Monday, December 13, 1999
TRISTATE DIGEST
3 Tristate hospitals make top 100 list
Three Tristate hospitals were named to 1999's Top 100 Hospitals list, released today and sponsored by a Baltimore-based health data firm HCIA and cable TV's Health Channel.
The three hospitals were Mercy Hospital Anderson, Middletown Regional Hospital and Meadowview Regional Medical Center in Maysville, Ky.
Despite the acclaim accorded winners, health experts caution consumers not to put too much faith in such lists. Critics say the criteria important to everyday folks might not be the same as those used by the raters.
“It doesn't mean much to you or me,” said cardiologist Harlan Krumholz of the Yale School of Medicine, who has published analyses of the HCIA listings. He said individual cases vary too much for ratings to affect patient decisions.
HCIA generates its list by looking at the more than 3,200 hospitals that receive Medicare payments.
Researchers use federal data to look at hospital mortality, complications and costs, determining “who delivers good quality care in the most efficient manner,” said head analyst Jean Chenoweth of HCIA.
Overall, medical industry groups take a mixed stance toward ratings.
“Take each list with a grain of salt,” said Larry Gage, head of the National Association of Public Hospitals.
Patients should look for “centers of excellence” in a hospital, Mr. Gage said. “Plainly, a spinal-care unit matters more to someone with back pain (than) a good hospital rating.”
Man, 18, accused of holdup at gas station
An 18-year-old man was charged with robbery Sunday following an early-morning holdup in which a Sunoco gas station clerk was sprayed with Mace, Cincinnati District 5 police said.
Luke Aaron Gill, whose address was not available, is accused of planning and committing the 2:58 a.m. theft at the Sunoco station at 2740 Spring Grove Ave. in Camp Washington, police said.
Mr. Gill was arrested at 4:30 a.m. in the 1000 block of Ludlow Avenue and was held Sunday without bond in Hamilton County Justice Center. Police said $32 was stolen from the gas station.
Over-the-Rhine man charged with rape
An Over-the-Rhine man was charged with rape Sunday following an incident at his home, Cincinnati police said.
Earl Bowman, 38, of the 1800 block of Walnut Street was arrested at 4 a.m. Sunday, an hour and a half after the incident. Mr. Bowman is accused of punching a woman in the face and threatening her with a metal pole during the assault.
Fund to pay $200M for insurance firm failure
AKRON, Ohio — A fund backed by insurance companies expects to pay more than $200 million to handle claims stemming from the failure of what had been Ohio's largest medical malpractice insurer, the fund president said.
Nearly $100 million has been spent this year alone by the Insurance Guaranty Association of Ohio toward PIE Mutual Insurance claims and related costs, rivaling the $110 million paid out over the nonprofit association's 30-year history to cover 30 to 40 previous insolvencies, association President Frank Gartland said.
“This is the largest insolvency Ohio has ever been through,” Dan Kelson, president of the Ohio Insurance Institute, told the Akron Beacon Journal Sunday.
So far, the cost has been paid for by annual fees assessed on insurance companies licensed in Ohio. Those fees are passed on to consumers in the form of higher premiums.
Mr. Gartland said he has not yet received any money from the liquidation proceedings, which have netted $190 million so far.
Doug Hertlein, the chief deputy liquidator, told the newspaper that he hopes to collect at least $100 million more from accounting firms and lawyers that did work for PIE and should have been aware of its financial problems.
Charter schools failing to live up to billing
AKRON, Ohio — Ohio's state-funded charter schools, introduced by supporters as an alternative to problem-plagued public schools, have not lived up to expectations, the Akron Beacon Journal reported Sunday.
The problems are a result, in part, of lawmakers rushing to approve school contracts and a lack of oversight of school operations, the newspaper said.
“I think it's a mistake to have the state charter these schools and turn them loose with little or no supervision,” said John Gilligan, a former Ohio governor elected to the Cincinnati Board of Education in November.
A law allowing charter schools was passed in 1997 and the first contracts were awarded in July 1998.
Charter schools are independent schools that receive state and federal money. They are exempt from curriculum and personnel standards, but must meet state standards in testing and attendance like traditional public schools.
Thirty-three charter schools opened this year, adding to the 15 charter schools that operated in 1998-99. The state will spend more than $52 million to enroll about 10,400 students in the schools, the newspaper said.
Key senator opposes Ind. hate crime bill
HAMMOND, Ind. — Pending hate crime legislation is pretty much doomed in the Indiana Senate if one prominent committee member decides he doesn't want to hear about it.
And this week, Sen. Robert Meeks, R-LaGrange, told The Times of Northwest Indiana that he has no intention of hearing a bill that would create criteria for sentencing of hate-fueled crimes.
“I don't understand what we need hate crimes for. What's the significance?” he said.
Let's have 386 (FUN) with area code
Fire, EMS crews find traffic daunting
About ISO effectiveness ratings
I-71 north reopens after all-day cleanup
Guard answers holiday call to Kuwait
Teachers tiptoe around evolution
GOP shying from gun bill debate
Report touts dam removal benefits
Monroe organizes to oppose Flynt store
Queen City's moments to shine reflected in book
Treatment would end her isolation
Squeezing in some humor
Anonymous 4 merges into one medieval voice
GET TO IT
'Jarboys' croon to young crowd
Over The Rhine blends best band at Christmas show
1st draft of Boone parks study done
Few takers for free health care
Light rail studies back on track
Ludlow budget 6 months late
School kids line halls with donations
Service honors patron saint
Strip club case put on hold
Talawanda weighs levy options
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