Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1198635
41 HEALTHCARE NEWS Judge halts $55M sale of Hahnemann residency programs By Ayla Ellison A bankruptcy judge has temporarily halted the sale of Philadelphia-based Hahnemann University Hospital's resi- dency programs, according to WHYY. Hahnemann entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late June. A judge approved the sale of the now-shuttered hospital's residency programs on Sept. 5. Six Philadelphia area health systems teamed up to place the winning $55 million bid for Hahnemann's more than 550 residency slots. CMS opposed the sale, and lawyers for the Justice Department requested a stay on the order to temporarily block the sale from going through while the government files an appeal. The temporary stay was granted Sept. 16. If the government's appeal is successful, Hahnemann's creditors would stand to lose $55 million, according to WHYY. n Former Texas hospital executive gets 10 years for $16M fraud By Ayla Ellison A former Houston-area hospital administrator was sentenced to 10 years in prison Sept. 16 for his role in a $16 million Medi- care fraud scheme, according to the Department of Justice. Starsky Bomer, former CFO and COO of Atrium Medical Center in Sugar Land, Texas, and Pristine Healthcare in Pasadena, Texas, was sentenced to prison after being convicted of one count of conspiracy to receive healthcare kickbacks, two counts of violating the Anti-Kick- back Statute and one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. According to evidence presented during the five-day trial, Mr. Bomer and his co-conspirators defrauded Medicare of $16 million by sub- mitting false and fraudulent claims for partial hospitalization program services, a form of intensive outpatient treatment for severe mental illness. Mr. Bomer and his co-conspirators allegedly submitted the claims through Atrium Medical Center and Pristine Healthcare be- tween 2011 and February 2013. The evidence presented at trial showed Mr. Bomer orchestrated a scheme by which he and his co-conspirators paid illegal bribes and kickbacks to group home owners and patient recruiters in exchange for sending Medicare patients to Atrium and Pristines' PHPs. Many of the patients admitted to the PHPs did not qualify for and were never provid- ed partial hospital services, according to the Justice Department. In addition to the prison term, Mr. Bomer was ordered to pay $6.28 million in restitution and forfeit $158,260. n Epic CEO Judy Faulkner on 'yes, if' strategy behind company's culture, success By Jackie Drees J udy Faulkner, Epic founder and CEO, discussed the culture she has spear- headed at the EHR company and why she values a "yes, if " approach to strategy during e Cap Times Idea Fest Sept. 14 in Madison, Wis., according to e Cap Times. Ms. Faulkner has built Epic's culture off a myr- iad of ideas, including approaching problems as projects and fostering a "yes, if " approach in place of a "no, because" mentality. To her nearly 10,000 employees, she also promotes the following mantra: "Have fun, do good and make money," the publication reports. Epic began as Ms. Faulkner's brainchild as part of her work on an EHRs system proj- ect while pursuing her master's degree in computer science at University of Wiscon- sin-Madison, according to the report. She then launched the company as a small busi- ness in 1979. Forty years later, Ms. Faulkner said Epic's success lies upon her initial deci- sion to "put the patient at the center, and all the data around the patient." Ms. Faulkner also credited her background as a programmer as a critical component of Ep- ic's success. A differentiation from the EHR vendor's competitors, which Ms. Faulkner said all comprise male executives with busi- ness and economic degrees. "I'm a techie. And that's the key difference," Ms. Faulkner said. "ose guys were taught things like go public, make mergers and ac- quisitions. What was I taught? How to pro- gram." Epic focuses on avoiding what Ms. Faulkner refers to as "symptoms of corporate decline," including "increased bureaucracy, too much focus on legal matters and finance, and an acceptance of mediocrity," according to the report. Last month during Epic's User Group annual meeting, Ms. Faulkner revealed several ini- tiatives Epic is currently working on, such as the company's new de-identified patient data research program Cosmos as well as a voice recognition soware for EHRs. n