> Hawaii Medical Center in Honolulu on Tuesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for a second time due to lack of sufficient capital, reports the Associated Press. Because it is not part of larger healthcare system, the hospital cited problems with patient census and meeting new federal regulations. Article
> Houston Healthcare yesterday named Cary Martin as its CEO, reports The Sun News. Martin will earn $312,000 a year in his role, which is about $34,000 less than his predecessor Grady "Skip" Philips. Article
> Most Americans (92 percent) would consider caring for a loved one in the event of serious illness, according to a study by the Center to Advance Palliative Care and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, reports AHA News Now. Hospital palliative care programs now total 1,500 programs in the country, doubling since 2000. Article
> DeKalb Memorial Hospital in Auburn, Ind., this week announced it is changing its name to DeKalb Health to better reflect the medical system's scope of services, reports the Journal Gazette. Similarly, Children's Hospital in Aurora, Colo., announced yesterday it is immediately changing its name to either Children's Hospital Colorado or Children's Colorado, reports the Denver Post. In related news, Rivkin & Associates LLC and Bauman Research & Consulting LLC this week released a survey, which concluded consumers preferred the term "hospital" over "medical center," believing a hospital provides better services, quality care, and medicine, and has expert physicians, reports FierceHealthcare.
> The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced yesterday it plans to provide $500 million to hospitals, providers, and other healthcare organization through the Partnership for Patients program, dedicated to patient safety efforts. The goals of the program are to reduce hospital medical harm by 40 percent and cut hospital readmissions by 20 percent during the next three years. Press release
And Finally... Con artist fakes being an Oregon doctor to dispense medical advice. Article