncology platform to help identify high-risk oncology patients, better match patients to appropriate interventions, measure intervention effectiveness and benchmark performance through predictive models.
“Clinicast gives us an oncology-specific analytics system that includes our patients’ clinical data. This will allow us to improve data-driven healthcare decisions that are tailored to risk assessments of each individual patient,” said Wes Chapman, senior vice president of Tennessee Oncology.
LBMC Security & Risk Adds Bennett
Sese Bennett has joined LBMC’s Security & Risk Services Practice, which provides a wide range of services including compliance and IT security services to organizations of all sizes. Bennett joins the firm as a senior manager. He spent the last eight years in an information security leadership role, most recently as the chief information security officer for the State of Tennessee. Other prior experience includes information security roles at Time Warner Cable Corporation and BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina.
American Addiction Centers Expansion
Brentwood-based public company, American Addiction Centers (AAC Holdings), recently announced a move from its current location to a new, larger headquarters space at 200 Powell Place. The company has signed a 10-year lease for 102,000 square feet of space that will be the corporate office and call center. The move is expected to occur in the third quarter of this year.
In other news, earlier this year the new outpatient substance abuse center in Las Vegas received full accreditation for intensive outpatient treatment. The company also increased capacity at their Forterus facility in Temecula, Calif. with the addition of 31 beds. Last month the company signed a definitive agreement for the acquisition, through its subsidiary Behavioral Healthcare Realty, of an 84-licensed-bed hospital in Aliso Viejo, Calif. for an aggregate of $13.5 million in cash to create a Chemical Dependency Recovery Hospital. Facility renovations are beginning the first half of this year with an expected completion date in the first half of 2016.
Waller Expands IP Expertise
Recently, Waller expanded the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice with the addition of six veteran attorneys to the firm. Jack Waddey, Larry Brantley, Andy Pitchford, Nate Bailey, Matthew Cox and Blake Bernard joined Waller in January. Waddey, who was named partner, is an industry leader with more than four decades of experience in IP counseling and litigation. He co-founded and helped lead Waddey Patterson Intellectual Property Law.
"Jack Waddey is a nationally recognized name in intellectual property law, and his addition to our firm has already helped us attract attorneys with broad and deep patent and other intellectual property experience," said Waller chairman Matt Burnstein. "Larry, Andy, Matthew, Nate and Blake together give Waller depth in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and computer engineering that complements the work we are already doing in healthcare, life sciences and manufacturing.”
Motes Named Capella VP, Revenue Cycle Operations
Capella Healthcare recently announced the appointment of Jane Motes as vice president of revenue cycle operations. With more than 20 years of healthcare experience, Motes most recently served as senior director, revenue cycle, at University of Arizona Health Network in Tucson. Prior to that, she served in a variety of roles at St. Luke’s Health System in Boise, Idaho. Motes earned a bachelor’s degree, focusing on public health, from Western Illinois University in Macomb.
Belmont, Vanderbilt, RoundingWell Partner
Last month, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and Belmont University College of Pharmacy announced a partnership with RoundingWell, a cloud-based patient engagement and care management platform, to develop disease- and condition-specific care plans that proactively engage patients in the times between visits and after hospitalizations.
RoundingWell has tapped healthcare experts from higher education to help create clinically validated, patient-focused content for its engagement library. This library – populated with more than 5,000 pieces of distinct content on disease management, physical wellness and emotional health – is the hub of RoundingWell’s patient engagement experience, which can be scaled to scale to large populations while delivering an evidence-based experience tailored to each individual patient. The service is offered as a subscription to hospitals, ACOs, Medicare Advantage plans and specialty care providers.
Medalogix Grows Team
Nashville-based predictive analytics company Medalogix has added Cyndi Rizzitello as vice president of clinical transformation. She comes to Medalogix from BlackTree Healthcare Consulting, where she was director of clinical consulting and led the initiation of that division for the company. While at BlackTree, Rizzitello assisted home health and hospice clients across the country to help them gain efficiencies and maximize the use of technology. Prior to that, she was clinical product manager and vice president of sales at Homecare Homebase. She received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Rutgers University and her master’s in nursing informatics from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
In other news, Martin Laritz has been hired as lead application architect. He previously worked at Informatics Corporation of America (ICA), where he was senior application developer.
The company also announced Michael Fleming, MD, will serve as a clinical advisor. Fleming is chief medical officer for Amedisys, one of the nation’s largest home health and hospice providers. A past president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, Fleming brings more than 36 years of experience to the Medalogix advisory board.
Shareable Ink’s ShareQuality now QCDR Ready
Nashville-based Shareable Ink®, a cloud-based platform that simplifies clinical documentation at the point-of-care, recently announced the release of ShareQuality, the first mobile quality capture product that is QCDR ready – a new and highest level of quality distinction awarded by the Anesthesia Quality Institute (AQI).
ShareQuality helps anesthesia groups implement effective quality programs, participate in quality registries (such as AQI’s NACOR), and ensure appropriate reimbursements. The product’s ease of use and implementation is unique. The iPad and cloud-based software captures requisite information without disrupting clinical workflow; real-time reports demonstrate progress and identify problems; and sophisticated integration with AQI allows maximum Quality Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) participation.
PhyMed Promotes Hatter
Nashville-based PhyMed Healthcare Group recently announced the promotion of Rona Hatter to regional operations manager for the company’s pain management division where she will have oversight of all the company’s pain management practices. PhyMed is a physician-led and owned services organization specializing in anesthesia, pain management and critical care.
Hatter, who joined PhyMed in 2010 to manage the pain group of Anesthesia Services of Middle Tennessee, was director of PhyMed’s pain management practice in Clarksville prior to her promotion. A former oncology nurse for Saint Thomas Health Services, Hatter holds a CPPM certification (Certified Physician Practice Manager) and is the 2015 president of Clarksville MGMA.
Lovin Named LBMC Partner-in-Charge for Litigation/Valuation
Accounting and business consulting firm LBMC recently announced Christopher M. Lovin, CPA/AVB/CFF, CFE as partner-in-charge of LBMC’s Valuation, Litigation and Business Transition Services Division. Lovin, who has more than 17 years experience with the company in commercial litigation and valuation matters, replaces David Wood, who is retiring from the division’s lead role.
Lovin is a graduate of the University of Tennessee where he earned both his undergraduate degree and master’s in accounting. He is chairman of the Tennessee State Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA) Forensic and Valuation Services Task Force along with being involved in the Leading Edge Alliance (LEA) Business Valuation Special Interest Group
Ray Appointed VP, Senior Products for BlueCross
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee recently announced the selection of J. Todd Ray to serve as vice president and general manager of senior products. He will be the primary management leader with oversight for Medicare Advantage and Medicare supplemental products for the senior products division.
Ray has worked in the health insurance industry for 18 years and joined BCBST in 2013 as director of product strategy with responsibility for product development for Medicare Advantage and Medicare supplemental products. Prior to that, he worked for Humana, Inc. where he most recently served as regional director of Medicare risk adjustment and strategic planning for a four state region. He earned both his undergraduate degree and MBA (healthcare administration) from the University of Louisville.
Truong Joins Saint Thomas Family Health Center
Thy Ann Truong, FNP, recently joined Saint Thomas Family Health Center in west Nashville. The family nurse practitioner, who was born in Vietnam and came to the U.S. at the age of seven, is fluent in Vietnamese. She received her undergraduate degree in nursing from Aquinas College in Nashville and her master’s as a family nurse practitioner from Tennessee State University. Prior to receiving her graduate degree, Truong worked in the critical care unit at Saint Thomas West Hospital for six years. She is certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
CHS Additions, Subtractions
Community Health Systems, Inc. recently announced subsidiaries of the company have executed a definitive agreement for the purchase of an 80 percent equity interest in Metro Health in Wyoming, Mich., a suburb west of Grand Rapids. The agreement includes 208-bed Metro Health Hospital, outpatient centers, and related assets and businesses. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory reviews.
In other news, the company also announced completion of the sale of their ownership interest in Harris Hospital and related outpatient services to White County Medical Center of Searcy, Ark. The effective date of the transaction is February 1, 2015.
After the divestiture of Harris Hospital, CHS affiliates continue to operate nine hospitals in Arkansas.
LCHS, Saint Thomas Health Announce Alliance
The leadership of Lincoln County Health System (LCHS) and Saint Thomas Health have announced an expanded alliance, effective March 1, that makes the Fayetteville-based facility a part of Saint Thomas Health’s “regional integrated system of care.” The relationship will allow LCHS to continue delivering local, high-quality healthcare as an independent entity while participating fully with Saint Thomas in initiatives to improve the health of Lincoln County, as well as improve quality and lower cost of healthcare across the region.
There has been a long relationship between the two systems. Cardiac specialists with Saint Thomas Heart have been traveling to Fayetteville for more than 20 years to work with local physicians in expanding access to advanced cardiac treatment, and LCHS is already part of the Saint Thomas Health Chest Pain, Stroke and Telehealth Networks.
Pinnacle Acquires Stake in National Healthcare Lender
Nashville-based Pinnacle Financial Partners has paid $75 million in cash and debt for a 30 percent stake in Bankers Healthcare Group, which was founded in 1992. BHG employs a team of originators to make working capital, equipment or acquisition loans, among others, to healthcare companies of all types and then sells stakes in those loans to a network of 200 community banks. The company has funded more than $1 billion in loans since 2011 and last year booked a pre-tax profit of $49 million on revenues of $98 million. BHG is based in Davie, Fla. and runs its financial HQ out of Syracuse, NY.
FDA Approves Liraglutide, for Obesity Treatment
In a 14 to 1 vote, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved a formulation of the diabetes drug Liraglutide as a treatment option for chronic weight management. The injectable drug by Novo Nordisk will be marketed under the name Saxenda. It is approved for use in adults with a BMI of 30 or greater or for adults with a BMI of 27 or greater and at least one weight-related comorbid condition such as diabetes, hypertension or dyslipidemia.
The drug has been available in the U.S. since 2010 under the name Victoza for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Local Cardiologist Pens Book with Insights on Physical, Spiritual Health
As a cardiologist with more than 25 years’ experience, Arthur E. Constantine, MD, has encountered patients with a variety of health problems. In his new book of inspiration and information for a healthy physical and spiritual lifestyle, “It’s Always the Heart” (published by WestBow Press), Constantine provides stories inspired by 11 unrelated patients he has come across throughout his career in medicine. Many of the stories provide readers with faith-based lessons about spiritual wellness, as well as heart health.
“We all must take personal responsibility for our physical and spiritual health. Our habits shape how we live our lives. Everyone is busy, but all have to balance and prioritize the important things, including preparing meals, engaging in daily exercise and studying a spiritual message daily,” said Constantine, who practices with the Heart Group at Saint Thomas Heart.
AmSurg's Sheridan Completes Agreement with Anesthesia Group, Acquisition of Radisphere
Sheridan, the Physician Services division of AmSurg Corp. recently announced the affiliation of Ambulatory Anesthesia Care, PC, an anesthesia group practice serving ambulatory facilities in Mountainside and Edison, N.J.
The physicians of Ambulatory Anesthesia Care are the exclusive providers of anesthesia to The Center for Ambulatory Surgery in Mountainside, an AmSurg multi-specialty partnership.
Robert Coward, president of Sheridan and chief development officer for AmSurg, commented on the affiliation, "We are appreciative of this group's vote of confidence in our operations and our growing New Jersey practice. Ambulatory Anesthesia Care will now join a network of more than 30 New Jersey hospitals and ambulatory centers served by Sheridan anesthesia providers, and we expect further growth in the New York-New Jersey marketplace going forward.”
Sheridan is also expanding its radiology services business through the acquisition of Radisphere, a group of over 100 radiologists who read more than 1 million studies per year. Radisphere is a leading national radiology group focused on hospital-based service delivery. It provides services in 25 states, which significantly expands Sheridan's overall market position. The combined radiology services provider will read more than three million studies per year.
TriStar Centennial Medical Center Announces Board of Trustees Appointments
Last month, TriStar Centennial Medical Center announced a new chairperson, vice chairperson, and five new members to the hospital’s Board of Trustees.
Arthur B. Laffer, PhD, founder and chairman of Laffer Associates and Laffer Investments, has been named to the role of chair, and David R. Spigel, MD, medical oncologist at TriStar Centennial, has been named vice chair, Board of Trustees.
In addition, Frank “Karl” VanDevender, MD, Tara M. Allen, MD, FPMRS, Thomas S. Johnston, MD, FACC, and Shawn P. Stallings, MD, FACOG, have been appointed as Board of Trustees members for three-year terms through Dec. 31, 2017. As TriStar Centennial’s 2013 Frist Humanitarian Employee Award recipient, Karen M. Gough was appointed as a non-voting member for a term of one year through Dec. 31, 2015.
In addition, philanthropist Jennifer R. Frist was re-elected to a second term on the Board, which will conclude on Dec. 31, 2017.
Loden Introduces New Implants for Cataract Patients
Ophthalmologist James Loden, MD, recently introduced new lenses for his cataract patients – Tecnis Multifocal Low Add IOLs, which have just recently received FDA approval. Loden was chosen to perform the FDA trials for the lenses in 2013 and is now among the first doctors to offer them to patients.
The new intraocular lenses from Abbott Medical Optics provide enhanced vision at intermediate distances, including improved night vision, with significant reduction of glare and halos, which are the most common patient complaints about older versions of multi-focal lenses. With the new IOLs, Loden can match the lens to a patient’s specific lifestyle needs and offer the best near/intermediate vision possible, determined by how much time they spend on a variety of daily tasks including driving, working on the computer and reading.
