Mercy Springfield

Mercy Springfield is laying off workers.  According to a statement from Mercy, the decision to cut down its workforce was made because the healthcare system “continues to be challenged by reduced reimbursement” for the services it provides, “especially from Medicare and Medicaid which do not fully cover the costs of care.”

The statement said Mercy is also seeing increased expenses for labor “in an increasingly competitive job market,” and it’s impacted by rising costs for drugs and supplies as well.

Leaders from several Springfield organizations, including the Springfield Fire Department, CoxHealth and Mercy, gathered at the Springfield Regional Police & Fire Training Center Wednesday to officially launch PulsePoint in the region.

The app notifies those trained in CPR, and who have downloaded it on their mobile phones, of a medical emergency within 1500 feet of their location as well as the exact location of the emergency and the nearest automated external defibrillator (AED).

A new partnership in Springfield will train students for careers as emergency medical technicians or paramedics.

The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program at Ozarks Technical Community College was dedicated Thursday.  The program, co-sponsored by CoxHealth and Mercy, not only trains students for careers as EMT’s and paramedics, it also provides continuing education for those who already work in the field.

The training this weekend  is part of the national campaign, Stop the Bleed, which gained momentum after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut in 2012, according to Mercy Hospital Springfield.

"A bunch of the leaders in the nation got together and thought, 'how can we stop people from dying from preventable deaths with just some basic hemorrhage techniques for that life threatening bleeding situation?'" said Keith Schaefer, director of Trauma Services at Mercy Hospital Springfield.

Mercy Springfield says the interim president of its regional hospital system will remain in the role for the foreseeable future.

According to a news release, the organization said it informed staff Wednesday that Jon Swope will continue as interim president of Mercy Springfield Communities and Dr. Alan Scarrow will return to practicing medicine full-time as a neurosurgeon. Scarrow had served as president for three years.

Updated Nov. 27 with federal decision — Following an investigation and subsequent layoffs, Mercy Hospital Springfield is no longer at risk of losing federal funding due to reports of patient abuse. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services gave notice this month that the southwest Missouri hospital has achieved compliance with patient care standards after implementing a corrective plan.

Heat related illness led to 25 deaths last year in Missouri, according to the state’s department of health. Officials are advising how to stay safe during Summer Weather Safety Week.

Stella Falconer, the quality nurse specialist for Mercy Springfield’s emergency room, says, “Typically we see between 40-50 people each summer, primarily heat exhaustion or milder symptoms. We do on occasion get heat stroke, the more severe, life threatening.”

Mercy Hospital Springfield and Mercy Clinic Springfield Communities have agreed to pay $34 million to resolve a lawsuit related to physician compensation.

According to a statement issued Thursday by the U.S. Justice Department, the healthcare organization allegedly violated the False Claims Act through improper payments to oncologists.

Mercy Springfield is touting a new, more accommodating way of transporting children to a hospital with a higher level of care.

The Mercy Kids Transport Unit features child-sized equipment and advanced treatments that enable service to children from premature babies to 17 years old.

An administrator for the Mercy health system has been named president-elect of the American Medical Association (AMA).

Dr. David Barbe is currently vice president of regional operations for Mercy Springfield Communities. He oversees five regional, rural Mercy hospitals, 90 clinic practices and more than 200 physicians and advanced practitioners in southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas.

His selection by AMA members came earlier this week. Barbe will serve as president-elect through June 2017, after which he’ll assume the full role as president.

A new primary care clinic opening this week aims to help over 2,000 patients in its first year that might otherwise struggle to get treatment.

On Monday, officials with Mercy Springfield and Missouri State University unveiled the new MSU Care Clinic inside the school’s O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Building. It provides healthcare access for low-income, uninsured patients who are not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid.

More than 100 Mercy Springfield employees are without jobs.   Mercy has eliminated 347 positions system wide—127 are in Springfield.

Leader positions make up 178 of the total jobs affected, according to Mercy.  It says the majority of non-leader positions are “non-clinical care roles that are part of Mercy’s revenue management department.”

In a statement from Mercy, the healthcare system says the positions eliminated in Springfield are in a variety of departments and services.

This month’s national settlement with credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s equals $21.5 million for Missouri, a portion of which will benefit two major projects in Springfield.

Missouri State University President Clif Smart announced this week that Gov. Jay Nixon has released $620,000 of the $1.325 million withheld for the school’s occupational therapy program and health programs in West Plains.