The hospital is one of the first pediatric hospitals in the country to use a virtual reality service that can provide surgeons with a 3-D model of the brain for surgery, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from Florida, New Jersey, and North Carolina.
- Florida: St. Joseph's Children's Hospital is one of the first pediatric hospitals in the country to have a virtual reality service that provides surgeons with a 3-D of the brain for surgery. "Instead of showing a patient where everything is backwards (since MRIs are flipped) … this shows a 3-D model to highlight different areas where you can fly in," said Michael Miller, VR program lead for Surgical Theater Precision Virtual Reality, which reached out to a St. Joseph's surgeon to implement the technology. The models can benefit doctors and patients who are interested in having a better understanding of the process (Coffey, Tampa Bay Business Journal, 6/21).
- New Jersey: Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has nominated Judy Persichilli, a former nurse and interim chief executive of University Hospital, as the state's next health commissioner, making her the first nurse to be nominated for the position. Persichilli will succeed Shereef Elnahal, who is leaving to serve as CEO at University Hospital in Newark. Persichilli's appointment is pending state Senate confirmation (Madden, KYW, 6/25).
- North Carolina: Washington County Hospital reopened May 1 after being closed for more than two months. The hospital suspended services Feb. 14 after entering bankruptcy earlier that month. Not all hospital staff were asked to return upon the hospital's reopening, meaning that the facility is operating with a smaller workforce. Thomas Waldrep, the hospital's bankruptcy trustee, said he expects the facility to "have a positive cash flow" over the next few months (Ellison, Becker's Hospital Review, 6/25).