‘Father Of The HMO’ Dies At 95; Idea Didn’t Turn Out Like He Envisioned
As The New York Times noted in his obituary, Dr. Paul Ellwood Jr. gave up practicing pediatric neurology in the late 1960s to devote himself to national health reform. But as health maintenance organizations became hugely profitable, Ellwood repeatedly voiced disappointment with the way his original ideas had worked out in practice.
The New York Times:
Dr. Paul M. Ellwood Jr., Architect Of The H.M.O., Is Dead At 95
Dr. Paul M. Ellwood Jr., who changed the way millions of Americans receive private medical services by developing — and naming — the model for managed care known as the health maintenance organization, died on Monday in Bellingham, Wash. He was 95. His wife, Barbara Ellwood, said his death, at a care center, was caused by organ failure. Dr. Ellwood, who gave up practicing pediatric neurology in the late 1960s to devote himself to national health reform, was often called the father of the H.M.O., although many others made important contributions to the concept and some localized prepaid health plans had existed for decades. (McFadden, 6/20)
In other news about health care workers —
Southern California News Group:
Walmart Hikes Pay For More Than 1,600 California Pharmacy Techs
Walmart has boosted hourly wages for its more than 36,000 Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacy technicians, including more than 1,600 in California. The mega-retailer said it also plans to hire 5,000 additional pharmacy technicians this year. The pay hike took effect this week, raising their average wage to more than $20 an hour. The company has also committed to more frequent pay raises that will increase wages by up to $4 an hour for new hires over the next four years. Pharmacy techs will get raises every six months in their first two years with the company. (Smith, 6/20)
Crain's Detroit Business:
With Worker Shortages Remaining, Hospitals Turn To Technology To Fill The Gaps
The great resignation in healthcare has been years in the making — COVID-19 just sped up the problem. Many healthcare workers left the industry during the pandemic to escape harsh conditions and growing responsibilities. Each worker that left meant another worker that had to pick up the slack. Burnout became synonymous with the job title "hospital worker," whether that worker was a nurse, paramedic or custodian. A job vacancy rate of roughly 17 percent persists at Michigan hospitals, leading to about 1,300 fewer patient beds available for the sick across the state compared to last year. "The reality is we knew even before the pandemic that we would have many people leaving the field," said Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association. "Demographics aren't on our side, and we're simply not training enough nurses, doctors, pharmacists, whatever to replace all those retiring in the coming years." (Walsh, 6/20)
St. Louis Public Radio:
Father-Daughter Duo Work On Hearts As BJC Doctors
Dr. Sophia Roberts didn’t have to look far for a role model. She’s a resident with Washington University at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and she’s on the path to follow in her dad’s footsteps and become a cardiothoracic surgeon, working on hearts. Her dad, Dr. Harold Roberts, has been in medicine for more than 30 years. This past year, he joined his daughter at Barnes-Jewish. Only around 8% of cardiothoracic surgeons in the U.S. are women, but Sophia has known she’s wanted to be a surgeon ever since her dad took her to the operating room, at age 11. (Drake, 6/17)
AP:
At Westminster Dog Show, New Focus On Veterinarians' Welfare
The dogs get the spotlight, but the upcoming Westminster Kennel Club show is also illuminating a human issue: veterinarians’ mental health. In conjunction with a first-time Veterinarian of the Year award that will be presented on the show’s final day Wednesday, the club is giving $10,000 to a charity focused on veterinary professionals’ psychological welfare. It’s new emotional territory for the 145-year-old event at a point when the coronavirus pandemic, and a changing culture, have bared the internal struggles of people from schoolchildren to health care workers to college athletes and professional sports stars. (Peltz, 6/18)
And STAT investigates the dismissal of Black doctors from residency programs —
Stat:
Black Residents Are Forced Out At Far Higher Rates Than White Doctors
Rosandra Daywalker had always excelled. The daughter of Haitian and Jamaican parents in Miami — one an auto parts clerk, the other a nurse — she’d received a nearly perfect score on the SAT, earned a full academic scholarship to the University of Miami, graduated summa cum laude from Morehouse Medical School, and was inducted into the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. Then came the icing on the cake: She matched into the elite and highly competitive specialty of otolaryngology, a field she’d fallen for after watching an elegant head-and-neck cadaver dissection in medical school. Standing on the stage during Morehouse’s Match Day festivities in 2015, Daywalker beamed. Her family could not have been more proud. The fact that fewer than 1% of otolaryngologists are Black seemed a distant concern. (McFarling, 6/20)
Stat:
What Will It Take To Level The Playing Field For Black Residents?
Black doctors are terminated from or leave their training programs in far higher numbers than white physicians, a problem that STAT reported this week has long been hidden and ignored by the medical establishment and contributes to the chronic lack of Black physicians, especially in the most elite fields of medicine. While the causes are complex and sometimes hard to nail down — and structural racism is embedded in medicine as in the rest of U.S. society — scholars and physicians working to address the issue say there are straightforward steps that residency programs and oversight bodies can take to make a difference. (McFarling, 6/21)
