Texas is home to 156 rural hospitals, but more than two-thirds are in jeopardy, according to a June report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Recent data indicates that 108 of those hospitals have reduced or lost critical services. Eighty-seven are at risk of closure, and 22 face the threat of shutting down immediately.
The emergence of AI marks a point of inflection in the evolution of the top tech exec position, with greater strategic responsibilities and career growth on the horizon for those who embrace the challenge that change brings.
When two nurses at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital posted on social media recently that they’re being run ragged and patient care is being strained by the Pittsburgh health system giant’s staffing practices, it highlighted a long-running national debate over the right patient-to-nurse ratios. UPMC officials dispute allegations that their policies are a problem. 'Scheduling the right number of nurses to staff our units is a top priority for UPMC Magee and we continue to invest in building the pipeline for new nurses as well as focused recruitment and retention efforts,' spokesman Paul Wood said in a statement Monday. 'Our approach to staffing is flexible and evidence-based in evaluating shift to shift circumstances.' Appropriate staffing has emerged as a wedge in SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania's longstanding efforts to organize Magee-Womens' nurses after the union's failure in 2023 to have hospital staffing minimums baked into state legislation, which Gov. Josh Shapiro supported. Only California and Oregon have such mandates.
The biggest buzz around GLP-1 drugs these days has nothing to do with weight loss. And that might lead to some problems for patients and insurers. Blockbuster treatments like Ozempic have been found to lower the risk of everything from Alzheimer's and addiction, to sleep apnea, seizures and bacterial infections. More potential uses keep surfacing.
Hospital to Housing is an innovative program launched in May 2019 that aims to improve medical outcomes and reduce costs by providing housing support to stabilize the lives of some frequent users of the emergency room.
Chicago's Weiss Memorial Hospital will soon lose it's Medicare funding, which could lead to the hospital closing. The North Side hospital has been under investigation by the Illinois Department of Public Health. An IDPH spokesperson said as a result of the investigation, federal authorities have made the decision to end Weiss' involvement with the Medicare program on August 9. They did not say why the move is being made, but said Weiss Hospital can appeal. ABC7 tried to reach out to hospital officials, but their voicemails say they are no longer accepting messages.