Almost no one has had access to meaningful information about the quality of Las Vegas-area hospitals. Until now. The Las Vegas Sun this week launched an ongoing report about hospital care in Las Vegas. As part of a two-year investigation, Sun reporters have obtained a record of every Nevada hospital inpatient visit going back a decade — 2.9 million in all. The information, coupled with interviews with more than 150 patients and healthcare insiders, has yielded a sweeping and detailed portrait of hospital care in Las Vegas.
Nurses have turned out by the thousands in Minneapolis for picketing, picnics and other shows of solidarity. But as they draw within days of what could be a historic walkout, some dissenters are saying it's time to speak out, voicing concerns about their union's aggressive tactics, what they consider reckless accusations of unsafe staffing, and the risks of walking away from good jobs in a bad economy. Even if their numbers are small, they could prove pivotal if they refuse to support a strike called for July 6.
It's supposed to be this simple: A teenager goes in for an annual physical, and at some point the doctor says: " HIV testing is a routine part of the exam. Would you rather not be tested?" But almost four years after federal officials urged that routine HIV testing begin at age 13, unless the patient declines, experts say many healthcare providers who treat teenagers have not adopted the recommendations.
Eighteen months ago, the new buyers of Forest Park Hospital vowed to revive the beleaguered institution. They voiced optimism that the once-thriving, 450-bed medical center could be saved by fresh capital and determined leadership. They seemed equally enthusiastic about their other acquisition — St. Alexius Hospital in south St. Louis. Even the name of their company — Success Healthcare LLC — evoked the sense that better days were ahead. But the three partners from South Florida were ill-prepared to make good on their words. In reality, they were already deep in a financial scandal that involved the potential loss of more than $500 million in investor funds, the suicide of an investment manager in Bermuda, and allegations of fraud and self-dealing.
Carolinas HealthCare System co-owns the company it uses to administer health benefits to its roughly 30,000 employees. The Charlotte-based hospital group denies that poses a conflict of interest. But in a similar arrangement 80 miles to the northeast, some employees at N.C. Baptist Hospital took a different view. They filed a lawsuit against the Winston-Salem hospital, arguing that Baptist didn't look out for the best interests of employees when it chose a subsidiary named MedCost to administer their medical benefits.
Tantalizing evidence that America's epidemic of childhood obesity might be starting to subside was presented Sunday by researchers who also found that the trend could be speeded up through school programs. Several recent studies reported that rates of overweight and obese children plateaued after rising rapidly since 1980. But this is the first major study to detect a decline - of 4% - and it was in a national sample dominated by low-income blacks and Hispanics, the groups at highest risk.