Word: columbia
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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With lights flashing and sirens screaming, ambulances all across the U.S. rushed patients to hospitals run by Columbia/HCA Healthcare last week. But those were not the only emergencies taking place at the country's largest hospital company. Even as Columbia was growing and doing record business, a fight for survival had broken out inside the executive suite after swarms of federal agents descended on various Columbia offices two weeks ago. The climax came at 8:30 a.m. last Friday, following an extraordinary board meeting held late into the previous night, when directors wrapped up the terms of the resignations...
...fact, Frist and the rest of the board had begun to fear for the survival of Columbia (1996 revenues: $19.9 billion), which has long been a lightning rod for critics of for-profit hospitals. Directors were worried that Scott's stonewalling of federal probes of Columbia's Medicare billings and home-health-care practices would only inflame the zeal of investigators and prosecutors and make a face-saving settlement impossible. And Columbia, which is based in Nashville, Tenn., was reportedly exploring a merger with Tenet Healthcare of Santa Barbara, Calif., the country's second largest hospital company. That deal would...
Frist, who had been serving as Columbia's vice chairman and was growing increasingly disenchanted with Scott's leadership, wasted no time in signaling his willingness to cooperate with federal investigators. Frist said he was "dead serious" about addressing Washington's concerns and would launch at least three internal probes this week to ascertain whether company managers had broken any laws...
...agents raiding its hospitals for financial records. Federal investigators told TIME that the resignations of founder and chairman Richard Scott and president David Vandewater will in no way reduce their interest in probing the company's practices regarding Medicare billing and its home-care operations. Dr. Thomas Frist Jr., Columbia's vice chairman, announced he would be taking over the posts of chairman and chief executive officer. The resignations came as the company was considering being acquired by its next-largest hospital competitor, Tenet Healthcare, to form a $30 billion, 500-hospital chain. Both Scott and Vandewater denied any wrongdoing...
PRINCE RUPERT, British Columbia: The blockade of an Alaskan ferry ended today after the Canadian government promised disgruntled fishermen in British Columbia that it would pressure the United States to reopen negotiations on Pacific salmon. As the 300-boat blockade broke apart, the ferry Malaspina departed the harbor with a blast of its horns, ending a siege which kept about 135 passengers captive since Saturday. The ferry had been held hostage by Canadian fishermen who claim U.S. fishing fleets are violating a 1985 treaty on salmon fishing by netting the choicest fish in the ocean as they swim to Canada...