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The University of Georgia plans to launch an independent medical school amid a worsening shortage of medical professionals. The school will be transitioning from a 14-year partnership with the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University and expanding its own reach across the state. Almost two-thirds of Georgia’s 159 counties lack adequate dental, mental health, and primary care services, largely due to a lack of providers, according to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. (Devereaux, 2/14)

Cybersecurity experts are warning that hospitals around the country are at risk for attacks like the one that is crippling operations at a premier Midwestern children’s hospital, and that the U.S. government is doing too little prevent such breaches. Hospitals in recent years have shifted their use of online technology to support everything from telehealth to medical devices to patient records. Today, they are a favorite target for internet thieves who hold systems’ data and networks hostage for hefty ransoms, said John Riggi, the American Hospital Association’s cybersecurity adviser. (Seitz, 2/14)

Lurie Children's Hospital phone lines are opening back up and providers and other employees are now able to share email with the outside world following a complete network outage that the hospital initiated Jan. 31 due to a cyberattack. The children's hospital is still using a call center to communicate with patients and their families while the restoration of its communications progresses, Julianne Bardele, director of public affairs and communications at Lurie, said in a text message to Crain's. (Asplund, 2/14)

Quest Diagnostics, one of America’s largest medical testing companies, has agreed to pay $5 million to settle charges that it improperly disposed of hazardous chemicals, medical waste and patient information at multiple locations across the Bay Area and California. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the settlement on Wednesday. “Quest Diagnostics’ illegal disposal of hazardous and medical waste and patient information put families and communities at risk and endangered our environment,” Bonta said. “Let today’s settlement send a clear message that my office will hold corporations, including medical services providers, accountable.” (Rogers, 2/14)

A driver died and at least five people were hurt as a vehicle crashed Tuesday evening into an Austin, Texas, medical center emergency room, the facility’s chief medical officer said. (Simonson, Sykes, Razek and Davis, 2/14)

Rural hospitals are teaming up to provide specialty care to patients via a new telehealth program. Telehealth provider Eagle Telemedicine on Tuesday launched the Eagle Rural Care Alliance, in which hospitals share the cost of physicians who provide outpatient endocrinology, nephrology and rheumatology services virtually. Nine critical access hospitals in Kansas are part of the alliance, which plans to expand to 28 rural hospitals this year, said Jason Povio, CEO of Eagle Telemedicine. (Kacik, 2/14)

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has opened its new Fetal Cardiac Clinic, a unique space for expectant mothers and the fetal patient population to continue receiving the highest level of comprehensive care during pregnancy, birth and beyond. Located next door to CHLA at Hollywood Presbyterian Doctors Tower, the Fetal Cardiac Clinic is home to CHLA’s world-class team of specialists trained in diagnosing and treating congenital heart defects and heart diseases before birth. (2/14)

Elevance Health's $2.5 billion bid to acquire Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is on hold again, the companies announced Wednesday. The health insurers proposed the transaction in January 2023 but encountered resistance in Louisiana. Nonprofit Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and for-profit Elevance already backed off the deal in September, only to try again in December. (Berryman, 2/14)

Health insurance companies SCAN Group and CareOregon called off their merger Tuesday amid skepticism about the merits of the proposed deal. The companies in December 2022 announced their intent to combine into a $6.8 billion Medicaid and Medicare Advantage insurer, to be called HealthRight Group. The insurers had expected to complete the deal last year. The Oregon Health Authority twice delayed offering a recommendation on whether to approve the proposed transaction at the request of the companies and was scheduled to offer its opinion on the matter March 18. (Tepper, 2/14)

Deborah Weymouth, the chief executive officer of Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals, owned by embattled Prospect Medical Holdings, will take the reins of Waterbury Hospital, the third Prospect facility in Connecticut. (Carlesso and Altimari, 2/14)

More healthcare organizations are looking at their real estate portfolios as a way to combat high operating costs and inflation by consolidating space and shedding lesser-used properties. Providers have always had to rationalize their square footage needs. Now, however, there is increased emphasis on finding efficiencies—and savings—because of the changing shape of healthcare services. (DeSilva, 2/14)

The level of care patients receive in a medical emergency varies widely based on where 911 is being dialed. A first-of-its-kind study of emergency medical service systems' performance across the country points to opportunities to improve patient care when the pressure is on. (Millman, 2/14)