Richard Pizzi

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has revised its rating outlook to positive from stable and affirmed a 'AA-' rating on debt issued for the world-renowned Mayo Clinic.

A $25 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will help fund the construction of a new 50-bed acute care hospital in Harnett County, North Carolina.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has revised the outlook on its underlying rating on revenue bonds issued for Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Conn., from negative to stable.

Summa Health System, an Akron, Ohio-based integrated delivery system, has announced a $65 million plan to grow its emergency services network by building two new full-service emergency departments and expanding three existing emergency departments.

More U.S. pharmacists are working past retirement age to lessen the impact of the bad economy on their families, according to a new workforce report, although job opportunities are still expanding.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's subsidiary, Blue Care Networks of Michigan, abandoned plans to purchase Physicians Health Plan of Mid-Michigan after the U.S. Department of Justice said it would file an antitrust lawsuit to block the acquisition.

Odyssey HealthCare, a large national hospice care provider, has signed a multi-year agreement to implement Web-based revenue cycle management technology at its facilities in 30 states.

Adventist HealthCare, a non-profit network of healthcare providers in Rockville, Md., has locked in more than $1.25 million in electricity savings by purchasing power through an online auction process.

The American Hospital Association has urged the Internal Revenue Service to improve its new Schedule H to better reflect the benefits non-profit hospitals provide to their communities.

Employment in the U.S. healthcare sector increased by approximately 12,000 jobs in February, while the national unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.