Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Community Hospitals Hit Disproportionately By Covid: Study
CIDRAP: Study Shows Outsized COVID Impact On Community Hospitals
A new analysis of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) at hospitals in the southeastern United States highlights some of the downstream healthcare impacts of COVID-19. The study, published this week in Clinical Infectious Diseases by a team of researchers from Duke University and the University of North Carolina, found that rates of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), ventilator-associated events (VAEs), and Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) at hospitals in six southeastern states rose significantly during the pandemic compared with previous years. But the impact was most keenly felt in smaller community hospitals. (Dall, 8/25)
In other hospital news —
Becker's Hospital Review: Best Hospitals, Health Systems To Work For By State
Forbes released its "America's Best Employers by State" list Aug. 24, and 262 hospitals and health systems made the cut. Forbes, in collaboration with market research company Statista, surveyed 70,000 employees working for businesses with more than 500 employees. A total of 1,382 employers were ranked from varying industries, up to 101 per state. Employers could be ranked more than once if they operate in more than one state. (Kayser, 8/25)
Forbes: America's Best Employers By State 2022
The list is divided into 51 rankings—one for each of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia—and was compiled by surveying 70,000 Americans working for businesses with at least 500 employees. Surveys were conducted anonymously, allowing participants to freely share their opinions. The final list ranks the 1,382 employers that received the most recommendations. (Baruch, 8/24)
Modern Healthcare: New Rural Hospital Model Draws Interest - And Questions
In July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed payment methodology for rural emergency hospitals. Under the model, rural hospitals would eliminate their inpatient beds in exchange for a 5% Medicare reimbursement boost for covered outpatient services and an average facility fee payment of $3.2 million a year, according to estimates from the Healthcare Financial Management Association. (Kacik and Goldman, 8/25)
More on health care workers —
The Colorado Sun: Colorado Will Provide Free Education To Students Across Health Care Jobs
A state effort to ease Colorado’s dire shortage of health care workers will offer tuition-free training for several thousand students, providing a much-needed boost to hospitals and clinics. (Breunlin, 8/25)
Becker's Hospital Review: Vanderbilt, Public Schools Team Up To Mentor Future Nurses
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, based in Nashville, Tenn., will partner with Metro Nashville Public Schools to lead monthly conversations with high school seniors about what it takes to become a registered nurse. (Twenter, 8/25)
Houston Chronicle: Amid Health Care Worker Shortage, UTHealth Has A $10.5M Solution
The University of Texas Health Science Center opened a new public psychiatric hospital in March across the street from the Harris County Psychiatric Center, just east of Texas 288, to provide relief to the state’s overburdened mental health system by adding more beds. But building the hospital was the easy part. The real challenge was finding workers to staff it. (Carballo, 8/25)
KHN: Hospitals Cut Jobs And Services As Rising Costs Strain Budgets
Bozeman Health had a problem, one that officials at the health system with hospitals and clinics in southwestern Montana said had been building for months. It had made it through the covid-19 pandemic’s most difficult trials but lost employees and paid a premium for traveling workers to fill the void. Inflation had also driven up operating costs. (Houghton, 8/26)
AP: Watson Case Revives Old Fight For Massage Therapy Industry
Michelle Krause still grapples with the challenge of acknowledging she’s a massage therapist when she first meets someone, dreading their reaction or misguided comments even after 18 years in the profession. ... Krause was among hundreds of therapists from across the country who gathered for the American Massage Therapy Association’s three-day national convention, which began Thursday. It was an opportunity to talk about a job made more difficult amid the pandemic, the 2021 attack on three Atlanta-area massage businesses in which eight people were killed and the lingering stain of NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson’s ongoing case that has perpetuated the sex worker stigma around the industry. (Walker, 8/25)
