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Covenant urging slow approach on Christie surgery center
URBANA – Provena Covenant Medical Center is urging local governments to refrain from any quick actions that would lend support to Christie Clinic's plans to build an outpatient surgery center.
And that's just fine with Champaign County Board member Tom Betz, who placed Christie Clinic's request for county support for its proposed surgery center on a board committee agenda for tonight – but says he personally thinks the county should stay out of this conflict.
Man with MS finds fulfillment helping others
Douglas E. Nix wasn't looking for an award when he set up a program to connect people with disabilities to equipment like wheelchairs and hospital beds.
But on Saturday, he's getting one anyway.
At the annual banquet and silent auction of PACE Inc. Center for Independent Living, based in Urbana, Nix will receive a community recognition award for seven years of fielding phone calls from hundreds of people needing to find adaptive equipment fast and, ideally, free or cheap. The program is called MAP for a "Multiple Assistance Program."
Nurse to talk about treating Iraq war veterans
URBANA – A nurse who spent last summer caring for Iraq war veterans at Walter Reed Hospital will talk about her experiences.
Kim Abel of Mendota will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Urbana Free Library Auditorium, 210 W. Green St., Urbana. The talk is sponsored by the Anti-War Anti-Racism Effort.
Sale of nursing home building on agenda
CHAMPAIGN – The Champaign City Council will consider again Tuesday a proposal to sell a small city parking lot and the ManorCare Health Services building.
The council was asked to approve the sale of the properties at 309 and 313 E. Springfield Ave. two weeks ago, but council members had questions about the sale price and even the wisdom of getting rid of the properties.
Firefighters use new tools to rescue man
URBANA – Firefighters put their new rescue system to work quickly Wednesday afternoon when walls of a 6-foot trench collapsed, partially burying a Forrest man who was working in it.
Enrique Salinas walked out 30 tense minutes later under his own power to report to ambulance workers waiting to check his condition. He was treated at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana and later released.
Picture brighter for two Provena hospitals
URBANA – With one of the two hospitals under his watch turning a profit and the other losing considerably less money than it did a year ago, David Bertauski may be just what the doctor ordered for Provena Health's financially ailing Central Illinois region.
Last year, Provena's Covenant Medical Center in Urbana and United Samaritans Medical Center in Danville lost a combined $6.8 million – with Covenant's $10 million loss wiping out a gain in excess of $3 million at United Samaritans.
Enforcement plan in place for smoking ban
URBANA – With only 11 days to go before Urbana restaurants must become smoke-free, the city and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District have reached a tentative agreement on how they'll jointly enforce the smoking ban.
The biggest emphasis will be on education, with several city officials planning to fan out across the city next week to visit 53 Urbana restaurants to explain the smoking ban in detail to restaurant owners and managers.
A shot at stopping cervical cancer
CHAMPAIGN – Dr. Robert Scully has seen the devastating effects of cervical cancer on women and their families, so he's optimistic about a newly approved vaccine that promises protection against the disease.
So optimistic, in fact, that Health Alliance Medical Plans – the Urbana managed-care company of which Scully is chief medical officer – already decided to offer its members coverage for the new vaccine as soon as it becomes available.
Carle's Mattoon surgery center plan to get a hearing
MATTOON – Carle Foundation Hospital's latest proposal to build an outpatient surgery center in Mattoon is headed to a state board for a hearing early next week.
And it continues to be an uphill battle for Urbana-based Carle, which already has a physician practice group in Coles County and is looking to expand its business in that area.
Doctors' group causing Provena's deficit
URBANA – Provena Covenant Medical Center is operating in the red for a fourth straight year, but the losses this year are all in Provena's fledgling local doctors' group, hospital officials say.
Five months into the current year, the hospital itself was running at a $1.1 million profit, and is on track to end the year with a positive balance, said Chief Executive David Bertauski.
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