Corporate Ladder
Corporate Ladder
• Sue Vandenbroucke has been appointed to the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organization’s (Oakbrook Terrace, IL) Home Care Advisory Board. Vandenbroucke is the executive director of operations for Lifestyle Options (Schaumburg, IL).
• Auxi Health (Nashville, TN) has appointed James Barraza president/CEO and a director on the board. In addition, Auxi named David Steinglass and Gerry McCranie to its board.
• Nursefinders (Arlington, TX) named Sherry Hagemeister CEO. Rick Peranton will continue in his role as president and COO, Nursefinders said. Prior to joining Nursefinders, Hagemeister was CEO of Science Solutions. n
• After hearing emotional pleas last week not to cut in-home nursing care for the poor and elderly, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors postponed voting on a plan to close the county's home health agency. Closing the agency is one of the options administrators are considering to eliminate the county Health Services Department's estimated $10 million budget shortage next year, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. But several nurses pleaded with the board to find another way. County staff members said closing the agency would save more than $500,000 a year. The board voted 4 to 0 to hold meetings with groups interested in offering alternatives to ending the in-home service, and agreed to hold another vote on the closure early next month.
• Tennessee State Rep. John Arriola (Nashville) asked his colleagues in the House last week to provide funding for a $35 million home- and community-care program to give the elderly an alternative to nursing homes. Arriola said that it has always been the policy of Tennessee that if a patient needs assistance from the state, the patient must enter a nursing home. He added that Tennessee has sunk to last in the nation in providing alternatives to nursing home care, and advocates hope that distinction will pressure lawmakers to provide more funding.
• Memorial Hospital’s (Denver) board of directors decided last week to close the hospital’s home healthcare unit and hand over 176 patients to the Visiting Nurse Association (Denver). The city-owned facility lost $555,000 on home healthcare in 1999, $659,000 in 1998, and $383,000 in 1997, hospital officials said. The move eliminates about 50 staff jobs and becomes effective July 1, reported the Gazette of Colorado Springs. A hospital spokesperson, Taneda Schreuder, said, "We expect a seamless transition. The (Visiting Nurse Association) has agreed to hire any of our staff that would like to work with them." n
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