> Johns Hopkins Medicine changes leadership as it hires Dr. Paul B. Rothman as its new CEO, reports The Baltimore Sun. On July 1, the dean of University of Iowa's Carver College of Medicine will replace Dr. Edward Miller, who held the CEO post for 15 years. Meanwhile, Providence Medical Center has chosen Randall G. Nyp as president and CEO of Providence Medical Center and Saint John Hospital, according to the Kansas City Kansan. Article
> Even though 44 percent more hospitals offer definitive emergency care to heart attack patients, only one percent increased access to that care, according to a study that will be published January 1, 2012 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. Researchers recommend improving ambulance services rather than increasing the number of percutaneous coronary intervention programs. Press release
> To help shave $61 million from its 2012 operating budget, Washington-based Providence Health Care cut 172 jobs through voluntary layoffs, reports The Spokesman-Review. Volunteering employees had to leave their jobs by Dec. 16 but with severance pay and cash bonuses. Article
> Huntsville Hospital has purchased Parkway Medical Center, both in Alabama, for $17.5 million, reports the Decatur Daily. The deal is expected to close Jan. 1 and will transition ownership to a community-based, not-for-profit health system. Article
> Cookeville (Tenn.) Regional Medical Center has revamped its website to allow patients to pay hospital bills online, as well as send messages to patients in the hospital, reports the Herald-Citizen. The hospital's homepage also provides a scrolling news feed with updates on hospital events, services and physicians. Article
And Finally... Nickleback raises $100,000 for Canadian hospital. Article