Health Beat: Google’s Alphabet Gambit Bodes Well For Healthcare Industry

Editor’s note: Each Wednesday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Health Beat,” a round-up of health-related topics in our email newsletter, which you can sign up to receive daily for free here.

GOOGLE’S ALPHABET GAMBIT BODES WELL FOR HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
Google’s creation of a new parent company, Alphabet, will have big implications for the healthcare industry, according to an article Wednesday at Forbes.com.

“If you’re searching for reasons why Google has renamed itself Alphabet, here’s one: It positions the tech company to expand into healthcare, which could be very healthy for its long-term fortunes,” says Forbes writer Dan Diamond.

“Google’s healthcare ambitions are no secret. In the past year alone, the company has teased a pill that would that would detect cancer, debuted a plan to map all the biomarkers in the human body, and reminded the media of a half-dozen other wild inventions that could change health care forever,” Diamond wrote. To read more of Diamond’s interesting take on Google’s Alphabet gambit, click here.

CHI ST. VINCENT, CONWAY HOSPITALS INK DEAL, FORM INDIE GROUP
CHI St. Vincent and Conway Regional Health System have signed a five-year management agreement and created the Arkansas Health Alliance, a new corporate entity for independent hospitals to affiliate with CHI St. Vincent, the two health care providers announced Tuesday.

The agreement, effective Aug. 17, represents a partnership, not an acquisition, and the two health systems will retain their names, governance and autonomy. Matt Troup, CHI St. Vincent vice president of ancillary and support services, will become CEO of Conway Regional.

The Arkansas Health Alliance will be led as of Aug. 17 by Jim Lambert, current Conway Regional president and CEO. The Alliance will be the only one like it in Arkansas designed to help independent health care systems lower costs and coordinate care. Read more at this link.

CAPITAL ONE JUMPS INTO HEALTHCARE FINANCING FIELD WITH $9 BILLION GE DEAL
Capital One Financial Corp. announced a deal Tuesday to acquire nearly $8.5 billion of healthcare-related loans and the Healthcare Financial Services business from GE Capital Corp., one of the leading capital providers in the U.S. healthcare market.

Capital One’s takeover all of GE’s healthcare related assets for a 6% premium of all receivables as of June 30 puts the total value of the deal at $9 billion. The McLean, Va.-based financial concern said it expects this acquisition to provide “a strong platform for future growth and returns.” For its part, GE is one step closer to its goal of shedding more than $100 billion in finance assets by the end of fiscal 2015.

UAMS WELCOMES TWO RESIDENT DENTISTS
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences welcomed its first two resident dentists in July to provide dental care to patients as part of a year-long postgraduate dental residency program.

Ashley McMillan, D.D.S., a Little Rock native, and Michael Dienberg, D.D.S., of Racine, Wisconsin, were selected for the residency program hosted by the Center for Dental Education in the UAMS College of Health Professions.

Residents will receive 12 months of advanced education from faculty dentists while providing dental care at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the student-led UAMS 12th Street Health and Wellness Center and the Harmony Health Clinic in Little Rock.

Creating the residency program, accredited earlier this year by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, was a goal of the Center for Dental Education when it was established in 2012 as a hub for dental education programs at UAMS. The center also operates the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation Oral Health Clinic on the UAMS campus, where the residents will see patients.

HHS ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL $169 MILLION IN ACA FUNDING FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced $169 million in Affordable Care Act funding on Wednesday for 266 new health centers across the U.S., including a $980,000 award to the Corning Area Healthcare Inc. to serve 2,825 new patients.

The new health center sites are projected to increase access to healthcare services for over 1.2 million patients in 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. These awards build on the $101 million awarded to 164 new health center sites in May 2015, HHS officials said.