Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medical Translators Are In High Demand
Modern Healthcare: Medical Interpreters See Higher Demand During COVID-19 Pandemic
For patients who speak more common languages such as Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin or Vietnamese, finding medical interpreters to facilitate communication with providers is typically achievable. Looking for professionals to translate in lesser-known languages like Tigrinya, Pashto, Krahn or Ojibwe becomes tricky. (Devereaux, 2/2)
Houston Chronicle: Texas Sees Shortage Of Spanish-Speaking Nurses, Doctors Post-COVID
Alba Jiménez wishes she could avoid what she calls “the robot.” During a recent uterine cancer screening at the University of Houston Family Care Center, the 40-year-old Honduran native, who speaks only Spanish, directed questions to a translator on an iPad instead of the doctor: Did everything on her ultrasound look normal? Would she be OK? (Gill and Romero, 2/2)
More on staffing and financial shortages —
Modern Healthcare: Alabama Hospitals Warn Closures Imminent Without Funding Boost
Alabama hospital operators and the state hospital association called for more federal funding to mitigate ongoing operating losses during a news conference Thursday. Alabama needs a “significant infusion” of American Rescue Plan Act dollars to prevent service cuts and closures, Dr. Donald Williamson, president of the Alabama Hospital Association, said during a telephone briefing with reporters. (Kacik, 2/2)
Axios: States Eye Compacts, Scope Of Practice Laws To Fill Holes In Health Workforce
More states are working out differences over what medical services non-doctors can provide in order to ease stubborn workforce shortages plaguing health systems. (Dreher, 2/3)
KHN: As Long-Term Care Staffing Crisis Worsens, Immigrants Can Bridge The Gaps
When Margarette Nerette arrived in the United States from Haiti, she sought safety and a new start. The former human rights activist feared for her life in the political turmoil following the military coup that overthrew President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1991. Leaving her two small children with her sister in Port-au-Prince, Nerette, then 29, came to Miami a few years later on a three-month visa and never went back. In time, she was granted political asylum. She eventually studied to become a nursing assistant, passed her certification exam, and got a job in a nursing home. The work was hard and didn’t pay a lot, she said, but “as an immigrant, those are the jobs that are open to you.” (Andrews, 2/3)
In other health care industry news —
Stat: Top ALS Advocacy Group Roiled By Infighting Over Money, Priorities
A blistering battle has broken out between the ALS Association and more than a dozen of its state and local chapters, which are resisting a move by the national headquarters to dismantle their offices and run operations around the U.S. (Silverman and Joseph, 2/3)
ProPublica: Inside UnitedHealth’s Effort To Deny Coverage For A Patient’s Care
In May 2021, a nurse at UnitedHealthcare called a colleague to share some welcome news about a problem the two had been grappling with for weeks. United provided the health insurance plan for students at Penn State University. It was a large and potentially lucrative account: lots of young, healthy students paying premiums in, not too many huge medical reimbursements going out. (Armstrong, Rucker and Miller, 2/2)
Modern Healthcare: Cleveland Clinic Names Dennis Laraway As Next CFO
Cleveland Clinic has named Banner Health executive Dennis Laraway as its next chief financial officer, effective March 13, the system said Thursday. Laraway has been CFO at Phoenix-based Banner since 2017. Prior to that, he was CFO at Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston; Scott & White Healthcare in Temple, Texas; St. Joseph’s Hospital & Medical Center in Phoenix; and Seton Health System in Troy, New York. (Hudson, 2/2)
Modern Healthcare: Intermountain Health Promotes Nannette Berensen To COO
Intermountain Health has named Nannette Berensen chief operating officer, the nonprofit integrated health system announced Thursday. Berensen is filling the C-suite seat held for six years by Intermountain President and CEO Rob Allen, who moved from COO to the top job Dec. 1. (Berryman, 2/2)
