Richard Pizzi

Healthcare executives Nancy Howell Agee and R. Timothy Rice have been appointed by the American Hospital Association to The Joint Commission's Board of Commissioners for three-year terms beginning January 2010.

A new study finds that by February 2008, 45 percent of U.S. hospitals had adopted "smoke-free campus" policies, meaning that all the property owned or leased by the hospital, both indoors and outdoors, was smoke-free and there were no designated smoking areas on those properties.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded a $17 million community facilities guaranteed loan to Community Memorial Healthcare, Inc., of Marysville, Kan., to construct a 25-bed critical access hospital.

The healthcare real estate firm Lillibridge, based in Chicago, has secured $250 million in debt refinancing in a series of deals that closed earlier this quarter.

Overall hospital prices increased 0.1 percent in July and were 2.5 percent higher than a year ago, according to data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Twelve New Jersey hospitals and their participating physicians have received approval from the federal government to test a new incentive method that aims to reduce healthcare costs while improving quality of care.

Ohio physicians say the current economic conditions are taking their toll on access to healthcare and the practice of medicine in the state, according to a survey by the Ohio State Medical Association.

South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds (R), a former insurance company executive, has launched an attack on the Indian Health Service, suggesting that the federally-run health system is poorly managed and is thus indicative of government-run healthcare generally.

The El Camino Hospital District board of directors has approved its Fiscal Year 2010 Community Benefit Plan, identifying $4.9 million in grants to be funded from district tax receipts.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Care Consumer Confidence Index found that Americans' confidence in their health insurance coverage and access to healthcare dropped in July.