Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Thousands Of Kaiser Permanente Health Workers Walk Off Jobs
Los Angeles Times: Thousands Of Kaiser Permanente Healthcare Workers Go On Strike
The Kaiser strike is set to last five days. It involves nurses, pharmacists, anesthetists, midwives, physician assistants, rehab therapists and others. The first day of the strike — which is planned to continue until 7 a.m. Sunday — coincided with the onset of a potent storm that swept across Los Angeles early Tuesday. Surgical nurse Tonja Sweeney marched with hundreds of others from a nearby park to Kaiser South Bay Medical Center through a downpour early that morning. The crowd of drenched healthcare workers carried signs, and their blue ponchos whipped in the wind. Sweeney, 54, who has worked at Kaiser Permanente for 20 years, had been on the picket line for hours. “I’m super soaking wet, but it’s OK. We’re advocating for the right things,” Sweeney said. (Hussain, 10/14)
San Francisco Chronicle: Stanford Children’s Hospital To Lay Off Dozens, Restructure
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford is reducing its workforce and reorganizing operations as it faces what executives describe as “ongoing economic uncertainty in 2025. ”In a state filing and accompanying statement, the Palo Alto hospital said the operational restructuring includes workflow improvements, departmental reorganizations and the standardization of full- and part-time positions. (Vaziri, 10/14)
Modern Healthcare: CRNA Pay Cuts Could Worsen Shortage, Lead To Hospital Reductions
Health systems are grappling with a shortage of anesthetists and reimbursement cuts, a combination of factors that could limit patient’s access to care and provider’s expansion plans. They hope to stave off service reductions by training more CRNAs and simplifying clinician operations, but those strategies may not overcome mounting financial pressures, hospital executives and staffing experts said. Rural areas could be particularly hard hit. (Kacik, 10/14)
Modern Healthcare: Teladoc Aims To Cut Violence Against Clinicians With New Platform
Teladoc is rolling out an artificial intelligence-based platform that focuses on preventing violence against doctors and nurses, the company said Tuesday. The company will make the AI-enabled safety platform available early next year to hospital and health system customers that use its telehealth TV Pro Cart, a connected device that allows hospitals to provide in-hospital virtual care programs. (10/14)
Wyoming News Now: Nursing Students Gain Experience At Laramie County Detention Center
The Laramie County Sheriff's Department has partnered with the University of Wyoming and Laramie County Community College to give nursing students hands on experience with patients at the Laramie County Detention Center. (Laracuente, 10/14)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
Zach Dyer reads the week’s news: Some cosmetic surgeons who have been sued multiple times for injuring patients have been able to get jobs with other clinics, and millions of people could dodge new Medicaid work rules where unemployment rates are high. (10/14)
