Innovation, influence and business in America's medical cities.

News and notes from the day in MedCity, Ohio:

A sale of Youngstown’s Forum Health, which is reorganizingunder Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection,to Nashville, Tenn., hospital system Ardent Health Serviceshinges on successfulnegotiations with unions representing about 3,500 Forum workers, unnamed sources told the Tribune Chronicle.

When Gov. Ted Strickland met today with the president, vice president and other senior Obama administration officials, he asked White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers to include $700 million in additional federal Medicaid dollars for Ohio in a jobs billCongress is considering,the Columbus Dispatch reported.

Douglas Bryant, president and CEO of Quidel Corp., the San Diego company that is buyingDiagnostic Hybrids in Athens,repeated his commitment during a press conference to keepDiagnostic Hybridsoperations in that Ohio city, the Athens News reported.

Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute has opened its first regional Phase I/Phase II clinical trialat its Fairviewand Hillcrest hospitals as part of an initiative with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to increase participation in research studies and give patients easier access to thelatest treatments, according to a press release.

Procter & Gamblehas acquired full ownership of MDVIP, a Florida-basedconcierge medical networkof about 350 doctors in 28 states and the District of Columbia, in which the Cincinnati company it bought a large minority stake three years ago, according to the Business Courier of Cincinnati.

P&G alsohas given more than $2 million in supportof the relief and rebuilding efforts in Haiti following its killer earthquake, according to amultimedia release.

“Induced pluripotent” stem cells created at thePluripotent Stem Cell FacilityCincinnati Children's Hospital gives researchers there and at the University of CincinnatiCollege of Medicinenew tools to study what causes diseases and to grow genetically identical, patient-specific replacement tissues for future therapies, according to a university release.

The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University has earned a four-year, $700,000 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to support itsMed into Grad program, whichincorporates medical knowledge and skills into basic science education to developfuture scientists, according to a press release.

Cardinal Health has enhanceditssuite of managed care services, whichhelp pharmacies improve prescription reimbursements, according to a press release.