COLUMBIA III: UCI MEDICAL CENTER ENDS LEASE DISCUSSIONS

      University of California at Irvine (UCI) Medical Center and
 Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. announced Friday that they have
 "cut off nine months of negotiations for a proposed partnership
 ... saying Columbia officials are busy dealing with federal
 investigators and recent management changes," Orange County
 Register reports.  Mark Laret, UCI Medical Center executive
 director, said, "The reasons are very clear; they (Columbia) have
 a lot of other things to focus on right now."  He noted "that 'we
 had very serious questions about the Columbia organization.'"  
      STILL GOING
      Orange County Register reports that UCI Medical Center
 officials have been considering a lease agreement with Columbia
 or Tenet HealthCare Corp. since last year, "saying competition
 meant the center must partner with a health company to get
 patient referrals the hospital needs to survive."  UCI Medical
 Center officials said Friday that they are continuing talks with
 Tenet "and exploring other options, including other business
 affiliations or legislative remedies for UCI Medical Center's
 problems" (Nicolosi, 8/16).