Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Upset With Staffing Levels, 800 Nurses In Massachusetts Vote To Go On Strike
Modern Healthcare: 800 Nurses At Tenet Hospital Vote To Authorize Strike
Citing hundreds of official reports of incidents that affect patient safety, 800 nurses at a Tenet Healthcare hospital in Worcester, Mass. have voted to authorize a strike. The nurses, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association say they are fed up with poor staffing levels during and prior to the COVID-19 crisis. (2/11)
Modern Healthcare: 5 Ways Hospital Execs See To Improve COVID-19 Vaccination Process
Health systems, pharmacies and health departments across the country are scrambling to vaccinate enough people to slow the spread of COVID-19 and hopefully reach herd immunity. But that progress is being hindered by vaccine supply unpredictability and a lack of a cohesive national plan to distribute the vaccine, hospital executives say. Mike Slubowski, president and CEO of Trinity Health, a faith-based health system based in Michigan, called the COVID-19 vaccination initiative the "greatest public health feat of our lifetime," during a webinar Tuesday hosted by the American Hospital Association. During the webinar, Slubowski and other hospital executives shared tips on how to improve the vaccination process. (Christ, 2/11)
Bloomberg: Amazon Hires Founders Of Covid-19 Testing Startup To Curb Spread
Amazon.com Inc. has hired several employees of a Covid-19 testing startup as part of efforts to curb outbreaks among its workers. Caspr Biotech’s cofounders, Chief Executive Officer Franco Goytia and Chief Strategy Officer Carla Gimenez, joined Amazon in December, according to a person familiar with the situation. The pair, along with several other startup employees, are working on a project codenamed Artemis. It’s unclear whether Amazon acquired Caspr Biotech. In a shareholder letter in April, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos said the company had begun building a lab to test employees for Covid-19. (Anand, 2/11)
AP: Hard-Hit Restaurants Feed COVID Doctors, Nurses To Survive
It was the week after Christmas and coronavirus case numbers and hospitalizations were soaring in Portland, Oregon. At Oregon Health & Science University, the state’s largest hospital, morale was low. Doctors and nurses caring for the most critically ill were burning out just when they were needed the most. Then, the food started coming: hot and delicious individually wrapped meals from some of the city’s trendiest restaurants, a buffet of cuisines from Chinese to Italian to Lebanese to Southern comfort food. For staffers who only took off their N95 masks once to eat during a 12-hour shift, the meals were more than just food — they were emotional sustenance. (Flaccus, 2/11)
KHN: Health Policy Valentines To Warm The Heart
Nothing warms our hearts like a few good Health Policy Valentines ― especially those that are sweet on KHN. Tweeters lit up our timeline in recent days with valentine messages about topics ranging from covid-19 vaccines and mask-wearing to the price of health care. Here are some of our favorites. (2/12)
