Miriam Smith said Tamara O'Neal, an emergency physician killed at Mercy Hospital last week, treated her nine-year-old son for fatigue, a fever, and nausea a few hours before O'Neal was fatally shot, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from District of Columbia, Illinois, and Missouri.

• District of Columbia: George Washington University (GWU) Hospital is seeking a waiver from the D.C. Council to construct a tower at its hospital in Foggy Bottom. The tower construction is part of a partnership agreement under which GWU Hospital would take over operations for a United Medical Center (UMC) replacement facility located on the other side of the city. GWU Hospital said it needs to build a 270-bed tower in order for the UMC replacement facility deal to be financially feasible (Hansen, Washington Business Journal, 11/21).
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• Illinois: A woman whose son was treated at Mercy Hospital in Chicago said Tamara O'Neal, an emergency physician killed in the shooting last week, was a "guardian angel." O'Neal treated Miriam Smith's nine-year-old son for fatigue, a fever, and nausea a few hours before O'Neal was fatally shot. Smith said she could "never thank [O'Neal] enough" for her care (AP/Modern Healthcare, 11/25).
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• Missouri: Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital has named Brett Moorehouse president and CEO of the hospital, effective immediately. Moorehouse succeeds Lauri Tanner who resigned as president and CEO in May. Moorehouse, who previously served as COO of the hospital, also "led a major facility expansion and created new services for [the hospital's] growing patient needs" after joining the hospital in 2006, according to Bill Whillhite, chair of Ranken Jordan's board of directors (Rizvic, St. Louis Business Journal, 11/21).

From shootings to hurricanes: How can hospitals prepare for disasters?

Hospitals must be prepared for myriad disasters that can stress health care systems to the breaking point and disrupt delivery of vital health care services.

Advisory Board has compiled step-by-step procedures for various threats your facility may encounter—though we hope you'll never need to use them.

Download the Resources