HOSPITAL REPORT

Hospital volunteer programs have expanded significantly since the candy striper days. Today’s volunteers might be leading a band composed of mentally ill veterans, holding a dog walk to raise money, helping grieving teens cope with their emotions, or providing free counseling on the Medicare system.

Just over a year after Medicare’s huge physician payment data dump, the agency has released another trove of information, this time a breakdown on the prescribing and costs of drugs to Medicare Part D beneficiaries.

Ben Taub Hospital offers a support group for those who have a family member or friend in its neurological and trauma-surgical intensive care units.

Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health recently built 4,200-square-foot child play zone with funding from the Teammates for Kids foundation, which country singer Garth Brooks co-founded. At Akron Children’s Hospital, a $200 million seven-story medical tower, named the Kay Jewelers Pavilion, followed a $10 million gift form Kay Jewelers to the hospital’s capital campaign.

“Transition coaches” at Wyoming Medical Center in Casper help patients who are ill and about to be discharged and their families.

After years of kicking the proverbial can down the road, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan, crafted bill.

In Joplin, MO, a new $465 million facility, Mercy Hospital Joplin, opens Sunday – on time and under budget. The focus has been on making the facility as safe as possible.