Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Increasing Work Visas Would Boost Nursing Industry; Impacts Of Abortion Laws Are Devastating
Bloomberg: Immigration Can Help Solve The Nursing Shortage
The US nursing workforce is shedding workers. About 100,000 nurses quit or retired during the pandemic, while another 800,000 have signaled an “intent to leave” by 2027. And yet, the country is failing to tap an available group of qualified health-care workers: immigrants. (5/19)
The Washington Post: Florida Abortion Law Consequences Shown In Baby Milo's Tragic Story
Baby Milo’s grandfather thought he might have hiccups. Instead, the newborn was gasping for air. Born without kidneys and his lungs underdeveloped, Milo Evan Dorbert lived for all of 99 minutes. The cause of death was Potter syndrome, discovered at 23 weeks of pregnancy. The cause of unnecessary suffering, for Milo and his family, was a Florida law that doctors said prevented them from terminating the pregnancy, even though it was clear the condition would be fatal. (Ruth Marcus, 5/19)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Long Waits For Psychiatric Help Put Teens At Risk
Adolescent depression and suicidality have quickly become the “bread and butter” of pediatrics. Teens without signs of depression or suicidal thoughts or attempts are so rare in our well-visit clinic that they are memorable. I can’t recall a single shift in our emergency room without multiple listings of “intentional overdose” or “behavioral/mental health problem” on the patient tracking board. (Rose Bayer, 5/19)
Scientific American: Having Their Fallopian Tubes Removed Will Spare A Large Number Of Women From Ovarian Cancer
By the time someone has symptoms of ovarian cancer, it is usually in an advanced state. Treatment is extraordinarily difficult, and, sadly, most people will die. One in 78 women will develop ovarian cancer, and more than 230,000 women in the U.S. are currently affected. (Joseph V. Sakran, Kara Long Roche and Rebecca Stone, 5/21)
The New York Times: Not Every Pandemic Needs Someone To Blame
Three years ago, as I stood at the bedside of my first patient with the coronavirus, I struggled to understand why someone relatively young and healthy had become so sick. The unknown of the virus was frightening enough — to think that severe illness could strike at random was untenable. Even in my personal protective equipment, I held my breath, suddenly aware of my own vulnerability. The air itself felt dangerous. (Daniela J. Lamas, 5/21)
Scientific American: It's OK Not To Breastfeed
To reinforce that “breast is best” for babies and that formula feeding is inferior, in 2022, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) affirmed its decades-long stance in favor of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), meaning nothing but breastmilk, arguing for this in the first six months and calling breastfeeding and human milk “normative” and “a public health imperative.” (Kavin Senapathy, 5/21)
Stat: 'Screen And Refer' Systems Are Hurting Patients
I once saw a patient who came to the emergency room with injuries that were clearly related to domestic violence. Instead of offering a compassionate ear and a blanket to cover her exposed body after an assault, her intake nurse rushed through a checklist intended to screen her for social needs. While facing the computer screen, the nurse asked the patient a series of sensitive questions, including one about whether she had experienced domestic violence. The patient, feeling put off by the nurse’s impersonal manner, denied having ever experienced any abuse. (Sanjay Basu, 5/22)
