Jacksonville, Fla.-based Baptist Health has appointed D. Brandon Chapman, MD, as the inaugural vice president of medical affairs for two hospitals.

CMS' expansion of the two-midnight rule, which could affect more than 20% of Medicare Advantage patients this year, has led to increased inpatient volumes and revenue growth for hospitals in the first quarter, according to a report published May 13 by Strata Decision Technology. 

Opelousas (La.) General Health System CFO Jim Juneau has been promoted to executive vice president of business strategy and finance. 

Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau, Alaska, is moving forward with the search for a permanent CEO, who will be the hospital's fourth leader in less than a year.

Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente plans to sell up to $3.5 billion of holdings in private-equity funds due to cash constraints, The Wall Street Journal said in a May 12 report citing unnamed sources "familiar with the matter."

The hacking group that reportedly attacked St. Louis-based Ascension typically gives victims between 10 to 12 days to pay ransom before leaking their data.

Site-neutral payment policies are a hot topic every year across the healthcare industry and in Congress. Becker's has compiled the latest updates and policy changes leaders should know in 2024.

A former executive at Loretto Hospital in Chicago faces federal charges alleging she helped embezzle nearly $500,000 from the facility amid the COVID-19 crisis, the Chicago Tribune reported May 13. 

A free speech rights lawsuit filed against Escondido, Calif.-based Palomar Health was dismissed by a federal judge due to the case not having legal standing, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported May 13. 

 Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus, N.J., has broken ground on a major emergency department expansion that will add 19 beds and create separate spaces for patients in need of mental health services.

Eli Lilly's weight loss drug Zepbound could avert up to 627,000 atrial fibrillation cases by 2030, according to Airfinity analysts. 

Michael Stewart was appointed president of Methodist Charlton Medical Center in Dallas, part of Methodist Health System.

Hospitals charged commercial insurers and employers rates 254% higher, on average, than what Medicare paid for the same services in 2022, according to a Rand Corp. report published May 13. 

As hospitals and health systems increase investments in the specialty pharmacy industry, leaders should be nimble in their payer and drugmaker relationships, according to McKesson. 

James (Jim) Tinker, former president and CEO of Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Mercy Medical Center, died April 21. 

A North Carolina administrative judge has upheld the state's decision to award Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth a certificate of need to build a hospital with at least 67 beds in Buncombe County.

Phoenix Children's Hospital has shared plans to open a 44,000-square-foot level five neonatal intensive care unit at its main Thomas Campus in Phoenix on May 15. 

Houston-based Legacy Community Health broke ground on its Legacy Pasadena (Texas) Southmore Clinic May 10, which will be funded in part by a $50 million donation from Houston Methodist. 

The Illinois Nurses Association, which represents nurses at Ascension Saint Joseph-Joliet (Ill.), has reached a tentative new labor contract with the nurses' employer.

With fewer people applying for pharmacy degree programs and residencies, it's vital for health system leaders to foster the next generation of chief pharmacy officers, executives told Becker's.