University of Connecticut officials say its 224-bed John Dempsey Hospital is too small and outdated to function on its own, doomed to run a deficit, and too antiquated to meet medical standards. Without intervention, UConn President Michael Hogan says, the Farmington, CT, facility will be forced to close. UConn wants to build a new $475 million hospital under a partnership with Hartford Hospital. But some state lawmakers wonder if it would be simpler to just close John Dempsey instead.
Some say the recent expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program in Texas means working-class families in Dallas-Fort Worth and the state can breathe easier now. But critics say the current system makes it anything but easy to enroll. Julia Easley, director of advocacy for Children's Medical Center Dallas, says the current eligibility system has a six-month renewal cycle that not only overburdens the state offices that process the applications, but also frustrates parents who qualify.
The nursing shortage across the nation is deepening, and now experts say the recession is undercutting the power of institutions to attack it. The economic downturn is drying up money that hospitals and nursing schools were spending to recruit and attract people to the profession. That means health institutions may remain understaffed longer than expected, health officials said.
President Barack Obama will use the budget proposal he submits to Congress to outline how to pay for expanding medical coverage to all Americans, said an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Obama, on Feb. 24, will speak to a joint gathering of the House and Senate. Two days later, he will submit his budget plan to lawmakers. The push from Obama will help Congress get to work on the overhaul, said Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat.
About 35 mannequins were strapped into car seats or gurneys, then ferried across the city last week as Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh simulated its coming move to its new campus. More than 200 people are expected to take part in the real move May 2, when 150 to 200 patients are transported about 3 miles to the $625 million campus.
Proposals to step up state inspection of outpatient surgical centers and some doctors' offices in Nevada has drawn concerns from the doctors' lobby, which said the regulations went too far and could force some physicians to stop offering pain medication. Larry Matheis, executive director of the Nevada State Medical Association, told a joint meeting of the Assembly and Senate health committees that the increased regulation as written might not be practical and urged a slower approach. The proposals are a response to a hepatitis C outbreak in Las Vegas that led to the largest patient notification in U.S. history.