> Co-owners of a fraudulent physician therapy company were sentenced last week to 42 months in prison and 46 months in prison, respectively, according to the Department of Justice. Angel Gonzalez and Jorge Zamora also must repay more than $82,000 with their co-defendants for billing Medicare for services never provided. Press release
> Thanks to voluntary efforts, hospitals in Michigan have saved thousands of lives and hundreds of millions of dollars, concludes a new state from the Michigan Health & Hospital Association. Report (.pdf)
> Mission Health's vice president of marketing resigned after her comments calling the hospital a monopoly and stereotyping Western North Carolina residents as "lots of hillbillies" were played at a committee meeting and put online, reports the Asheville Citizen-Times. Just last month, Janet Moore explained how Mission launched a complete examination of social media following a PR disaster and then developed a social media strategy, reports the Mountain Xpress.
> Four common healthcare-associated infections dropped in 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to data through October 2011, hospitals saw a 33 percent decline in central-line associated bloodstream infections, a 7 percent drop in catheter-associated urinary tract infections, an 18 percent reduction in invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, and a 10 percent drop in surgical-site infections. Data
> Citing declining revenues, St. Vincent Hospital in Massachusetts laid off 60 employees and eliminated a total of 117 positions, reports the Worcester Business Journal. The layoffs included nurses, personal care attendants, technologists, and managers. Meanwhile, New York's Good Samaritan Hospital cut 46 positions after its parent company restructured its three-hospital system, reports The Journal News.
And Finally... Hope you're hungry! Restaurant offers 338-pound burger the size of a small child. Article