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 July Financial problems cripple Cottage Grove Hospital Cottage Grove residents are incensed about the potential closure of their hospital. The hospital is Cottage Grove's second largest employer and employees have circulated a petition signed by more than 1,300 residents, pleading with authorities not to close the hospital. Some residents say that mismanagement by the previous administration is the cause of the hospital's financial woes. Alternative providers hail victory in Washington Federal appellate judges have upheld a Washington mandate for alternative health care in insurance plans, clearing the way for a benefits expansion that's already creeping southward into Oregon. However, a three-judge appellate panel in San Francisco said that insurers were casting too wide a net in their interpretation of ERISA. This interpretation would prohibit states from regulating any product or service simply because an employer bought it, wrote Circuit Judge A. Wallace Tashima Renal care partnership reshapes industry Kidney dialysis has become big business in Portland after three major care providers merged. In February, OHSU, Legacy Health System, and Comprehensive Kidney Center signed a partnership with the Renal Care Group (RCGI), a for-profit corporation based in Nashville, Tenn. The drive to participate in joint ventures appears to be coming from several sources. Health care system administrators are eager to maximize profits by increasing their patient base. Doctors with personal investments in dialysis units can make healthy profits by selling out to a corporation like RCGI. Doctors and adminstrators disagree about the effect the merger will have on patient care. Tempers remain hot at Salem Hospital The contraversy surrounding Salem Hospital's trauma designation is still brewing. Physicians have objected to Dennis Noonan's push to turn the hospital into a level II trauma center because there are insufficient operating rooms and intensive care beds, particularly for children. "We have very serious concerns about the decision. Potentially it shortchanges the community from getting adequate medical care because we've had to stretch ourselves to a much wider area and we don't have the resources," said Maurice Collada, MD, a neurologiclal surgeon. Other headlines
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