Health Care Workers Demand Better Workplace Safety
In other health care news on National Nurses Day: the AMA reports that for the first time most physicians work outside of private practices; a former Ohio health director is honored for covid work; and a traveling doctor in a Winnebago makes the news.
Fierce Healthcare:
South California Healthcare Workers Plan Payment, Safety Protest During Tenet Healthcare Investor Meeting
Workers from three Tenet Healthcare-owned facilities in Southern California are planning a public demonstration to protest issues around low wages, understaffing and unsafe work conditions. The rally is set to be held outside of Fountain Valley Regional Hospital from 11:00 a.m. to noon on May 6 and is timed against the for-profit health system’s annual shareholders meeting. (Muoio, 5/5)
Modern Healthcare:
Healthcare Workers Say Workplace Safety Plans Needed
Healthcare workers are charged with protecting the health of the public but they increasingly need protection, too. Colleen McDonald, CEO of University of Minnesota's Community Healthcare Center, said that more protests and unrest will pose challenges to the safety of healthcare providers and care delivery. "The ongoing trauma is really high right now," said McDonald, who found herself boarding up the center's windows ahead of the verdict in Officer Derek Chauvin's trial being announced, a routine she started during the May 2020 protests of George Floyd's death at the hands of Chauvin. (Christ and Gellman, 5/5)
The Baltimore Sun:
National Nurses Day Holds Special Meaning For Harford Community College Nursing Student
As National Nurses Day is celebrated Thursday, Harford Community College student Shreeyam Mishra is in the midst of wrapping up a full semester of studies for a nursing career that she has wanted since she was young. “It is a cliché to say that I’ve always known what I want to do with my life, but in my case, it happens to be true,” Mishra said. “Coming from a business family, everyone expected me to follow the same path and thought I was crazy to opt for a nursing career.” (Wiseman, 5/6)
Modern Healthcare:
AMA: Most Physicians Now Work Outside Of Private Practice
For the first time, most physicians worked outside of physician-owned practices in 2020, as doctors continue to gravitate toward employment by hospitals and other organizations, according to a new American Medical Association survey. The trade group's latest Physician Practice Benchmark Survey found that 49.1% of patient care physicians worked in physician-owned practices in 2020, a drop of almost 5 percentage points from 2018, when that figure was 54%. It's 11 percentage points lower than 2012, when 60% of physicians worked in physician-owned practices. (Bannow, 5/5)
Also —
ABC News:
Traveling Doctor Uses Winnebago To Get To Hospitals In Need
When the pandemic hit, husband and wife Kenny Phillips and Dr. Sabrina Campbell took working from home on the road. As a traveling doctor, Campbell is used to being on the move. But with the coronavirus pandemic necessitating doctors like never before, the couple decided to jump in their Winnebago to travel to hospitals in need of front-line workers. (Yamada and Noll, 5/5)
ABC News:
Former Ohio Health Director Amy Acton To Be Honored For COVID-19 Leadership
Dr. Amy Acton, Ohio's former health director who was the target of threats, will be honored by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation for her service during the COVID-19 pandemic. Acton, who became a lauded national figure for her response to the pandemic but resigned in June following threats and challenges to her authority, is one of seven people who will receive the foundation's Profile in Courage Award, it announced Tuesday. (Deliso, 5/5)
