Bay Mills Community College will now be offering courses in licensed practical nursing to address local medical professional shortages.
On June 5, the college received approval from the Michigan Board of Nursing to launch the Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) certificate program. LPN certificates were offered at the college years ago but the program was removed in 1999.
The certificate will qualify people to work as a nurse with a foundation of the standards of the practice. It will also include teachings tied to traditional Native American practices to promote a better understanding of unique cultural, racial and social differences among patients in the area.
While a range of clinicians can conduct forensic exams, specialized nurses called sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE) receive rigorous training to provide trauma-informed care throughout the evidence collection and examination process.
SANEs also connect survivors with resources and advocates. SANEs and the advocates they connect survivors with are vital for trauma-informed patient care and for bringing perpetrators of sexual assault to justice. But there is a critical shortage of SANEs across the Gulf South. According to the International Association of Forensic Nurses, a trade group that certifies SANEs, Alabama has 44 certified SANEs for the entire state. Louisiana has 42. Mississippi only has 6 — for a population of almost three million.
Where and how sexual assault patients access this resource varies greatly across the region. Although Louisiana state law requires patients have access to forensic exams in every parish, in practice not every hospital is set up to provide them.
The Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner this week announced that three health insurers have been directed to pay fines and have taken corrective actions for violating Rhode Island laws that required the waiver of cost-sharing for COVID-19-related services during the recent public health emergency.
A Penn Township woman is facing charges after police and hospital staff allege that she caused a fire inside UPMC Hanover in April, according to court documents. Michele Warren, 56, of Penn Township, was charged with a felony count of risking a catastrophe, along with misdemeanor charges of recklessly endangering another person and reckless or negligent damage of property, according to charges filed by Hanover police this week.
Children's Hospital Los Angeles is closing its Center for Transyouth Health and Development and Gender-Affirming Care surgical program, according to an email obtained by Eyewitness News Thursday. Hospital executives cited challenges due to the 'shifting policy landscape,' executive orders from President Donald Trump, the state's budget crisis and threats to cut funding.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill says CVS went too far by using private customer data for lobbying. In response, Murrill says her office has issued a cease-and-desist letter and opened an investigation into whether CVS violated the state's Unfair Trade Practices Act.