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STAR SEARCH; In-town recruiting of top docs is once again in vogue as hospitals take advantage of regulations that clearly define what's allowed.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Jay Greene

Recruiting "superstar'' doctors from competing hospitals has been a concern in the past decade because of confusion over Stark laws relating to the size and scope of financial packages that can be offered and the size of the geographic area in which top doctors can be recruited. But with the final regulations issued for Stark II in 2004 and a greater need by hospitals to recruit superstar doctors-who bring potential business along with their reputations-experts believe in-town recruiting is beginning to flourish once again.

Case in point: In December 2005, the 585-bed University of Chicago Hospitals pulled off a major coup when it recruited seven members of the 12-member lung transplant team at 505-bed Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Ill. The two hospitals, which are approximately 18 miles apart, offer the only lung-transplant services in Chicago.

The team includes Medical Director Edward Garrity, Associate Medical Director Sangeeta Bhorade, surgeon Wickii Vigneswaran, anesthesiologist Irene White, and three nurses.

Recruited by James Madara, dean of the university's Pritzker School of Medicine, and Joe "Skip'' Garcia, chairman of the school's department of medicine,...