Recent headlines
HealthPartners has been making headlines in several local and national media outlets.
May
Star Tribune: A healthy combo for kids
HealthPartners yumPower program sponsored a recent recipe competition among Minneapolis Public School employees in an effort to get students to eat more fruits and vegetables.
May 18, 2012
Minnesota Public Radio: Can a building help eliminate the stigma of mental illness?
Regions Hospital’s new mental health building, going up along I-94 in downtown Saint Paul, is being designed to reduce the stigma of mental illnesses.
May 17, 2012
Minnesota Public Radio: Researcher gets govt. investment for Alzheimer’s treatment technique
The U.S. government will invest nearly $8 million dollars to study an Alzheimer's treatment that was pioneered in Minnesota.
May 16, 2012
St. Louis Park Sun Sailor: Prescription drug collection expands through HealthPartners in Hennepin County
HealthPartners Clinics in Hennepin County are encouraging their patients and local residents to do some spring-cleaning of their medicine cabinets.
May 16, 2012
Stillwater Gazette: Lakeview patient undergoes new heart procedure
Lakeview Health has been reaping rewards since it became affiliated with HealthPartners more than a year ago.
May 11, 2012
WCCO: Deep brain stimulation offers relief for people with Parkinson’s
There’s a new procedure to have brain surgery while you’re wide awake, and patients with Parkinson’s Disease are coming from across the country to a St. Paul hospital to get it.
May 9, 2012
USA Today: Virtual doctors visits catch on with insurers, employers
Using an online interactive tool called Virtuwell, 23,000 patients have received a treatment plan often including a prescription, after answering questions about their condition and medical history.
May 7, 2012
Star Tribune: Students at 2 Stillwater district schools aspire to better eating habits
Students at two Washington County elementary schools will be consuming lots of fruits and veggies this month -- or at least that's what their teachers hope.
May 4, 2012
April
KSTP: Lyme disease answers a click away
For people that have questions about a tick they’ve found or a rash that has formed, answers can be just a click away using virtuwell.com.
April 25, 2012
Star Tribune: Dayton receives views from both sides on fireworks bill
Leaders of burn centers in St. Paul and Minneapolis, where the most severe burns are treated, have urged Gov. Dayton to veto a bill that authorizes the use of more powerful fireworks.
April 25, 2012
MPR: State funds for medical training in limbo
Health leaders say it's important to restore funding for medical education because to have enough doctors, Minnesota must grow train its own.
April 16, 2012
St. Cloud Times: Starting good habits early, Mississippi Heights students track diets
The exercise is part of HealthPartners’ yumPower initiative involving 13,500 elementary students from 29 public schools in Central Minnesota.
April 6, 2012
WCCO: Prayer chain leads doctor to save dying man
It could be the first-ever surgery of its kind — where a man’s leg was actually transplanted onto his spine — and it only came about because of an extraordinary way the patient met his doctor.
April 5, 2012
March
Star Tribune: Testing a heart drug after 911 call
A clinical trial at Regions Hospital found that a combination of drugs known as GIK could help patients recover from heart attacks if given quickly enough.
March 29, 2012
WCCO: Hospitals seeing increased pace in running injuries
Regions Hospital Rehabilitation Institute has seen an 86 percent increase in the number of people needing physical therapy from a running injury.
March 20, 2012
Business Journal: Dr. Gary Collins: 40 under forty
At 39, Dr. Gary Collins is the chief of surgery for Regions Hospital, holds an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and lobbies federal lawmakers to reduce health care costs for surgical care and issues affecting trauma centers.
March 16, 2012
Star Tribune: Running away from injuries
Running injuries are skyrocketing, but experts say that doesn't have to happen. A few guidelines can keep you on the road and out of the ER.
March 14, 2012
WCCO: Decades later, woman’s mask still helps burn victims
Thirty-five years ago, an invention was made at Regions Hospital that’s worked to heal the scars of thousands of burn victims.
March 12, 2012
KARE 11: Website offers chance to diagnose yourself
Minnesota and Wisconsin residents can use virtuwell.com – a member of the Health Partners family – to get a diagnosis for the 40 most common ailments and a prescription without ever seeing a physician.
March 4, 2012
February
New York Times: At-Risk Patients Gain Attention of Health Insurers
With one percent of patients accounting for 25 percent of health care spending, HealthPartners is working to take better care of at-risk patients and lower the cost of care.
February 28, 2012
WCCO Radio: Patrick McGann, DDS, earns ‘Good Neighbor Award’
Dr. McGann is dedicated to providing dental care to underserved populations right here in the Twin Cities, where he volunteers regularly with the Union Gospel Mission and Project Homeless Connect.
February 16, 2012
WCCO: Mannequins Become Test Patients For Regions Doctors
In the Simulation Center at Regions Hospital, mannequins worth tens of thousands of dollars can be made to simulate everything from giving birth to a heart attack.
February 7, 2012
January
FOX9: Healthy Super Bowl recipes from HealthPartners
Are you ready for some football? The bigger question is: Is your waistline? Unless you are playing in Sunday’s big game, you will be consuming a lot of calories while watching it.
January 30, 2012
Star Tribune: An app a day keeps the doctor away
HealthPartners is offering a yumPower app for iPhone users, aimed at helping diners determine which menu items deliver on the promise that they’re “better for you.”
January 25, 2012
Star Tribune: Medical mission to the Philippines
A Woodbury physician will lead 75 doctors and other medical workers to serve 8,000 patients and distribute more than $1.1 million in medical equipment.
January 22, 2012
Star Tribune: HealthPartners is shifting its approach to back surgery
HealthPartners is changing the way it covers people who are considering back surgery, as costs rise and federal health reform measures call for a more satisfying patient experience.
January 6, 2012
December
KARE 11: Top baby names of 2011 at Regions Hospital
Nearly 2400 babies were born at Regions in 2011. That’s a 3.6 percent increase from 2010.
December 29, 2011
November
The Washington Post: Health care changes signal much-needed shift
In October, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) authorized a Minnesota Medicare plan to cover care provided by the online convenience care clinic virtuwell.com.
November 30, 2011
WCCO: ER doctor takes hospital training to the streets
In an effort to improve emergency care, doctors in the emergency room at Regions Hospital in St. Paul are going out into the field with medics.
November 21, 2011