A Fake Nurse Diploma Mill Uncovered
In other news, Mount Sinai in New York City is fined for staff shortages in its neonatal intensive care unit. And Mayo Clinic wants to be exempt from a nurse staffing law in Minnesota.
The Washington Post:
Bogus Nurses, Fake Diplomas: Officials Search For Unqualified Health Workers
In spring 2019, a curious piece of information landed at the FBI’s Baltimore field office. An informant said that for about $17,000, a recruiter in nearby Laurel, Md., had offered to provide a diploma and a fake transcript from a Florida nursing school, along with tutoring for the nurse licensing exam — without the need to actually take courses or receive clinical training. That tip has mushroomed into an ongoing search for bogus nurses that spans all 50 states, D.C., Canada and parts of the Caribbean. It has resulted in the indictments of 25 people on wire fraud charges and a continued investigation of additional schools that may be offering the same fraudulent arrangement. Ten people have reached plea agreements with prosecutors. (Bernstein, 5/18)
In other nursing news —
Crain's New York Business:
Mount Sinai Hospital Fined $127K For NICU Understaffing
Mount Sinai Hospital was ordered to pay a $127,000 fine to nurses for understaffing its neonatal intensive care unit, according to an arbitration agreement reached earlier this month. Arbitrator Timothy Taylor found that the hospital displayed a “persistent pattern” of staffing violations between mid-January and mid-April, the agreement said. The arbitration was first reported by Politico. (D'Ambrosio, 5/18)
Bloomberg:
NYC Law Proposed To Hold Hospitals Accountable For Health Care Costs
New York is closer to making the city and its hospitals more accountable for soaring health care costs. A new proposed local law would create a committee to monitor the city’s employee-related health care expenses and disclose prices for hospital procedures. The measure could come to a vote as early as next week and save New York $2 billion a year, according to its main sponsor, City Council member Julie Menin. (Coleman-Lochner, 5/18)
Modern Healthcare:
Minnesota Nurse Staffing Bill, Mayo Clinic Exemption Under Fire
Minnesota hospital and health systems, both their executives and clinicians, are rallying against nurse staffing legislation and a potential exemption for Mayo Clinic, the state’s largest provider. In April, the state Legislature passed a bill that would require each inpatient care unit of a hospital to set up committees of nurses, other direct caregivers and executives to agree on certain staffing levels or set them via arbitration. (Kacik, 5/18)
More health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare:
Medicare Advantage Plans Drive Home Health Mergers
Less than two weeks after Option Care Health announced a proposed $3.6 billion acquisition of home health provider Amedisys, Addus HomeCare Chair and CEO Dirk Allison said his company is on the hunt for home health firms. “We are looking at strategic acquisitions in states like Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Georgia where we already have a personal care platform that we can add clinical services on top of,” Allison told investors at the RBC Global Healthcare Conference in New York on Tuesday. Addus Home Care, based in Frisco, Texas, provides home health, hospice and personal care services in 22 states. (Eastabrook, 5/18)
Modern Healthcare:
HCA Healthcare To Buy 41 Urgent Care Centers In Texas
HCA Healthcare plans to expand its footprint in Texas by acquiring 41 urgent care centers from FastMed, the company announced Thursday. The deal, expected to close this summer, includes 19 FastMed locations and 22 MedPost centers in Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Houston and San Antonio. The Nashville, Tennessee-based health system and the Raleigh, North Carolina-based clinic operator didn't disclose the terms of the agreement. (Hudson, 5/18)
Stat:
Sports Medicine Is Finally Prioritizing Gender Equality
When cyclist Alison Tetrick joined the sport’s professional ranks, she received the perks that come with the job — new bikes and clothing included. But she could never get comfortable on the bike saddles. After several years, Tetrick suffered so much damage to her genital area that she eventually resorted to surgery to trim excess skin from her labia. Tetrick wasn’t alone — the sad truth was that many of her female cycling peers had also required the procedure. Since Tetrick’s experience about a decade ago, several cycling companies have developed women-specific saddles and cycling shorts, as amateur athlete and journalist Christine Yu writes in her new book “Up to Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes.” But Tetrick’s case is representative of a massive gap in science and exercise medicine, which has long neglected the study of women. (Loudin, 5/19)
KFF Health News:
When Older Parents Resist Help Or Advice, Use These Tips To Cope
It was a regrettable mistake. But Kim Sylvester thought she was doing the right thing at the time. Her 80-year-old mother, Harriet Burkel, had fallen at her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, fractured her pelvis, and gone to a rehabilitation center to recover. It was only days after the death of Burkel’s 82-year-old husband, who’d moved into a memory care facility three years before. (Graham, 5/19 )
