Hospitals make Forbes list of best places to work; Twin County Regional Healthcare, Duke LifePoint agree to joint venture;

> Ten hospitals and health systems made Fortune's 2012 list of best places to work, according to AHA News Now. The list, based on an employee survey and culture audit, includes Southern Ohio Medical Center in Portsmouth, Ohio; St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.; and Scripps Health in San Diego, among others. News brief

> Kaiser Permanente will see 21,000 unionized nurses walk off the job Jan. 31 to protest what the National Union of Healthcare Workers say are unfair labor practices, the union announced Thursday. Press release

> Four patients a day are dying hungry and thirsty in U.K. hospitals, according new data from the Office for National Statistics, reported The Telegraph. "They represent avoidable deaths," said Patients Association CEO Katherine Murphy. "These people needed our care when they were at their most vulnerable." Article

> Healthcare providers should consider a patient's sex when deciding whom to give pain medications to, how much to give, and when, according to a new study published today in The Journal of Pain that found women report more intense pain than men with the same medical conditions, reported the San Jose Mercury News. Researchers said the next step will be to determine whether men and women respond to pain medications differently, which could promote sex-specific, personalized medicine. Article

> Twin County Regional Healthcare and Duke LifePoint Healthcare have agreed to a jointly own and operate Twin County Regional Healthcare and its affiliated assets, the organizations announced Friday. The new joint venture will bring $20 million in capital improvements and approximately $10 million to fund a community-based foundation. Press release

And Finally... Small groups may make you act "brain dead." Article