Aegis Health market leader

Aegis Health Group, which helps hospitals develop market strategy, named Patrick Carlton vp-market ops. Release is here.

Docs flocking to hospitals viewed warily by some

Physicians are seeking a haven from the rising demands on private practice, and hospitals see opportunities to capture or recapture revenue. The insurance industry sees industry consolidation that could cause problems. The TFP reports.

Cerberus hospital deal approved

The long-anticipated approval of PE player Cerberus' takeover of Boston's Caritas Cristi medical center was approved last week. Boston.com has it. WSJ (sub.) noted the implications this weekend, mentioning Tennessee-based Vanguard, Ardent and Lifepoint as being involved in nonprofit acquisitions.

Bass Berry on Hospital ownership changes

Health Reform legislation will have tremendous impact on physician ownership of hospitals, as outlined in a good overview published today by Bass Berry & Sims, in Nashville.

Coopwood sees 'competitive' Med Center

Memphis Regional Med Center CEO Dr. Reginald Coopwood says he may propose eliminating copays and deductibles for Shelby County employees who choose to have procedures done at The Med. He said the idea worked wonders during his term as CEO of Nashville General Hospital. The CA has it.

TeamHealth thrives with PE players, IPO

Josh Flory of the KNS provides a great backgrounder on how TeamHealth, the hospital staffing company built in Knoxville the past 31 years, lived and thrived with private-equity investors, despite hurdles, and then went public in December. PE players have included Blackstone Group and affiliates of Madison Dearborn Partners, Cornerstone Equity Investors LLC and Beecken Petty O'Keefe & Company. TeamHealth is still trying to paydown massive debt incurred under the PE investors. The KNS story is here.

Transactions expert hopes 'Perfect Storm' will drive M&A

Trey Crabb of the Nashville office of Portland, Me.-based Stroudwater Associates assays the prospects for a surge in healthcare M&A, joint ventures and affiliations, and tentatively likes what he sees shaping-up. The story's here.

TeamHealth IPO rises

TeamHealth (NYSE:TMH) stock rose 7 percent yesterday, following its IPO, which was scaled-back, apparently reflecting weaker-than-hoped-for demand. KNS reports.

TeamHealth IPO tomorrow?

Knoxville-based TeamHealth may price tonight and trade on NYSE (TMH) tomorrow, hoping to crank more than $140MM, including the sale of some PE stock holdings. The company staffs and supports ERs. The KNS reports.

Team Health IPO

Knoxville-based TeamHealth, a hospital-staffing firm, is taking its investor show on the road, plumping for its shelf-registered IPO on the NYSE, where Team Health Holdings would trade as TMH. The KNS reports.

HCA speculation

Quick: How many times has HCA gone public? Erin Lawley's story today suggests HCA may be prepping for larger-than-usual M&A campaign or primping for another IPO. Story's here.

HealthStream's newest ally

In addition to HealthStream announcements of marketing and service alliances with Quorum Health and DisastersNet, today the company announced it's offering with OnFocus Healthcare a new "HealthStream Improvement Center" resource, to help customers act upon findings of HealthStream surveys and other research. The HealthStream offering builds upon OnFocus' Enterprise Performance Management product.

New HCA chairman

Pretty much as anticipated, HCA announced today Richard Bracken will assume the additional title of chairman of the HCA board, succeeding Jack Bovender, who's retiring, with both actions effective, Dec. 15, 2009.

Hospital M&A pipeline gorged

The lingering slump has left many hospitals without strength to continue operations on a status quo basis, making them chum-in-the-water for acquisitive companies. The City Paper-NashvillePost reports.

HealthStream-Quorum pact revealed

Today, not long after an analyst questioned HealthStream's strategy and supposed lack of adequate synergy between learning and research, (quoting the companies' release) "HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSTM), a leading provider of learning and research solutions for the healthcare industry, and Quorum Health Resources (QHR), the nation’s largest hospital management company and one of the top 10 healthcare consulting firms in the United States, announced today a partnership that enables both HealthStream and QHR to deliver a wider range of best-in-class solutions to the hospital market. Through the new partnership, QHR will be able to offer hospital clients industry-leading learning and research solutions from HealthStream while, concurrently, HealthStream will be able to offer hospital clients QHR’s proven consulting and innovative education and training solutions."

China Healthcare Corp

Nashville-based China Healthcare Corp. announced today an update on its plans for a hospital in China. Dr. Tommy Frist, a founder of HCA, is one of the China venture's founders. Gresham Smith has been chosen for much of the design work for the 500-bed replacement hospital in Cixi. [Corrected 5:08 p.m. CDST]

Avondale Partners adds hospitals analyst

Avondale Partners today announced the addition of Brian Williams, formerly of Credit Suisse, to their analyst ranks. Release is here (pdf). He'll initially cover the hospital sector, but not, we're told, companies such as HealthStream, at this time.

2008 Nashville Healthcare venture chart now published

The 2008 edition of the Nashville's healthcare family tree of ventures was released today by the Nashville Health Care Council. The Chamber-affiliated NHCC said in a release that it counts 650 companies with connections to the city’s $18 billion healthcare cluster, which was spawned by formation of HCA and Hospital Affiliates. NHCC says NV is now home to more than 300 healthcare companies -- included 15 publicly traded -- with combined annual revenue of $46 billion and representing more than 300,000 jobs, globally. NHCC says Nashville-based hospital management companies own or operate half of the investor-owned hospitals in the nation. The release, including a link to an image of the extensive chart is posted here.