Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1198635
43 HEALTHCARE NEWS Quorum Health divests California hospital By Ayla Ellison Brentwood, Tenn.-based Quorum Health owns one hospital in California after completing the divestiture of Watsonville (Calif.) Community Hospital. Quorum completed the sale of the 106-bed hospital to Los Angeles-based Halsen Healthcare roughly four months after the parties entered into a defin- itive agreement. "Halsen Healthcare is excited and honored to become a member of the Wat- sonville community," Dan Brothman, chairman and CEO of Halsen Healthcare, said in press release. "It is our mission to work shoulder-to-shoulder with the incredible team of physicians, nurses and employees to provide residents the innovative and compassionate care they deserve." Quorum said cash proceeds from the transaction totaled $39 million, and all proceeds will be used to repay the company's long-term debt. n BCBS of North Carolina needs to rebuild trust. It won't be easy, analysts say By Morgan Haefner B lue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and its board of trustees may face difficulty restoring the company's reputation in the wake of the arrest and resignation of its CEO Patrick Conway, MD, analysts told the Winston-Sa- lem Journal. Dr. Conway resigned Sept. 26 aer details emerged about an allegedly alcohol-related car crash in June. Dr. Conway was charged with driving while impaired and misde- meanor child abuse aer a car crash involv- ing him and his two daughters. His resig- nation came at the request of the insurer's board of trustees. Despite Dr. Conway's resignation, Mitch Kokai, a senior policy analyst with Libertar- ian think tank John Locke Foundation, told the Winston-Salem Journal that BCBSNC could endure challenges as North Carolina rolls out its Medicaid managed care pro- gram next year. "As Blue Cross deals with challenges to its recent win of major state contracts, the company will not want the distraction of a damaged CEO," Mr. Kokai said. "Expect Blue Cross to spend a lot of time in the months ahead going out of its way to assure the state insurance commissioner, legisla- tors and other policymakers that the com- pany will be more upfront and transparent in the future." BCBSNC trustees came under criticism for keeping the incident quiet until local media learned about it in late September, nearly three months aer the arrest. n Just 4% of older adults use telehealth, survey finds By Jackie Drees O nly 4 percent of adults ages 50 to 80 had a telehealth visit in the past year, according to recent Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan survey. For its National Poll on Health Aging, University of Michigan surveyed a national sample of adults in May about their personal experiences with telehealth. While 14 percent of poll participants said that their healthcare providers offer telehealth visits, 55 percent of respondents said they did not know if their pro- viders do and 31 percent indicated their providers don't offer telehealth. When asked about their concerns regarding telehealth visits, respondents list- ed the following: • Provider wouldn't be able to do a physical exam: 71 percent • Quality of care not as good as face-to-face visit: 68 percent • Privacy: 49 percent • Not feeling personally connected to the clinician: 49 percent • Difficulty using the technology: 47 percent • Difficulty seeing or hearing the clinician: 39 percent n