ALSO NOTED: Medicare HMO targets chronically ill; West Nile in Missouri; and much more...

> Care Improvement, a Medicare Advantage HMO, has launched a health plan targeting chronically ill seniors in Georgia and South Carolina. Release [1]

> The West Nile virus pops up in Missouri. Article [2]

> It's the tale of a Petaluma, Calif.-based hospital exec's rapid rise and exit from power. Former colleagues say he jumped ship, but he says he was pushed. Article [3]

> On his blog, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center CEO Paul Levy is telling the story of how an otherwise well-positioned integrated health system venture fell apart. Blog [4]

> Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific are putting aside their difference in light of recent reports that blood clots can form within drug-coated stents. The former rivals--and two other device makers--have come together to fund a 10,000-person study of the technology. Report [5]

And Finally... The ED crew is in da house! A group of real emergency department nurses represent in this home-brewed rap video. Video [6]