Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Refusing To Wear Masks: Sanford CEO Quits; Nurse Shows Off On TikTok
FierceHealthcare: Sanford Health CEO Steps Down After Sparking Controversy For Not Wearing Mask
Longtime Sanford Health President and CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft is stepping down after sparking controversy for refusing to wear a mask. Tuesday evening, Sanford announced Krabbenhoft "mutually agreed" with the board of trustees to part ways with the health system. (Reed, 11/25)
Detroit Free Press: Oregon Nurse Placed On Leave After Mocking COVID Protocols On TikTok
An oncology nurse in Oregon has been placed on administrative leave after posting a video on social media showing disregard for COVID-19 restrictions. In the video, uploaded Friday to TikTok, the nurse, identified by Salem Health hospital officials as Ashley Grames, says she doesn't wear a mask in public outside of work, continues to travel and allows her children to have playdates. (Barreda, 11/29)
In other news on health care personnel —
KHN: OSHA Let Employers Decide Whether To Report Health Care Worker Deaths. Many Didn’t.
As Walter Veal cared for residents at the Ludeman Developmental Center in suburban Chicago, he saw the potential future of his grandson, who has autism. So he took it on himself not just to bathe and feed the residents, which was part of the job, but also to cut their hair, run to the store to buy their favorite body wash and barbecue for them on holidays. “They were his second family,” said his wife, Carlene Veal. (Pattani, Lewis and Jewett, 11/30)
Explore The 'Lost On The Frontline' Interactive Database: Over 1,400 U.S. health care workers have died fighting COVID-19. KHN and The Guardian count them and investigate why.
Bangor Daily News: Nurses And Doctors Now Face ‘Fear Of The Known’ As COVID-19 Brings People To The Hospital
When the coronavirus first flared up across Maine last spring, many of the state’s frontline health care workers were scared by how little they knew about it. Would they have enough face masks and gowns? Would they bring the virus home to their loved ones? Would they die from it? And how quickly would the strange new infection storm across a rural state whose large elderly population was particularly threatened by it? (Eichacker, 11/28)
Modern Healthcare: Workers Leaving 'Healthcare Prisons' Over COVID-19 Stress
Carol Siewert wasn't planning to leave hospital-based nursing for another two to five years. But then the novel coronavirus swept across the globe and into her 39-bed unit in a teaching hospital in Madison, Wis., and she knew it was time to go. "I left because of staffing. I left because of health reasons, because I had blood clots in both lungs last summer, and I'm concerned that I'm higher risk for COVID complications like blood clots or acute respiratory distress. I also left because I was, quite literally, heartsick at doing my job," she said. "I realized I was experiencing what healthcare people have come to call 'moral injury,' or a kind of PTSD, and that it was best for my health if I left." (Christ, 11/25)
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska Dentists Report An Increase In Teeth Grinding Since The Pandemic Began
Alaskans are stressed, and their dentists can tell.“There’s no question there has been increased incidence of people grinding their teeth,” said Dr. Dave Logan, executive director of the Alaska Dental Society. “I think that’s to be expected with the stress of the pandemic," he said. “Certainly I have seen more (incidence of grinding) than usual," said Dr. Guy Burk, a dentist at Midtown Dental in Anchorage. (Burman, 11/29)
