With the recent pressure to reduce operating costs, some hospital and integrated delivery network (IDN) executives are considering a self-distribution model. To help those leaders decide whether an in-house distribution model is right for their organization, HIDA (Alexandria, VA) has released the new white paper "Evaluating Self-Distribution: A Guide for Healthcare Executives." The paper examines the requirements and risks of self-distribution. HIDA members can download the white paper and accompanying PowerPoint for use in their own meetings with customers at www.streamlininghealthcare.org.

Medline Industries Inc (Mundelein, IL) signed a three-year agreement with Premier Inc (Charlotte, NC) for its octylseal™ tissue adhesive, a new product that provides a non-invasive option to sutures. The agreement, which is effective April 1, 2012, will provide significant savings to Premier's members.

Professional Women in Healthcare (PWH) (Alexandria, VA) announced an educational and networking event on February 9, 2012 from 5:30 - 8:00 pm at Posch Restaurant in Irvine, California. Guest speakers are Jim Schlager and Sheryl Rowling from Moss Adams Wealth Advisors. The presentation is entitled "Empower Thinking: A Women’s Guide to Financial Planning." The event is ideal for women of all ages looking for financial success. The event is open to men and women (members and non-members). For more information and to register, visit www.mypwh.org.

Roche (Basel, Switzerland) entered into a strategic alliance with Technoclone (Vienna, Austria), a reagent specialist in thrombosis and cardiovascular diagnostics, to co-develop a complete range of coagulation assays. The deal supports Roche's plans to develop a new line of analyzers for the central coagulation lab, which will be marketed under its cobas brand. The new line is expected to be introduced in the U.S. and Canada in 2014, subject to regulatory approval and other requirements. As part of the alliance, Roche will also market Technoclone's range of Research Use Only products that address the needs of specialists and researchers in the hemostasis research community. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

U.S. Air Force Medical Service (Bolling AFB, DC) awarded a $494 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, firm-fixed price and cost contract for medical support services to Alleo Corp (Quantico, VA), Health Partners Management Group (Poplar Bluff, MO), Mindleaf Technologies (Bedford, MA), CNI Professional Services (Norman, OK), GTW Consultants & Assoc (San Antonio, TX), Magnum Opus Technologies (San Antonio, TX) and Medical North America (Petal, MS). The contract will provide qualified medical support personnel for routine staffing, temporary increases in workload, new mission support, reorganization support, limited duration need, start-up/shut-down needs and workforce fluctuations.

Ashland Community Hospital (Ashland, OR) announced that the organizations that submitted partnership proposals include Providence Health & Services (Seattle, WA), Asante Health System (Medford, OR), Dignity Health (San Francisco, CA), Capella Healthcare Inc (Franklin, TN) and RegionalCare Hospital Partners (Brentwood, TN). The proposal offers were very general so the Ashland Hospital board will work with Huron Consulting (Chicago, IL) to enter discussions with the health systems and eventually narrow the field to two potential candidates. A final decision isn't expected to be made until May 2012.

Health Management Associates (HMA) (Naples, FL) broke down its operations into three regional groups, effective January 1, 2012:

HMA Eastern Group, comprising 23 hospitals in Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and West Virginia;
HMA Florida Group, with 22 hospitals in Florida; and
HMA Southern and Western Group with 21 hospitals in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington.

John M. Starcher Jr. was appointed president of the Eastern Group, effective February 27, 2012. Starcher was formerly CEO of Catholic Healthcare Partners' (Cincinnati, OH) north division. He joins Alan Levine, who is president of the Florida Group, and Joe D. Pinion, who is president of the Southern and Western Group. The new regional divisions are part of HMA's recent operational reorganization, designed to better position the company for future growth.

In Alaska, an 85-year-old woman used a grain shovel to stop a moose that had attacked her husband while he was hiking. Moose can grow to more than six feet tall and weigh up to 1,800 pounds. The woman, who is five feet tall and weighs 97 pounds, grabbed the big shovel and hit the animal in the body and head. Her husband was rushed to the hospital, but was later reported in good condition.

John Tyler, who was born in 1790 and became president of the United States in 1841, still has two living grandchildren today. While this sounds impossible, Tyler and his son both fathered children very late in life. Tyler had a son, Lyon Gardiner Tyler in 1853, at age 63. Lyon Gardiner Tyler fathered Lyon Gardiner Tyler Jr. in 1924, when he was 71, and four years later at age 75, fathered Harrison Ruffin Tyler. Both men are still living today.

**"News of the Weird" is for entertainment purposes only. Dail-E News does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any of the information or content included in the "News of the Weird" section. Views expressed on linked Web sites do not represent MDSI, and MDSI is not responsible for any material found on linked Web sites.**

In this week's "TIPS FOR SUCCESS," Dan Nielsen, founder of the National Institute for Healthcare Leadership (www.nihcl.com), talks about the value of interpersonal relations. He reminds his readers to understand the importance of people, and of valuing people. He says, "These days, automated reminders, all sorts of automated messages and thousands of electronic greetings of all sorts have significantly reduced the sincerity and authenticity of 'remembering and recognizing someone' on a special occasion." If you want more success in your personal and professional life, Nielsen says we must remember that true success is virtually 100% about people. To read this week's Tips, visit www.nihcl.com/tips-for-success/2012/january-26.asp.

Novation LLC (Irving, TX) was recognized as one of the "Top 50 Organizations for Multicultural Business Opportunities" by DiversityBusiness.com. Out of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies named, or "Div50," Novation ranked at number 26 for providing business opportunities to diverse business owners throughout the United States. The Div50 award is based on factors such as volume, consistency and quality of business initiatives that a company grants to multicultural suppliers.

UHC (Chicago, IL) introduced its new Quality and Spend Scorecard, which offers information to give academic medical centers an enhanced view of their overall performance. The scorecard has an intuitive, highly graphic executive dashboard with performance indicators for safety, efficiency, effectiveness, mortality, core measures, and spend. It was developed specifically for UHC members and incorporates information from several UHC data sources, including SpendLINK, the Clinical Data Base/Resource Manager™, and the Core Measures database. The scorecard will initially focus on service areas with high expenses and a broad range of spend variability.

Quotes last updated at 1/26/2012 8:52:07 PM EST