Luminetx (Memphis, Tennessee) said it has launched two new service divisions — LumiCare Equipment Service and Luminetx Financial Services Group — to be led by executive team member Ronn LaBrasca.

The Financial Services offering will allow Luminetx customers - hospitals and clinics — more flexible ways to acquire the company's VeinViewer technology, the company said.

Luminetx makes medical product and biometric technologies.

T-Wave testing now covered by Blue Cross

Cambridge Heart (Bedford, Massachusetts) said that Premera Blue Cross has revised its corporate medical policy to make Microvolt T-Wave Alternans Testing a covered benefit. Premera Blue Cross provides healthcare benefits to more than 1.5 million members in Washington and Alaska.

Cambridge Heart makes products for the non-invasive diagnosis of cardiac disease, particularly the identification of those at risk of sudden cardiac arrest.

Cook Pharmica to expand manufacturing

Cook Pharmica (Bloomington, Indiana), the contract biopharmaceutical manufacturing division of Cook Medical, will be expanding capabilities to include formulation, filling and finishing. With the addition of this capability, Cook Pharmica, currently aimed at developing and manufacturing cell culture-based products, will be a centralized source for biotech and pharmaceutical clients’ needs from cell line development through parenteral finished packaging.

Cook Pharmica intends to expand its contract manufacturing to include aseptically-filled parenteral vials and syringes for products such as simple solutions and diluents, suspensions, vaccines, proteins and biologics. The expansion will support two filling lines and complementary finishing lines. The design includes one high-speed syringe filling line and one low to medium-speed vial filling line with lyophilization capacity up to 250 square feet.

Kindred Healthcare expanding LTAC hospitals

Kindred Healthcare (Louisville, Kentucky) reported the relocation and expansion of Kindred Hospital — Indianapolis South in Greenwood, Indiana, and the opening of Kindred Hospital Arizona — Northwest Phoenix in Peoria, Arizona.

Kindred Hospital — Indianapolis South is a 60-bed freestanding long-term acute care (LTAC) hospital. Kindred Hospital Arizona — Northwest Phoenix is a 58-bed freestanding LTAC hospital.

Kindred Healthcare, through its subsidiaries, operates long-term acute care hospitals, skilled nursing centers and a contract rehabilitation services business, Peoplefirst Rehabilitation Services, in approximately 600 locations in 39 states across the U.S.

MedCath to double beds in heart hospital

MedCath (Charlotte, North Carolina) and its physician partners reported plans to double the number of inpatient beds at TexSAn Heart Hospital (San Antonio), creating a 120-bed acute care and heart hospital.

The expansion will convert about 36,130 square feet of shelled space into 60 in-patient beds, which will be used to expand the hospital's cardiovascular services and to accommodate other high-acuity services. Project cost will total around $10.75 million. Opening of the new section is scheduled for the fall.

MedCath will make an additional equity investment in TexSAn related to the expansion, which will increase MedCath's ownership stake from 51.0% to 66.57%.

MedCath owns an interest in and operates ten hospitals with a total of 663 licensed beds, located in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota, and Texas.