Public safety-net hospital MetroHealth System reported that its charitable foundation raised more money in 2011, $10.8 million, than in any previous year.That’s an impressive accomplishment for MetroHealth, considering that 2011 was a rough year for the hospital. MetroHealth was pummeled by the local press for a series of public relations gaffes and faced increasing scrutiny [...]

Public safety net hospital MetroHealth System lost $2.7 million last year, but hospitals officials are feeling optimistic about 2012 and are predicting a $10 million surplus.Recent trends have MetroHealth leaders feeling confident as they look toward the rest of this year: rising patient volume, a reduction in staffing expenses and an increase in outpatient services, [...]

Less than a month after its CEO announced plans to resign, public safety net hospital MetroHealth System is starting the process to look for a successor.MetroHealth has posted on its website a request for proposals from executive search firms that would assist the hospital in locating candidates for the CEO position, according to an update [...]

Benjamin Spock died in 1998 and soon after that, his famous book has had one co-author: Dr. Robert Needlman.Needlman is a pediatrician at MetroHealth Medical Center and associate professor of pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University. He’s also a graduate of Yale Medical School and worked at Boston City Hospital. He’d been part of a [...]

The financially struggling MetroHealth System, Cuyahoga County’s safety-net hospital, will lay off 104 employees and eliminate 151 open positions.The moves, announced Thursday in a prepared statement, are part of a broader effort MetroHealth detailed in September to cut 450 jobs.The layoffs and position eliminations come in response to mid-year projections that showed MetroHealth could suffer [...]

MetroHealth System plans to cut 450 jobs as the Cleveland safety-net hospital faces an increasing amount of uncompensated care.The job cuts are expected to hit patient-facing employees, as well as supervisory and administrative workers. About 150 of the 450 cuts will be achieved by not replacing employees who have left, The Plain Dealer reported.MetroHealth last [...]

Staring at the prospect of a $6 million operating loss for 2011, MetroHealth System has frozen hiring and implemented several other measures in the hopes of breaking even on the year.The main reason for the projected loss is a 9 percent uptick in uninsured or under-insured patients, according to a statement from the publicly subsidized [...]

Mark Twain’s quip that “news of my death was an exaggeration” sums up my reaction to the article on MetroHealth: “Healthcare reform’s impact: Farewell to public hospitals like MetroHealth.” The speculation that it’s all over for MetroHealth is wrong for three reasons.First, MetroHealth’s Board and management team have demonstrated an ability to manage the [...]

The future of public hospitals throughout the United States is imperiled, and for a preview on the impact of U.S. healthcare reform on hospitals, look no further than Cleveland’s public safety-net hospital, MetroHealth System.Faced with a raft of financial pressures and unfavorable trends, MetroHealth will likely have no choice but to essentially be swallowed up [...]

A Case Western Reserve University professor of healthcare finance has been appointed to MetroHealth System‘s board of trustees.J.B. Silvers was appointed to the board of the county-subsidized health system by Cuyahoga County Executive Ed Fitzgerald, Crain’s Cleveland Business reported.Silvers’s research has focused in the areas of financial management and health services, and it’s highly unlikely [...]