Children’s Hospital Campus To Be Renamed Thanks To Transformational Capital Gift

With the anticipated opening of a new facility in 2012, the Children’s Hospital Campus will be renamed the Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children. Ben and Luanne Russell have pledged $25 million in support of Children’s Hospital. The gift, the largest in the history of Children’s Hospital, is part of the $100 million “Keeping Promises” Capital Campaign to help build a new facility on the hospital’s downtown Birmingham campus. The new facility will be named for Mr. Russell’s grandfather Benjamin Russell (1876-1941), a legendary entrepreneur who began many of the businesses that later generations of the Russell family have grown over the years.

“Ben and Luanne Russell’s magnificent act of generosity is made by an extraordinary family and great friends of Alabama’s children and Children’s Hospital,” said Children’s Health System CEO Mike Warren.

Crestwood Appeals CON Decision

After six years of competition between Huntsville Hospital and Crestwood Medical Center, on March 19 the Alabama Certificate of Need Review Board voted 5-2 to allow Huntsville Hospital to build a new 60-bed hospital in the city of Madison. However, on May 16 Crestwood and its parent, Community Health Systems filed a petition for judicial review, stating that the CON Review Board failed to properly consider the opinion of administrative law judge Randy Reaves, who ruled in favor of Crestwood in a hearing last November. The appeal will be heard in Circuit Court in Montgomery.

 

The Sanders Trust Acquires Building

The Sanders Trust, a Birmingham-based medical real estate investment company, announced the acquisition of the 58,000 square foot Amarillo Heart Center located in Amarillo, Texas for $14,000,000.

Rance M. Sanders, CEO of The Sanders Trust stated, “The Amarillo area’s growth and the outstanding reputation of the physicians at the Amarillo Heart Group were important factors in motivating our organization to make this investment.”

Urology Centers Hosts Cancer Survivors

On May 3rd, Urology Centers of Alabama held their Fourth Annual Prostate Cancer Survivor’s Reunion at First Baptist Church on Lakeshore Drive. After Dr. Thomas Moody opened the meeting, Dr. Scott Tully recognized a few of the milestone patients from the crowd of prostate cancer survivors and their families. Next, Dr. Ed Bugg introduced the Urology Centers staff, thanking them for the critical role they play in patient care.

The keynote speaker was Mark Moyad, MD, MPH, the director of Preventive and Alternative Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical Center (Department of Urology). Moyad, the author of over 100 medical articles and an advisor to the World Health Organization, spoke on diet and supplements relating to prostate cancer. He focused on the idea that less is more, citing recent study results that showed men taking two or more multiple vitamins per day as having higher prostate cancer risk, while men who took a small dose multi vitamin had a reduced risk.  He noted that more expensive products were not necessarily better, referring to a study that found the fish oil from Costco and Sam’s Club to be among the most effective brands.

UAB Designated NIH Diabetes Research And Training Center

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has designated the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) one of only six Diabetes Research and Training Centers (DRTC) in the country, putting UAB at the forefront in the development of new methods to treat, prevent and, ultimately, cure diabetes and its complications.

Children’s Health System Announces Pediatric Nursing Hall Of Fame

Children’s Health System (CHS) recently announced the formation of its own Pediatric Nursing Hall of Fame as part of the organization’s annual Nurses Week observation.

Chief Nurse Executive, Surpora Thomas, MBA, RN, made the announcement at the conclusion of the Children’s Health System Nursing Excellence Awards. CEO Mike Warren surprised Mrs. Thomas with his own announcement that she is the hall of fame’s first inductee and the award itself is named in her honor. A portrait of Mrs. Thomas was also unveiled commemorating the event and in recognition of her excellence in leadership and commitment to the nursing profession. The portrait will hang in the CHS Bradley Lecture Center lobby near the Nursing Education and Research Center also bearing Thomas’ name.

“This may very well be the first hospital-based Pediatric Nursing Hall of fame in the country,” Thomas said. “There are many nursing halls of fame at state levels and based in nursing schools associated with colleges and universities. Our research indicates that we may be the first of our kind,” she added.

The inaugural class will be inducted in 2009 with nominations being accepted between June 1 and December 31. The purpose of the CHS Nursing Hall of Fame is to recognize the distinguished commitment and leadership of nurses and their supporters for the benefit of the nursing profession and the delivery of health care at CHS and in the state of Alabama. Awards will be given in four categories: leadership, practice, education and research.  A steering committee, comprised predominately of nurses, developed the purpose, criteria for nomination and selection, award categories and procedures for the program. Up to three individuals may be inducted in each annual cycle.

Children’s Health System is based in Birmingham, Alabama and is comprised of its flagship, The Children’s Hospital of Alabama, the state’s only free-standing hospital dedicated solely to the care and treatment of children, and a network of 14 out-patient pediatric centers providing primary, specialty and surgical care. Children’s Hospital of Alabama is one of the 10 busiest pediatric medical centers in the U.S. and one of only about 45 freestanding acute care hospitals of its kind in the nation.

Trinity Names Assistant Chief Financial Officer

Kevin Cargill has been named Assistant Chief Financial Officer at Trinity Medical Center.  Prior to his appointment at Trinity, he served as Accounting Manager at Tenet Atlanta Medical Center in Atlanta, and as Assistant Controller at Tenet Cleveland Clinic Hospital in Weston, FL. Cargill also served as Senior Auditor at Tenet Corporate Audit Services in Dallas..

A native of Huntsville, Cargill received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Oakwood College in Huntsville and a master’s in business administration from the University of Dallas. 

His past community involvement includes participation in creating and organizing food banks to assist homeless and elderly in several cities where he has resided.

Behavioral Health Systems Promotes Debra Nickolson

Behavioral Health Systems, Inc. (BHS) has promoted Debra Nickolson to Director, Network Development. Nickolson has over 20 years experience in healthcare with a central focus on relations between medical providers in the managed care sector.

Nickolson will be charged with developing and expanding the BHS PPO network of 10,800+ providers nationally. She will also coordinate regional and national provider orientations and in-service trainings.

Prior to BHS, Nickolson served as Senior Network Development Executive with Healthspring of Alabama where she was responsible for identifying network needs and negotiating contracts with providers. Nickolson’s additional experience includes positions with Viva Health and United Healthcare.

UAB First In U.S. To Offer  Speedier Precise Cancer Therapy

This month, UAB became the first U.S. medical center to offer a speedier cancer radiation therapy. The new technique can reduce a radiotherapy session from 20 minutes to 90 seconds.

Additionally, the new therapy saves healthy human tissue from unwanted radiation exposure at rates that are the same or better than other radiotherapy techniques, according to doctors at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The new therapy, called RapidArc, is the next-generation of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).

“RapidArc is an important advance for us and our patients,” said John Fiveash, M.D., an associate professor of radiation oncology at UAB and Cancer Center scientist. “Knowing that we can reduce delivery times to less than two minutes per day is important considering what cancer care involves emotionally and physically.”

Certificate of Need Announcement

The Certificate of Need Review Board today ruled in favor of Trinity Medical Center’s request to build a replacement hospital.

 “We are very pleased with the CON Review Board’s decision,” says Bill Heburn, CEO of Trinity Medical Center.  “Our community has shown consistent support for this project over the last two years and we are grateful for their tireless efforts.

Uab Creates Executive Doctor Of Science In Administration

UAB will establish a new Executive Doctor of Science (D.Sc) in Administration within the School of Health Professions. The degree will train a new generation of health care leaders incorporating analytical skills required to manage today’s complex health care organizations.

The program will combine distance learning and on-campus instruction, to facilitate participation by working executives throughout Alabama and the nation.  Beginning in June of 2009, the degree program will enroll at least 12 executives per year in the course of study.

The new degree will be closely related the existing Doctor of Philosophy in Administration-Health Services program at UAB. That program, and the related Master of Science in Health Administration, have attracted students from throughout the United States and worldwide. The new Executive D.Sc will offer an applied instructional component to complement the academic Ph.D. program. More information can be obtained by emailing phdha@uab.edu.



June 2008