sutter health

Retail clinics have been a hot topic for quite some time here at FierceHealthcare. Along the way, we've covered some stumbles among …

Chicago-area hospital operator Resurrection Health Care has been found by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to have stifled union organizing activities, and to settle those charges, has agreed to make extra efforts to inform workers of their right to unionize. The union seeking to organize Resurrection workers, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, filed charges with the NLRB complaining that the hospital was actively discouraging employees from …

> Sacramento, CA-based Sutter Health has been awarded $6.1 million by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to develop model patient safety programs in its hospitals. Sutter plans to match the grant, bringing total program funding to about $12 million. Release

> UnitedHealth is assuring its business customers that things are under control despite ongoing …

The National Labor Relations Board has found that Sutter Roseville Medical Center must pay workers back wages interest after locking them out for four days in 2002. The ruling upholds the decision made by an administrative law judge in 2004. The NLRB finding will affect about 450 workers, each of whom should get an average of $444, for a total payout of about $200,000, according to The Sacramento Bee. Workers, including nurses and operating room techs, had staged a …

A New York union representing hotel and hospitality employees has been ordered to pay Sutter Health $17.3 million. A court found Unite Here, the union, guilty of mailing defamatory postcards in April 2005. Unite Here and Angelica Textile Service (ATS), the laundry service used by Sutter Health, were involved in a dispute in which the union was trying to improve labor conditions at ATS. As part of their campaign, union women sent postcards in Northern California that implied Sutter …

> Iowa Methodist Medical Center settled a lawsuit involving a former patient who says a surgeon used a Medtronic pacemaker because administrators wanted to win a $1 million payment from the company. Report

> A media frenzy is shaping up after a pair of anesthesiologists scheduled to participate in an execution in California refused to participate, saying they could …

Two San Francisco hospitals affiliated with the Sutter Health Network said they will merge in an attempt to keep a struggling facility afloat. According to the terms of the deal, the Mission District's St. Luke's, which has been loosing about $3 million per month, will merge operations with California Pacific Medical Center. The deal must be approved by the state attorney general. Story

> A wireless implementation led by InnerWireless at the University of Chicago Health System draws rave reviews. Story

> Tough times at Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Biogen, which says it will lay off 650 and sell assets to stay afloat. …

> Northern Virginia-based Proxicom said it would pay $20 million to pick up struggling health IT consultant Daou Systems. Story

> A new study released by the Center for Policy Initiatives concludes that some employees at Children's Hospital of San Diego are unable to afford employer subsidized insurance. …

> In a setback for drug companies, European Court refuses to hear "parallel trading" case. Story

> Oncologists criticize Italian firm for raising price of cancer drug from 60 cents per pill to $55. Story (Wall Street Journal sub. req.)

>  Boston Scientific warns that hundreds of …