In an attempt to address a national shortage of healthcare workers, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that the federal government will spend $250 million in programs to increase the number of doctors, nurses, and other care providers. The money is the first allotment from the Prevention and Public Health Fund, created by the new healthcare law. It includes $168 million to train 500 new primary-care physicians over the next five years, $30 million to encourage 600 nursing students to attend school full-time and complete their education, and $32 million to create 600 new physician assistants.
Emergency rooms in downtown Manhattan have become more crowded since St. Vincent's Hospital closed in April, but ambulances are getting patients into the remaining ERs faster than they did when the hospital was open. The four downtown ERs left to pick up the slack—Bellevue Hospital Center, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York Downtown Hospital and New York University Langone Medical Center—have seen spikes in visits in May between 11% and 29% over 2008. ERs were unusually crowded in May 2009 because of the swine-flu scare, but visits rose slightly this May at all but Downtown's emergency room, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The new president-elect of the American Medical Association promises to lead the nation's largest doctor group in a more proactive and confrontational relationship with members of Congress. "The AMA is going to be more insistent and a little edgier with its relationships with Congress and the administration in demanding some of the things we doctors need," Peter Carmel, MD, said in an interview with Tribune Newspapers. His comments came after winning an election this week to become the group's president-elect, following weeks of growing outrage among physicians over the 21% cut in Medicare payments that they soon will begin seeing.
Christus Santa Rosa Health System has opened an inpatient Acute Care for the Elderly Unit at Christus Santa Rosa Hospital-City Centre in San Antonio. The health system opened the unit in partnership with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The unit, also called the ACE unit, is a dedicated 10-bed unit at the hospital where elderly patients can receive specialized care. Christus invested in special floors, lighting, furniture, and a nursing staff specially trained to serve a geriatric patient population.
Bill Leonard has been named president of Carolinas Medical Center-University, replacing Spencer Lilly, who recently became president of Carolinas Medical Center-Mercy. Leonard, whose job change is effective in mid-July, has been serving as CEO of the Union Hospital District in Union, SC, since October 2006. In his new position, Leonard will oversee CMC-University, a 130-bed hospital.
The Cleveland Clinic will collaborate with nonprofit Highlands Hospital in Connellsville, PA, to provide services to children with autism. Graduate students from California University of Pennsylvania will participate in clinical experiences at the Autism Center, scheduled to open in 2010, according to a release from the university. The center wil offer developmental screening and a five-day-a-week, year-round program for autistic children.