The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has created a "Travel Nurse Corps" to enable VA nurses to travel and work throughout the Department's medical system. The goal of the program is to offset the nationwide shortage of nurses and to improve the quality of care for veterans. Initially, the Travel Nurse Corps will place as many as 75 nurses at VA medical centers across the country.
The Thumb Rural Health Network is underway in Michigan, and has developed ties between Deckerville Community Hospital and McKenzie Memorial Hospital in Sandusky along with larger facilities, such as Mercy Hospital in Port Huron. Advocates say the alliance should strengthen the quality of healthcare and by sharing information, the rural hospitals can improve the treatment patients receive.
Statistics from the Michigan Health & Hospital Association show March was the top admissions month for all Michigan hospitals each year between 2003 and 2006. In 2006, March led all months in admissions with 118,454 at 146 Michigan hospitals. The next busiest month was May with 114,926 admissions.
Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, CT, has officially opened its new $31 million emergency department. The new ED has nearly twice the number of beds as before and three times the total space. There's also an array of new technology to streamline patient care, such as bedside registration systems, portable ultrasound equipment, laptops in every room for instant medical histories, and large, high-resolution screens to display digital X-rays. In addition, a new system allows doctors to type medicine and treatment orders directly into the computer.
The University of Connecticut Health Center needs a modern teaching hospital to replace the outdated John Dempsey Hospital on its Farmington campus if it is to survive, according to a report from the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. The Academy is recommending that Dempsey should be closed, and UConn should collaborate with one or more of the hospitals that now compete for patients to create a new medical complex on the health center grounds. The study was commissioned by the state legislature after UConn officials proposed building a new 352-bed, state-run hospital in Farmington to replace the John Dempsey.
Elmhurst (IL) Memorial Healthcare can proceed on a $450 million medical campus after the Elmhurst City Council agreed to turn over two unused streets to the hospital. Construction is scheduled to be completed by 2011 and when it opens, the new hospital will replace the current Elmhurst Memorial in the city.