Premier relocates headquarters to Charlotte

The Premier (Charlotte, North Carolina) healthcare alliance said that it has relocated its corporate headquarters to Charlotte. Premier also has offices in San Diego, Philadelphia and Washington.

In line with the relocation, Premier will add 300 jobs in the area over the next five years.

"Healthcare is an industry that is vital to our growing economy," said Bob Morgan, president/CEO of the Charlotte Chamber. "We are pleased to welcome Premier's corporate headquarters to Charlotte."

Premier is an alliance of more than 2,200 U.S. not-for-profit hospitals and 63,000-plus other healthcare sites working to improve healthcare quality and affordability.

HITRUST adds two new CSF clients

The Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST; Frisco, Texas) said that two more organizations have joined the growing list of professional services firms designated as HITRUST CSF Certifiers. Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain (LBMC), the largest regional accounting and professional services firm based in Tennessee, and Solutionary, an information security company with a wide range of managed security solutions and professional services, have received CSF Certifier status during a time when HITRUST continues to experience an increase in the number of healthcare organizations beginning the certification phase of the CSF.

"With the greater emphasis on the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and health information exchanges (HIEs), as well as increasing privacy and security regulations at the state level, HITRUST is seeing an even greater need than before for healthcare organizations to adopt the CSF and achieve HITRUST Certification," said Daniel Nutkis, CEO, HITRUST. "Firms such as LBMC and Solutionary are critical to our efforts to provide resources to organizations of all sizes that allow them to demonstrate compliance with security control requirements and document corrective action plans that align with the requirements of the CSF."

Medicare Information Center open in Michigan

Priority Health (Grand Rapids, Michigan) reported the opening of Medicare Information Centers in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Royal Oak and Traverse City.

"When choosing a health plan, many people prefer a face-to-face environment where a helpful and knowledgeable expert can explain their choices," said Joan Budden, chief marketing officer at Priority Health. "We're here to help make the Medicare enrollment process as easy as possible right within our communities. Those eligible for Medicare plans will be able to discuss their coverage needs with someone who can help them identify the plan options best suited for their life."

Medicare Advantage open enrollment runs Nov. 15 Dec. 31. During this time, Medicare beneficiaries can switch health plans and adjust their benefits for 2010.

Starting weight a factor in bypass surgery

According to a recent study of clinical characteristics of teens who underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery from 2002 until 2007, doctors may have a much narrower window of opportunity to reverse morbid obesity in teens than previously thought.

The study, conducted at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, appears in the current online edition of the Journal of Pediatrics.

The results of the study showed that one year after the study, BMI in the overall group of teens pre-surgery decreased by 37%, however because of their starting weights, the teens were still considered to be morbidly obese. This means that doctors can predict what a patient's weight will be one-year post weight loss surgery.

Synovis' Irvine plant to make OrthADAPT

Synovis Life Technologies (St. Paul, Minnesota) said that its Orthopedic and Woundcare (OWC) subsidiary in Irvine, California has completed its California Department of Public Health inspection, allowing OWC to manufacture and sell the OrthADAPT Bioimplant and Unite Biomatrix soft tissue repair products, which are used in orthopedic and wound care applications.

The OrthADAPT and Unite products have received both U.S. and European regulatory clearances. The platform technologies for these products utilize flexible cross linking, which preserves the native handling characteristics and flexibility of the tissue, and processes to sterilize biological tissue without the use of high temperature, gamma radiation or harsh chemicals.

Cook launches new web presence

Cook Medical (Bloomington, Indiana) reported the launch of an informational microsite for Biodesign grafts.

The new site, CookBiodesign.com, provides access to abstracts of clinical studies, research articles, news, and treatment success stories for Cook's Biodesign Advanced Tissue Repair Products. Cook designed the new microsite with features for physicians, patients and healthcare administrators. Once implanted, Biodesign communicates with the body, signaling surrounding tissue to grow across the acellular scaffold, allowing the body to restore itself. Biodesign remodels into fully vascularized tissue that becomes stronger over time, providing a permanent repair without a permanent material.