As part of the initiative, called Food for Life, Kaiser will explore providing patients and families with in-home meal services that are specifically tailored for medication management, allergies, or medical conditions such as cancer or diabetes, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from California, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia.
- California: Kaiser Permanente on Monday announced it will launch an initiative, called Food for Life, intended to increase access to affordable healthy food. Under the initiative, Kaiser will explore providing patients and families who are eligible for California's supplemental nutrition assistance program, called CalFresh, with in-home meal services that are specifically tailored for medication management, allergies, or medical conditions such as cancer or diabetes (Gooch, Becker's Hospital Review, 10/28).
- North Carolina: Atrium Health has submitted plans to build a $147.1 million, 160,000 square-foot hospital in Lake Norman. The planned hospital will have 30 acute care beds, 20 surgical beds, six labor and delivery beds, and four intensive care beds, as well as 10 emergency bays, three ORs, and an on-site pharmacy. Atrium expects to finish construction in 2023, though the proposal is subject to approval (Paavola, Becker's Hospital Review, 10/25).
- Ohio/Virginia: Bon Secours Mercy Health has signed an agreement with Community Health Systems (CHS) to acquire three CHS hospitals in Virginia—Southside Regional Medical Center, Southampton Memorial Hospital, and Southern Virginia Regional Medical Center. In total, the three hospitals employ over 1,920 people, including about 570 doctors (Brunsman, Cincinnati Business Courier, 10/28).