Wisconsin hospitals made $4 billion last year, 84% more than the previous year, as federal COVID-19 relief funds flowed, the stock market boosted investments and patients returned for care delayed early in the pandemic, according to a new report.
According to a Mercer study from 2021, the state had the lowest ranked workforce shortage nationwide. But since last year, efforts have been made to attract more aides, including several pay wage increases. Ruthann Barnes has been a nurse's aide for over 20 years, and says it's part of her DNA. “It's a natural mommy-care giving thing you know. I love this job," she adds. She's currently working as an aide for Morrie Wheeler, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease a year and a half ago. Wheeler’s granddaughter Elisabeth Dubois and family say finding an aide has been a challenge.
A shortage of nursing home staff is easing in some states. But in other states like Kansas, it's still critical. The state's aging population could continue to propel the industry into crisis. An alarming shortage of caregivers at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities is finally beginning to ease in some parts of the country. But in other regions, it's still critical. For example, in Kansas, over half of the state's nursing homes are experiencing a worker shortage, more than twice the national average. Rose Conlon of member station KMUW and the Kansas News Service reports.
Researchers from the School of Nursing have found that relatives of nursing homes patients during the COVID-19 crisis endured life-changing and fundamental family challenges because of restrictions enforced during the pandemic. The research team, led by principal investigator Yu-Ping Chang, professor and senior associate dean in the School of Nursing, grouped its research and subsequent conclusions into four themes:
Monona-based WPS Health Insurance is ending its Medicare Part D drug coverage next year, requiring about 11,000 enrollees in Wisconsin to find other plans. WPS is dropping the prescription drug plan, which it has offered since the government added drug coverage as a Medicare option in 2006, so it can concentrate on its Medicare Supplement Insurance plans, spokesperson DeAnne Boegli said.
A prescription middleman on Friday confirmed that it has promised to pay Ohio $15 million to settle fraud claims against it. When the state announced the deal two days earlier, the company denied it had been finalized.
