Adventist Health System, U.S. Bank Healthcare Division Partner for Health Care Growth

Adventist Health System obtained the services of U.S. Bank Healthcare Division, a division of U.S. Bank. The health care division closes as lead "Senior Credit Facility." Adventist Health System represents a  $1.75 billion deal.

An article has been posted at the Business Wire Website titled "U.S. Bank Healthcare Division Leads $1.75 Billion Senior Credit Facility for Adventist Health System."

I'm interested in this information because I'm 62 years old. Anything having to do with healthcare interests me. However, I have a special interest in the story because it seems Adventist Health System centers what they do on Christ -- their spiritual beliefs.

When I was in the workforce I was an executive vice president and CEO of a health insurance company. Of course we were "for-profit." Adventist is a not-for-profit organization.

When you run an insurance company you are dealing with premiums and claims and investments. In other words you always have money coming and going but you must always have a certain amount in reserve so you try and make the most from it that you can.

The difference with Adventist Health System is that they get rid of the middle man. They run their own health care facilities including inpatient and outpatient. That is what they concentrate on.

However, even though they aren't an insurance company per se, they still have to get their name out and invest funds. That is where U.S. Bank Healthcare Division comes in.

David P. Singleton, senior vice president is posted in the article as saying, "Their in-depth knowledge of our organization and of the industry is reflected in what they were able to deliver for us" when speaking of U.S. bank Healthcare Division

Adventist Health System serves four million patients annually. By working with an "expert" company that specializes in the laws of each state, investing and even presentation of product, Adventist can concentrate on doing what they do best and that is providing services as inexpensively as possible.

Shedd has high hopes after rare dolphin birth

A Pacific white-sided dolphin gave birth to an apparently healthy calf Friday at the Shedd Aquarium after coming home pregnant last year from a trip to Miami's Seaquarium.

The birth is a rare and important one for the Shedd, where only three white-sided dolphins have given birth since the species arrived in the marine mammal Oceanarium 20 years ago. None of the births was successful.
 

The mother is Tique, pronounced TEE-kay, a 26-year-old who accounted for two of the previous births. She had a stillborn calf in 1995, not unusual for first-time dolphin mothers, said Ken Ramirez, Shedd vice president.

In 2003 a calf she bore weakened and died after four days when it failed to learn how to nurse. The other dolphin birth at the Shedd was a stillborn to a different first-time dolphin mother.

"This is a good healthy calf," Ramirez said of the newest baby, whose sex has yet to be identified. He said that the little dolphin is showing signs of wanting to nurse and that its mother seems to be trying to guide it to her mammary glands, a learning that can take two or three days.

"Tique is a much more attentive and skilled mother than she was before," Ramirez said. "The calf surfaced for its first breath soon after birth, and Mom is guiding the calf around the habitat and seems to be trying to show where the calf should go on her body to begin nursing."

With no resident male Pacific white-sided dolphins living at the Shedd, Tique was sent a year ago to Miami Seaquarium to mate with an adult male. There are fewer than 20 Pacific white-sided dolphins in captivity in North American facilities, so a successful birth is extremely important.

"This calf must reach several milestones in its first days and months," said Ramirez. The first is to show that mother and calf are strongly bonded, which can take a few days, he said.

Mother and calf won't be exhibited during the critical first few days, Ramirez said. They are under 24-hour staff observation and likely to remain under observation for a few months while the calf passes through several crucial milestones, such as learning to nurse, swimming on its own and swimming with other dolphins.