Becker's Hospital Review

38 CFO / FINANCE Cleveland Clinic to Take Over Florida Hospital By Alyssa Rege L eaders of Vero Beach, Fla.-based Indian River Medical Center selected Cleveland Clinic to assume control of the county-owned hospital Jan. 30, according to TCPalm. Here are four things to know about the selection. 1. The IRMC board of directors and the Indian River County Hospital District board met separately Jan. 30 to select one of four finalists. IRMC directors unanimously voted for Cleveland Clinic, while hospital district trustees voted for the health system in a 4-3 vote, according to the report. IRMC Board Chairman Wayne Hockmeyer, PhD, said Cleveland Clinic "em- phasize[d] the patient is their North Star. It's all about the patient. That is very consistent with this board's objective." 2. Cleveland Clinic was one of four health systems to place a bid for the con- tract, offering $302 million to $352 million. The three other finalists included Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based Adventist Health System with a $402 million to $427 million bid, Orlando (Fla.) Health with a $302 million bid and Nash- ville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare with a $461 million bid. 3. Cleveland Clinic's proposal included the retention of all IRMC employees and current services, and proposed the continuation of tax support from the district to the hospital. 4. IRMC officials expect to negotiate and sign a letter of intent with Cleveland Clinic within the next several months, and expect to close the deal in August. n 7 Tech, Finance Giants Banning the Salary Question By Megan Knowles S everal major U.S. companies will not ask prospective employees about their salary history at offices nationwide after their home state or city banned the question to encourage pay equity between male and fe- male applicants, according to a Bloomberg BNA report. The ban aims to reduce historical pay discrimination for women and minori- ties, reasoning if an employee's future pay is determined by their past salary, underpaid employees will never be able to catch up to their higher-paid peers. Here are seven companies banning the salary question, listed alphabetically. 1. Amazon (Seattle) 2. American Express (New York City) 3. Bank of America (Charlotte, N.C.) 4. Cisco Systems (San Jose, Calif.) 5. Facebook (Menlo Park, Calif.) 6. Google (Mountain View, Calif.) 7. Wells Fargo (San Francisco) n UNC Health Care: BCBS of North Carolina Drew 'Premature and Unfounded Conclusions' About Proposed Carolinas Merger By Alyssa Rege C hapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health Care officials fired back at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, stating the state's largest insurer drew "premature and un- founded conclusions about [the] proposed part- nership" with Charlotte, N.C.-based Carolinas HealthCare System. BCBS North Carolina President and CEO Pat- rick Conway, MD, sent a letter Jan. 24 to execu- tives at both health systems. e letter stated that aer conducting "a thorough review of indepen- dent research ... Blue Cross NC cannot support [the] proposed combination." UNC Health Care officials issued a statement Jan. 24 in response to Dr. Conway's letter. e statement, obtained by Becker's Hospital Review, reads: "We believe that Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina has drawn premature and unfounded conclusions about our proposed partnership with Carolinas HealthCare System. An agreement for this partnership is still being negotiated and the new organization does not yet exist. "Simply put, we are pursuing this partnership to improve the health of our fellow citizens. is partnership will position UNC Health Care even better to reduce costs, improve patient outcomes and increase access to high quality care — espe- cially in rural North Carolina. UNC Health Care welcomes further dialogue with other interested partners, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield, in our ongoing efforts to improve the health and well-being of our fellow North Carolinians. "UNC Health Care has a long and proud histo- ry of serving the citizens of North Carolina. We continue to explore innovative solutions to pro- vide our patients with the highest quality care at the lowest cost." n

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