Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mission Hospital Looks To NC Supreme Court In 3-Year Expansion Fight
Asheville Watchdog: Mission Takes Its Nearly 3-Year Battle For 67 Hospital Beds To North Carolina Supreme Court
Just more than a month after judges made what some saw as the final decision in a case over new hospital beds for Buncombe County and the surrounding region, Mission Hospital signaled in the state’s highest court that it’s not giving up a nearly three-year fight over which health system gets to expand in western North Carolina. (Jones, 7/27)
North Carolina Health News: Rural NC County Sees Rapid Rise In Unregulated Care Homes
In the winter of 2021, social workers in rural Wilson County were overwhelmed by a surge in reports of adults with disabilities being abused. In a typical month, the county’s Department of Social Services receives about 30 such complaints. But that February, the agency fielded 33 reports in just seven days. (Baxley, 7/28)
Modern Healthcare: How Clasp Helps OhioHealth, Novant Staff With Student Loans
Hospitals are partnering with companies to offer student loan repayment in an effort to recruit and retain staff in a more competitive, cost-effective way. The concept of using loan repayment as a recruiting tool isn’t new, but it may grow in popularity with the passage of the new tax law, which includes lifetime caps on federal student loan borrowing and fewer loan repayment plans. (DeSilva, 7/25)
MedPage Today: Will 'Safe Staffing Committee' Laws Help Reduce ED Wait Times?
As hospitals continue to grapple with long wait times in emergency departments (EDs), some patient advocates have pushed for "safe staffing committees" to deal with the problem, but the idea has proven to be controversial. Maryland, which has the longest ED wait times in the country, is one state where the idea appears to be gaining momentum. (Frieden, 7/25)
KFF Health News: Cosmetic Surgeries Led To Disfiguring Injuries, Patients Allege
A few days after a harrowing cosmetic surgery procedure, Erin Schaeffer said, she woke up with fluid leaking from an open wound in her stomach. Schaeffer went on to spend a week in a Florida hospital battling a severe infection after a type of tummy tuck and liposuction at the Jacksonville branch of Sono Bello, a national cosmetic surgery chain. (Schulte, 7/28)
