UNC Children's suspended performing complex heart surgeries, after a New York Times investigation found cardiologists and department leaders at the hospital had concerns about quality and patient outcomes about three years ago, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from Kentucky, Maryland, and North Carolina.
- Kentucky: David Jones, co-founder and longtime CEO of Humana, died on Wednesday at the age of 88. Before retiring in 2007, Jones had served as Humana's CEO for 37 years and chair of the company's board for 44 years (Haefner, Becker's Payer Issues, 9/18).
- Maryland: Anne Arundel Medical Center and Doctors Community Health System, which officially merged on July 1, have announced that their merged entity will be named Luminis Health. The new Luminis brand will launch in spring 2020 (Ellison, Becker's Hospital Review, 9/18).
- North Carolina: An independent advisory panel has ruled that UNC Children's Hospital can resume complex heart surgeries. UNC Children's for three months had suspended performing complex heart surgeries after a New York Times investigation found cardiologists and department leaders at the hospital had concerns about quality and patient outcomes about three years ago. UNC Health Care CEO Wesley Burks said in a release said, "We have made significant investments over the years to improve our pediatric cardiology program, and will continue to make further enhancements because we recognize the importance of caring for very sick children with incredibly complex medical problems" (Bean, Becker's Clinical Leadership & Infection Control, 9/18; Murphy/Bonner, Raleigh News & Observer, 9/17).