Tenet Healthcare
Encyclopedia
Tenet Healthcare Corporation, an investor-owned health-care delivery systems company based in Dallas, Texas. THC owns and operates 49 acute-care hospitals in 11 states and 90 outpatient centers in 12 states, with a majority of these hospitals (32) in California, Florida and Texas. Headquartered in downtown Dallas, Tenet has more than 13,000 licensed beds and 57,000 employees.
The company’s hospitals offer acute care, radiology and respiratory therapy services, as well as operating and recovery rooms, clinical laboratories and pharmacies. In addition, Tenet hospitals offer intensive care, critical care and coronary care units; physical therapy; orthopedic, oncology, outpatient, organ transplant and surgical services.
to its board of directors in 2007. Detailed financial reports on Tenet's patient mix, collection rates and accounts receivables that are required by the company as a condition of the 5-year corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services have improved the company's transparency. As of 2009, the company has begun to turn around, with an operating revenue and net profit of $9 billion and $181 million, respectively. In 2009, Tenet stock became the number 2 performer on the S&P 500 after decreasing earlier in the year because of higher than average debt. The company's largest hospital is Brookwood Medical Center located in Birmingham
, Alabama
with almost 600 beds.
. In 2004, Tenet paid an additional $395 million USD to 769 patients to settle litigation for the unnecessary surgeries. The scandal and subsequent federal investigation are described in the book Coronary: A True Story of Medicine Gone Awry by author Stephen Klaidman
.
payments for a total of $900 million USD in fees to resolve claims it defrauded the federal government for over-billing Medicare claims during the 1990s. To finance the settlement, they sold 11 hospitals in four states including Memorial Medical Center (see below). In September of that year, Tenet entered into a 5-year corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. That agreement expired on September 27, 2011.
, had been taken from their homes late at night in a highly publicized arrest on charges of second-degree murder in the deaths of four patients by Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti
. In August 2007, a New Orleans grand jury declined to indict the three women. After the grand jury declined to return charges, a New Orleans judge expunged the women's arrest records. Dr. Pou sued Foti for defamation and damage to her career. In June 2006, Tenet announced that they planned to sell Memorial Medical Center and three other hospitals in the greater New Orleans area.
• 94 American Heart Association Get With The GuidelinesSM Performance Achievement Awards
• 24 Blue Cross and Blue Shield National Blue Distinction Centers
• 214 CIGNA Quality Designations
• 8 HHS Organ Donation Medal of Honor Hospitals
• 18 Joint Commission Certified Primary Stroke Centers
• 14 Society of Chest Pain Center Accredited Chest Pain Centers
• 95 UnitedHealth Premium Specialty Center Designations
• 15 United Resource Network Centers of Excellence
The company’s hospitals offer acute care, radiology and respiratory therapy services, as well as operating and recovery rooms, clinical laboratories and pharmacies. In addition, Tenet hospitals offer intensive care, critical care and coronary care units; physical therapy; orthopedic, oncology, outpatient, organ transplant and surgical services.
History
Tenet was founded in 1967 by three lawyers: Richard Eamer, Leonard Cohen and John Bedrosian and originally named National Medical Enterprises (NME) and originally headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. The company spent its first decade building and acquiring medical facilities and related services. The company began seven construction projects in 1971, tripling in size within a year. In the mid-1980s, NME shifted its focus to specialty hospitals. After some scandals in the early 1990s (see below), NME unloaded its specialty facilities, reconfiguring itself as Tenet Healthcare Corporation in 1995, and again turned its focus to acute care. Tenet dominated the southern California market, and sought a foothold in south Florida, Louisiana and Texas, as well as the Philadelphia area. Eventually, Tenet owned 111 hospitals. In 2002, however, the company became entangled in scandals, as one of its hospitals came under scrutiny for its surgical practices and another was investigated in a kickback scheme (see below). In 2003, Trevor Fetter became CEO and started the Commitment to Quality that same year, an initiative that included improvements in data gathering and statistics. The company also hired a chief compliance officer to rebuild its ethics and compliance programs. In 2004, Tenet also moved its headquarters from California to the northern suburban areas of Dallas. To improve its reputation, Tenet retained former Florida governor Jeb BushJeb Bush
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...
to its board of directors in 2007. Detailed financial reports on Tenet's patient mix, collection rates and accounts receivables that are required by the company as a condition of the 5-year corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services have improved the company's transparency. As of 2009, the company has begun to turn around, with an operating revenue and net profit of $9 billion and $181 million, respectively. In 2009, Tenet stock became the number 2 performer on the S&P 500 after decreasing earlier in the year because of higher than average debt. The company's largest hospital is Brookwood Medical Center located in Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
with almost 600 beds.
Hospitals
Psychiatric fraud
In the early 1990s as National Medical Enterprises, the company was accused of committing fraud by admitting thousands of psychiatric patients who did not need hospitalization and then charging these patients inflated prices. In 1991, the federal government investigated the company for fraud and conspiracy. In 1993, offices of the company were raided by law enforcement in an attempt to show that the company was defrauding patients and insurance companies. In 1994, the company paid $2.5 million to settle lawsuits from 23 patients at its psychiatric hospitals. Again in 1994, National Medical Enterprises settled fraud charges with the United States and 28 states involving payments of a record $380 million USD at the time and federal guilty pleas on eight criminal counts by two of its units. The company also agreed to a 5-year corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Unnecessary heart surgeries
In the late 1990s through the early 2000s, Redding Medical Center (a former Tenet hospital), was investigated for carrying out unnecessary heart surgeries on over 600 patients. To settle these allegations, Tenet agreed to pay a $54 million USD fine to the federal government and the state of California, without admitting wrongdoing. This settlement did not preclude civil or criminal charges against individuals of the company. In order for the hospital to continue receiving Medicare, Tenet was compelled by federal regulators to sell the hospital and it was subsequently renamed Shasta Regional Medical CenterShasta Regional Medical Center (Redding, California)
Shasta Regional Medical Center, formerly known as Redding Medical Center, is one of two major hospitals that are located in Redding, California. It opened in 1945 and currently has 246 beds with an acute care facility and has become a regional medical center serving far Northern California...
. In 2004, Tenet paid an additional $395 million USD to 769 patients to settle litigation for the unnecessary surgeries. The scandal and subsequent federal investigation are described in the book Coronary: A True Story of Medicine Gone Awry by author Stephen Klaidman
Stephen Klaidman
Stephen Klaidman is an author of a number of books . He was also a former editor and reporter for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The International Herald Tribune. He was a senior research fellow at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics and a senior research associate at the Institute for...
.
Medicare fraud
In June 2006, Tenet agreed to pay $725 million in cash and give up $175 million of MedicareMedicare (United States)
Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...
payments for a total of $900 million USD in fees to resolve claims it defrauded the federal government for over-billing Medicare claims during the 1990s. To finance the settlement, they sold 11 hospitals in four states including Memorial Medical Center (see below). In September of that year, Tenet entered into a 5-year corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. That agreement expired on September 27, 2011.
Hurricane Katrina
In 2006, Dr. Anna Pou and nurses Lori Budo and Cheri Landry, who worked at Memorial Medical Center (a hospital owned at the time by Tenet Healthcare), in the aftermath of Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, had been taken from their homes late at night in a highly publicized arrest on charges of second-degree murder in the deaths of four patients by Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti
Charles Foti
Charles Carmen Foti, Jr. , is a former Democratic Attorney General of the U.S. state of Louisiana, United States. He served as his state's chief legal officer for a single term from 2004 to 2008....
. In August 2007, a New Orleans grand jury declined to indict the three women. After the grand jury declined to return charges, a New Orleans judge expunged the women's arrest records. Dr. Pou sued Foti for defamation and damage to her career. In June 2006, Tenet announced that they planned to sell Memorial Medical Center and three other hospitals in the greater New Orleans area.
Awards and recognition
• 15 American Association for Respiratory Care Quality Respiratory Care Recognitions• 94 American Heart Association Get With The GuidelinesSM Performance Achievement Awards
• 24 Blue Cross and Blue Shield National Blue Distinction Centers
• 214 CIGNA Quality Designations
• 8 HHS Organ Donation Medal of Honor Hospitals
• 18 Joint Commission Certified Primary Stroke Centers
• 14 Society of Chest Pain Center Accredited Chest Pain Centers
• 95 UnitedHealth Premium Specialty Center Designations
• 15 United Resource Network Centers of Excellence