Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Though Shortage Of Nurses Continues, Some Flock Back To Hospitals
NPR: Crisis In Nursing: Nurses Say Staffing Shortage Is Worse Than Five Years Ago
Close to a third of nurses nationwide say they are likely to leave the profession for another career due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new survey from AMN Healthcare shows. This level is up at least seven points since 2021. And the survey found that the ongoing shortage of nurses is likely to continue for years to come. (Diaz, 5/2)
The Wall Street Journal: Nurses Flock Back To Hospitals After Leaving In The Pandemic
Many nurses who left hospital staff jobs during the pandemic out of exhaustion or for lucrative temporary jobs are coming back. Their return in recent months, spurred by falling pay from the temp agencies and new hospital perks, is helping ease shortages that have crowded emergency rooms and forced hospitals to turn away patient referrals. (Evans, 5/1)
On home health care —
The CT Mirror: After 50 Years, West Hartford Nursing Home Closes – With A Warning
For the last six years, Jeannette Crowe has called the Hughes Health and Rehabilitation Center home. The 84-year-old with multiple sclerosis expected to die at the five-star facility, surrounded by the staff that has become like family. But all that changed last month, when Sam Flaxman — the grandson of the man who bought the West Hartford building in 1961 and turned it into a 170-bed long-term care home — walked into a meeting with the 81 residents still living at Hughes to make a stunning announcement: The nursing home was closing. (Altimari and Carlesso, 4/30)
KFF Health News: Community Paramedics Don’t Wait For An Emergency To Visit Rural Patients At Home
Sandra Lane said she has been to the emergency room about eight times this year. The 62-year-old has had multiple falls, struggled with balance and tremors, and experienced severe swelling in her legs. A paramedic recently arrived at her doorstep again, but this time it wasn’t for an emergency. Jason Frye was there for a home visit as part of a new community paramedicine program. (Zionts, 5/2)
In other health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare: Virtual Reality Reimbursement May Be Coming From CMS
Reimbursement from payers will increase usage of virtual reality headsets in healthcare but experts say the process will take time. Healthcare organizations are increasingly turning to virtual reality technology to complement care. Virtual reality companies in this area have three options as the market becomes more defined: They can appeal to providers on the clinical impact and cost savings of their solutions, market products directly to consumers or seek regulatory and payer approvals. Getting regulatory approval will be a time-consuming process, experts say. (Turner, 5/1)
The Baltimore Sun: New Pediatric Guidelines Aim To Treat Obesity Without Stigma. Critics Say They’ll Make Bias Worse
From the time Alexandra Slick was little, she knew that when she went to the doctor’s office, at least one person was probably going to tell her that she needed to lose weight. She remembers sitting in an examination room as a middle schooler, watching her mother cry as a nurse practitioner asked her if she wanted her daughter to die. At that point, while Slick’s weight was considered obese by the body mass index, she already had been dieting for about four years and practiced karate every week. (Lora and Roberts, 5/1)
Stat: How Spanish-Speaking Latinas Face Discrimination During Labor
The research question that pursued Jessica Valdez, an OB-GYN resident physician at the University of California, San Francisco, stemmed from her mother’s womb: How important is it to a birthing woman’s experience to be seen by health care providers who share her primary language? (Castillo, 5/2)
KFF Health News: The Nation’s Health Secretary Has This Doctor On Call
Carolina Reyes, a Harvard-trained physician who specializes in high-risk pregnancies, got into medicine to help women obtain health care, especially underserved or marginalized people who face systemic racism. She’s seen progress, albeit slow, over three decades, yet the number of maternal deaths each year continues to rise. Luckily, she’s got the ear of President Joe Biden’s health secretary. (Young, 5/2)
