Legislative Agendas: State Associations Weigh In On 2010 Priorities By all accounts 2010 is shaping up to be a tough year to lobby for any legislation tied to a fiscal note. As Sharon Adkins, MSN, RN, executive director of the Tennessee Nurses Association succinctly noted, “Anything with a dollar sign is dead in the water.” CINDY SANDERS

The MED Names New CEO Reginald Coopwood Takes Reins March 1 Leading candidate Reginald Coopwood, MD, will assume the position of CEO of the Regional Medical Center at Memphis (The MED) on March 1, during a pivotal time in the facility’s development. The MED made headlines last fall when the Board voted to close the Emergency Department if $32 million could not be raised to sustain the regional safety net hospital for residents within a 150-mile radius. LYNNE JETER

Doctors for the Delta Program Bringing Foreign Doctors to Memphis Area Memphis has more flexibility to recruit international physicians to alleviate its doctor shortage than perhaps any metro area in the country, thanks to the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) Doctors for the Delta program. As a result of that program, 25 foreign doctors have been placed to fill critical needs in the Memphis area, and another five in neighboring counties in Mississippi and Arkansas. BECKY GILLETTE

Doctor Indicted in Bombing Attack of West Memphis Physician “Retaliation” Said To Be Motive A federal grand jury has indicted Randeep Mann, MD, 51, of London, Ark., in the bombing attack that nearly killed fellow physician Trent Pierce of West Memphis last February, authorities announced Jan. 6. STEVE BRAWNER

Methodist Ready for Next Hurdle DeSoto CON Opposition Hearing Slated for March So far, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has submitted the only certificate of need (CON) application to the Mississippi Board of Health for a new hospital in DeSoto County. LYNNE JETER

HEALTHCARE LEADERSHIP: Rose Lindsey-Giulian Director of Quality and Medical Management In her 25-year tenure with the Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation, Rose Lindsey-Giulian, RN, RHIA, PhD, administrator for quality, case management and infection prevention, has seen tremendous change. Born in Lima, Peru, she came to the U.S. to become a nurse and quickly developed a passion for the administrative side of medicine. HOLLI W. HAYNIE

MEDICAL ECONOMICS: Strategic Planning: An Overview Sharing the Plan of the Medical Group Management Association and American College of Medical Practice Executives All of strategic planning starts with a vision and mission statement and conveys the values of an organization before you can move on with the goals. Vision is what and where we want to be in the distant future. Mission is the foundation or our existence and operations. Goals are timeless, unbounded statements that describe what the world will be like as a result of what we do. BILL APPLING

TECH CONNECT: Methodist North Unveils SPECT/CT New Diagnostic Technology Delivers Less Radiation Than Competitors Methodist North Hospital recently unveiled new diagnostic technology that delivers less radiation than previous available technology in the Memphis metro area. LYNNE JETER

RESEARCH REPORT: UTHSC Wins $1.3 Million Grant Investigators to Study Health Disparities Research A team of investigators at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) will examine health disparities in connection to race and other social determinants of health in Memphis and Shelby County, thanks to a $1.3 million grant from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). LYNNE JETER