HCA

HCA North Florida Regional removed a vice president and fired others nearly six weeks after nonemergency surgeries abruptly halted with concerns about sterilized operating room equipment.

Concerns about sterilizing equipment has led to suspending nonemergency surgeries for one week longer as the hospital grapples with issues that could lead to serious infections, surgeons say.

The HCA Florida facility in Gainesville is one of the state’s largest hospitals. The suspension is for at least four days. The hospital says the move was proactive and described it only as an unspecified “operational matter.”

Consumers should know that medical identity theft can happen, whether from a large-scale breach or theft of an individual's data. The result could be thousands of dollars in medical bills.

The data, apparently taken from a location used to automate email messages, was made available by an “unknown and unauthorized party” on an online forum, HCA announced.

The patient tower is part of a $126 million expansion in response to the growing population in Clay County.

HCA denies the union’s claims and says union protests tend to take place during collective bargaining to get attention.

A Pasco County mom tried to dispute an emergency room bill, but the hospital and collection agency refused to talk to her — because it was her child's name on the bill, not hers.

About 40 nurses demonstrated, claiming the hospital's decision will mostly affect low-income, high-risk patients. The hospital's chief nursing officer says the union is misguided in its messaging.

The nation’s largest private health system has faced years of scrutiny over its share of ER patients who are admitted to the hospital. And now U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, a Democrat from New Jersey, is calling for a federal investigation.