Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Launches $19M Grants To Boost Residencies
Modern Healthcare: Biden Administration Announces $19 Million For New Residency Positions
The Biden administration on Thursday made $19 million in grants available to train primary care residents in rural and under-served communities, part of an effort to address physician shortages. The funding will support an additional 120 residency slots at community-based ambulatory patient care centers. "This funding provides our primary care workforce with opportunities to train in areas where they can make a profound impact, and is one of the many steps we're taking to address long-standing health disparities," Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said. (Hellmann, 2/3)
In related news about health care workers —
AP: Strained US Hospitals Seek Foreign Nurses Amid Visa Windfall
With American hospitals facing a dire shortage of nurses amid a slogging pandemic, many are looking abroad for health care workers. And it could be just in time. There’s an unusually high number of green cards available this year for foreign professionals, including nurses, who want to move to the United States — twice as many as just a few years ago. That’s because U.S. consulates shut down during the coronavirus pandemic weren’t issuing visas to relatives of American citizens, and, by law, these unused slots now get transferred to eligible workers. (Taxin, 2/3)
The CT Mirror: Exhausted Health Care Workers Seek Long-Awaited Legislative Relief
Calls to shore up Connecticut’s health care workforce are getting louder, after the latest COVID variant placed heightened stress on the state’s nurses, physicians, behavioral specialists and other medical staff. Advocates and lawmakers say programs they’ve long pushed for — workforce training, medical school loan forgiveness, higher nurse-to-patient ratios, simpler license transfers from other states and medical liability insurance reform, to name a few — are all on the table heading into the Connecticut General Assembly’s regular session, which begins Feb. 9. (Phillips, 2/3)
In other news on the pandemic labor shortage —
Axios: Long COVID Is Contributing To America's Labor Shortage
Long COVID is likely keeping a lot of Americans out of the workforce, experts say, — and that could continue for years as people struggle with persistent health problems. Long COVID isn't confined to older patients, and its symptoms can vary. The U.S. also doesn't have particularly strong support systems for people who need long-term COVID treatment. (Reed and Peck, 2/3)
USA Today: Wisconsin Long COVID Patients Lose Jobs, Normalcy; Doctors Seek Answers
Two days into her COVID-19 diagnosis, Kelly Luberda realized while washing her hands that the soap had no smell.Frantic, she raced through her house sniffing coffee, candles — anything with a strong odor. Nothing. Over 15 months later, Luberda, a 54-year-old resident of De Pere, says her sense of smell still isn't right. She can smell peanut butter, gasoline, beef, garlic, a wood-burning fire and barbecue, but they all have the same repulsive smell, one she compares to vomit. (Eilbert and Heim, 2/3)
NPR: New Mexico Asks National Guard Soldiers To Work As Substitute Teachers
In a sunny classroom in Pojoaque Valley Middle School, northern New Mexico, a class of lively teenagers is doing a group reading exercise. Specialist Austin Alt paces around, peering over their shoulders. It's his second day as a substitute teacher, and his arrival came as a surprise. "I went to one of my classes, and I saw him there. I was kind of shocked at first," says Joshua Villalobos, 14. As of this week, 78 members of the New Mexico National Guard have begun work as substitute teachers. They are responding to a call from Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who also asked state employees to volunteer in an effort to keep schools open during an acute shortage of teachers exacerbated by the omicron wave of COVID-19. (Fordham, 2/2)
San Francisco Chronicle: Expanded COVID Sick Leave In California Could Take Effect Next Week
Many California workers are one step closer to regaining access to expanded COVID-19 supplementary sick pay after a bill published Wednesday outlined who would be eligible and the limits on how much businesses would have to pay. The further details come after Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders announced a deal last week to revive the emergency sick pay for people affected by the virus and their families. Labor groups have been pressuring the administration and the Legislature to revive the expanded sick leave after it lapsed at the end of September when a federal tax credit for businesses to fund the leave expired. (DiFeliciantonio, 2/3)
