Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Nursing Program Enrollments Grew 6% In 2020, Despite Covid
CBS News: Nursing School Applications Increase Despite Toll Of COVID Pandemic
Aspiring nurses are lining up even as the coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on medical staff. Enrollment in nursing programs across the U.S. increased nearly 6% in 2020 from the year before, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Nursing school applications at Temple University in Pennsylvania increased about 15% this fall, according to assistant dean Michael Usino. In 2019, almost 7,500 people applied for about 110 spots. Usino said he initially expected the pandemic to reduce interest in nursing. (Lenghi, 11/3)
Nurses in Washington and Michigan picket over contracts —
Tacoma News Tribune: Nurses Picket Outside Tacoma Medical Center To Highlight Staffing, Safety Issues
Nurses at Tacoma’s St. Joseph Medical Center, part of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, took to the picket lines Wednesday after failing to make progress in bargaining talks after 10 sessions in two months. The nurses seek improved staffing levels, higher pay and safer conditions to and from parking lots, among other issues. (Cockrell, 11/3)
Lansing State Journal: Nurses Picketing Outside Sparrow Say New Contract Amounts To A Pay Cut
Hundreds of nurses, pharmacists and supporters flooded a stretch of Michigan Avenue between Sparrow Hospital and its attached administrative building. They marched in a loop as cars passed, honking in support, and chanted: "Sparrow, Sparrow, you can't hide, we can see your greedy side." A union representing Sparrow’s caregivers, a category of workers that includes nurses and pharmacists, staged the informational picket Wednesday decrying the hospital’s proposed contract as essentially amounting to a pay reduction while patient numbers rise. (Aguiar, 11/3)
And more on nurse shortages in Mississippi, Hawaii and elsewhere —
AP: Hospitals Lose More Nurses After Federal Contract Expires
Mississippi health care providers say they may have to close floors and reduce patient beds after losing hundreds of nurses due to the recent expiration of a federal contract put in place to help the state battle the coronavirus pandemic. During the last wave of COVID-19, 900 nurses were deployed to hospitals across the state under a 60-day contract funded by the federal government. That contract expired Nov. 1 and the number of virus cases has subsided since the summer peak. (11/3)
Hawaii News Now: Hospitals Seek To Convince Scores Of Traveling Nurses To Call Hawaii Home
Hundreds of traveling nurses who have spent the past three months caring for Hawaii’s COVID patients will return to the mainland next week. That means many local hospitals will again be left short-staffed. It’s a problem that’s plagued Hawaii long before the pandemic. And in search of a solution, some facilities have managed to get those nurses to give up life on the road. (Blair, 11/3)
Harvard Gazette: 14 Nurses On Life And Work During COVID
Since early 2020, when the pandemic exploded around the world, Massachusetts has seen nearly 19,000 COVID deaths and more than 840,000 cases. If a line graph of hospital admissions over the past 20 months looks like a series of peaks and valleys, the initial surge was Mount Everest for the state’s medical facilities, with patient loads and death rates that have not been matched since. To understand how the crisis has felt for frontline workers caring for the sick and dying, the Gazette reached out to 14 nurses at four Harvard-affiliated hospitals, many of whom work in intensive-care units. When the pandemic began, some had just started their careers, while others had been on the job for years. They risked their lives to stand by their patients, and their stories are marked by hope, heartbreak, and resilience. (Walsh, 11/2)
