Latest News On Nurses

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Covid Worsened Shortages of Doctors and Nurses. Five Years On, Rural Hospitals Still Struggle.

KFF Health News Original

The U.S. faces a crucial shortage of medical providers, especially in rural areas. The problem has been building for a while, experts say, but the pandemic accelerated it by pushing many doctors over the edge into early retirement or other fields.

UCSF Favors Pricey Doctoral Program for Nurse-Midwives Amid Maternal Care Crisis

KFF Health News Original

UC-San Francisco is pausing its long-running master’s program in nurse-midwifery and plans to shift to a lengthier, costlier doctoral program. Midwives criticized the move and questioned the university’s motivations at a time of serious shortages of maternal care workers.

Like Doctors, More Nurse Practitioners Are Heading Into Specialty Care

KFF Health News Original

If your doctor can’t see you now, maybe the nurse practitioner can. Nurse practitioners have long been a reliable backstop for the primary-care-physician shortfall, which is estimated at nearly 21,000 doctors this year and projected to get worse. But easy access to NPs could be tested in coming years. Even though nearly 90 percent of […]

Health Worker for a Nonprofit? The New Ban on Noncompete Contracts May Not Help You

KFF Health News Original

Provider groups are disappointed that the Federal Trade Commission’s new rule may not protect those who work for nonprofit hospitals and health care facilities, which employ the largest number of medical professionals.

The Lure of Specialty Medicine Pulls Nurse Practitioners From Primary Care

KFF Health News Original

Nurse practitioners have been viewed as a key to addressing the shortage of primary care physicians. But data suggests that, just like doctors, they are increasingly drawn to better-paying specialties.

Forget Ringing the Button for the Nurse. Patients Now Stay Connected by Wearing One.

KFF Health News Original

Dozens of hospitals have deployed a device that uses artificial intelligence to monitor patients remotely. One hospital says it reduces nurses’ workloads — but some nurses fear the technology could replace them.

He Thinks His Wife Died in an Understaffed Hospital. Now He’s Trying to Change the Industry.

KFF Health News Original

Nurses are telling lawmakers that there are not enough of them working in hospitals and that it risks patients’ lives. California and Oregon legally limit the number of patients under a nurse’s care. Other states trying to do the same were blocked by the hospital industry. Now patients’ relatives are joining the fight.

Rapid Rise in Syphilis Hits Native Americans Hardest

KFF Health News Original

With U.S. syphilis rates climbing to the worst level in seven decades, public health experts and the federal Indian Health Service are scrambling to detect and treat the disease in Native American communities, where babies are infected at a higher rate than in any other demographic.

Rift Over When to Use N95s Puts Health Workers at Risk Again

KFF Health News Original

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering fuzzy guidelines on infection control in hospitals, critics say, leaving employers free to cut corners on N95 masks and other protective measures.

Medical Debt and Nurse Shortages Haunt Winning Halloween Haikus

KFF Health News Original

Entries for our fifth annual Halloween haiku contest left us terrified. Based on a review by our panel of judges, here’s the winner and runners-up — plus the original artwork they inspired.

A Third of Schools Don’t Have a Nurse. Here’s Why That’s a Problem.

KFF Health News Original

School nurses treat children daily for a wide range of illnesses and injuries, and sometimes serve as a young patient’s only health provider. They also function as a point person for critical public health interventions. Yet many states don’t require them, and school districts struggle to hire them.

Biden Administration Proposes New Standards to Boost Nursing Home Staffing

KFF Health News Original

The proposal would require major hiring at the most sparsely staffed homes. But the proposal is already badly received by the nursing home industry, which claims it can’t boost wages enough to attract workers.

Temp Nurses Cost Hospitals Big During Pandemic. Lawmakers Are Now Mulling Limits.

KFF Health News Original

Missouri is considering making it a felony to jack up temporary health care staffing prices during a statewide or national emergency. It’s one of at least 14 states looking to reel in travel nurse costs, after many hospitals struggled to pay for needed staffers earlier in the covid pandemic.

Senators Say Health Worker Shortages Ripe for Bipartisan Compromise

KFF Health News Original

The Senate’s top health committee focused on the worsening health care workforce shortage during its first hearing Thursday, with Sen. Bernie Sanders, its new chair, boldly promising bipartisan solutions.

Special Delivery: Heart-Heavy Health Policy Valentines

KFF Health News Original

KHN shares the cream of the crop of creative valentines about health policy submitted by readers and tweeters. Our favorite is anointed with an original illustration and bragging rights as “the one.”