The City of Minneapolis’ first-ever Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) aims to bridge health care access gaps and reduce barriers in underserved communities. More than $1 million from opioid settlement funds covers the cost of the new MMU, equips the vehicle with medical supplies, and helps hire staff to address diverse needs across the city.
Emergency response systems in the Pacific Northwest are facing a great deal of strain due to inadequate staffing levels and rising 911 call volumes.
In response, some cities are turning to nurse navigation programs to address that burden.
Under the program, dispatchers can direct low-level 911 calls to a team of nurses instead of sending an ambulance. Those nurses can give callers medical advice or help them set up an urgent care or telehealth appointment.
As the founder of an edtech company, I've noticed an increasing number of students deciding to pursue MD/MBA programs because they recognize that business acumen is often lacking in healthcare and that addressing this gap can lead to significant improvements. While I'm not saying all aspiring doctors need to take this route, it's clear that today's physicians need to do more than just practice medicine—they are also expected to manage, lead and innovate to provide comprehensive care.
A $120 million deal to sell three Northeast Pennsylvania hospitals to a nonprofit group has fallen through after the proposed buyer could not secure financing. Community Health Systems Inc. announced Tuesday that WoodBridge Healthcare Inc. will not purchase Moses Taylor Hospital, Regional Hospital of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, which operate under CHS' for-profit Commonwealth Health System. WoodBridge officials said Tuesday that they retained investment banking firm Zeigler to secure deal funding for the acquisition by issuing tax-exempt bonds. "The entire WoodBridge team is extremely disappointed in this outcome," said Joshua Nemzoff, board chair of WoodBridge Healthcare Inc. "We very much looked forward to being part of the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre communities and partnering with the Commonwealth Health staff and physicians on providing the best healthcare in the region. CHS has gone out of its way to help get this deal done including significant concessions on their part. We appreciate all their efforts to do so."
With the GOP in control of Congress and the White House, hospitals could face budget cuts and tighter oversight, after a period of benefiting from generous federal spending under President Biden. Much of it comes down to hospitals' reliance on government insurance programs like ACA exchanges and Medicaid that could be cut down to size by Republicans looking for ways to trim government spending and pay for tax cuts. Medicaid expansions, boosted subsidies for ACA plans and programs like state directed payments—which funnel Medicaid dollars to hospitals—poured billions into the system, benefiting insurers and providers serving these programs. States and the federal government typically pay insurers, who then pay providers like hospitals. In recent years, due to changes in regulations, states have been able to tap additional federal dollars to steer more payments directly to providers. Just in October, analysts at TD Cowen upgraded hospital stocks, citing an expansion of state directed payments in several states.
United Hospital District apparently hasn't gotten the memo — its small hospital in Blue Earth, Minn., is growing and delivering more babies, even as other rural Minnesota hospitals shrink and shut down delivery units. The independent provider even muscled in on Mayo Clinic's territory in south-central Minnesota and took some of its patients after the world-renowned medical system announced it would close its birthing unit in nearby Fairmont next year. Whether United Hospital District is a blueprint for the rest of the state is unclear, but it is at least a source of hope for Minnesota's struggling rural hospitals. Statewide, 28 hospitals lost money on institutional operations in 2022, and nine announced they would close childbirth wards or other units this year in response to declining demand or staffing shortages.