Innovation Institute, founded five years ago as an incubator to commercialize internal medical innovation by doctors, nurses and other hospital care providers in its six health system-owners network, has done exactly that. Its subsidiary Innovation Lab, in partnership with Apothecary Products LLC in Burnsville, Minn., recently launched the Elevating Arm Sling.
The product is available for $17.49 at CVS Pharmacy locations across the U.S. CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS) has over 9,800 retail locations in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Brazil.
Apothecary, founded in 1975, manufactures, markets and distributes consumer healthcare products and pharmacy supplies. Its retail brands include pill container Ezy Dose, Flents ear plugs and Wipe ‘N Clear lens wipes.
The arm sling is “technically a fourth product, but it is the first that we developed from concept all the way through to market,” said an institute spokesperson. A doctor submitted the idea in 2014.
The custom-designed hand elevation support is designed to position the hand and wrist above the heart to promote healing. Conventional slings leave the appendages around chest or waist level.
Dr. Mark Elzik, an orthopedic hand surgeon at Mission Hospital, said he designed the product because elevation is a key element of pre- and post-surgical care for patients undergoing hand and wrist medical procedures. Improper elevation “can lead to swelling, pain and prolonged healing and follow-up visits,” he said.
The device incorporates a pulley system that raises and lowers the arm, while the forearm sleeve supports the wrist with minimal pressure points and preserves full range of motion for the elevated hand’s fingers.
Mission Hospital is part of Renton, Wash.-based Providence St. Joseph Health system, which is one of the six hospitals that are members-owners-investors of the institute. The others are Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Avera Health in Sioux Falls, S.D., Bon Secours Health Systems in Marriottsville, Md., Baton Rouge, La.-based Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System and Mercy Health in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Providence has seven OC hospitals in its Southern California network.
The institute’s business model also includes a cash-generating arm that owns a portfolio of companies to fund the incubator and a fund vertical to invest in outside opportunities.
Merger Talks Die
Ascension Health and Providence St. Joseph Health have put their merger talks on hold in light of more medical care moving outside of hospitals, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The merger would have created the largest health system in the U.S.
Both systems are focused on restructuring—Providence to improve its financial performance, increasing its investment in digital, retail and ambulatory healthcare; Ascension wants to boost growth and labor productivity—making the merger timing less ideal, the publication reported.
Ascension has cut executive pay, adjusted nursing staff, and plans to cut $61 million in administrative cost, according to a transcript of Ascension Chief Executive Anthony Tersigni in an employee briefing session.
A spokesperson of the Renton, Wash.-based Providence declined comment.
Providence’s Southern California network is comprised of 14 hospitals in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties. It operates 51 hospitals in seven states, including Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico and Oregon, all states where Ascension has no hospitals.
St. Louis, Mo.-based Ascension is the country’s largest nonprofit health system, with 153 hospitals. It’s the world’s largest Catholic health system, with over 2,600 care sites in 22 states and the District of Columbia, as of March.
Last month, Ascension added Chicago-based Presence Health to its system in a combination that created the largest hospital network in Illinois based on the number of medical centers. Presence is now part of AMITA Health, a joint venture comprised of Ascension and Adventist Midwest Health.
Presence has more than 150 locations in Illinois, including 12 hospitals and 27 long-term care and senior living facilities. It’s one of the largest behavioral health service providers in Illinois.
Bits & Pieces
Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo was awarded advanced certification for comprehensive stroke centers, allowing it to receive and treat complex stroke patients, as well as meet additional requirements, such as advanced imaging and round-the-clock availability of specialized treatment. The certification is provided through the American Heart Association, American Stroke Association and The Joint Commission, the nation’s oldest and largest accreditation body in healthcare.
