Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hoverboarding Dentist Sentenced To 12 Years For Multiple Crimes
Anchorage Daily News: Anchorage Dentist Who Defrauded Medicaid And Extracted Patient Tooth While Riding Hoverboard Sentenced To Prison
An Anchorage dentist who extracted a patient’s tooth while on a hoverboard was sentenced Monday to 12 years in prison for dozens of charges including Medicaid fraud. Seth Lookhart was captured on video extracting the tooth from the unconscious patient. Anchorage Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton said Monday that Lookhart nearly killed several patients by frequently sedating them for extended periods of time. “In reviewing all this over and over again, I have this visceral response — you darn near killed some people,” he said. (Williams, 9/16)
Modern Healthcare: Labor Department Tightens Sick Leave Exemptions For Providers
Healthcare providers could face deeper workforce shortages in upcoming months as they face tighter family and sick leave exemptions starting Wednesday. Although providers initially weren't required to follow the Families First Coronavirus Reponse Act as they treated the pandemic's patients, the Labor Department revised its requirements last week. (Christ, 9/16)
Boston Globe: Mass General Brigham Adds Two Senior Posts Even As Others Are Eliminated
Mass General Brigham said Wednesday it would create two new senior executive positions as part of the company’s effort to better knit its individual hospitals into a more cohesive health care network. Chief executive Dr. Anne Klibanski, who laid out the new integration strategy for the parent of Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals last November, said in an e-mail to employees that Dr. Ron M. Walls has been named chief operating officer. Walls, currently COO of Brigham and Women’s, will be responsible for collaboration across clinical departments, development of specialty hospital services, and consolidation of departments including emergency, radiology, anesthesiology, pathology, and hospitalists. (Edelman, 9/16)
Kaiser Health News: Black Women Turn To Midwives To Avoid COVID And ‘Feel Cared For’
From the moment she learned she was pregnant late last year, TaNefer Camara knew she didn’t want to have her baby in a hospital bed. Already a mother of three and a part-time lactation consultant at Highland Hospital in Oakland, Camara knew a bit about childbirth. She wanted to deliver at home, surrounded by her family, into the hands of an experienced female birth worker, as her female ancestors once did. And she wanted a Black midwife. It took the COVID-19 pandemic to get her husband on board. “Up until then, he was like, ‘You’re crazy. We’re going to the hospital,’” she said. (Scheier, 9/17)
