Under a new proposal, as many as 300,000 healthcare employees now represented by three separate local unions across California will be rolled into one enormous union. At the same time, the Service Employees International Union wrapped up hearings into allegations that leaders of one of those locals misused dues to create a secret war chest to fight the merger. Both sides say the outcome will affect patients because many concessions the unions fight for affect quality of care.
Hundreds of Loudoun County, VA, residents attended a public hearing on the issue of whether HCA Virginia should be allowed to build a 164-bed hospital in Broadlands. More than 100 residents spoke at the nearly five-hour session. Supporters emphasized the 600 jobs and $4 million in annual tax revenue that Broadlands Regional Medical Center is expected to bring and described the county's need for more hospital beds and the benefits of healthcare competition. But opponents said that the project should be rejected because it does not fit the county's health facilities plan.
Continuum Health Partners, the company that runs Brooklyn, NY-based Long Island College Hospital, says the hospital is in deep debt and facing bankruptcy, and has sought to close its maternity and pediatric units, among others. Part of Continuum's plan to shrink the hospital was rejected when the State Department of Health denied it permission to shut down the maternity and pediatric services, ruling that the other local hospitals cannot make up for the loss. The agency also approved a $3 million loan to the hospital, though Continuum said that money would last only until the end of the year.
Private health insurance plans have increased the cost and complexity of the program without any evidence of improving care, researchers say in studies. The studies, questioning the value of some private plans for Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers, were issued as President-elect Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats take aim at the plans and consider cutting the payments they receive. Enrollment in private Medicare plans has nearly doubled in five years, to 10.1 million.
Rural areas often struggle with healthcare access and use, but the California counties of Yuba and Sutter stand apart. Almost half of pregnant women in the counties don't see a doctor during their first trimester, the highest rate in the state. About one in 10 don't see a doctor until the third trimester, or even until their deliveries. There are several factors that may contributed to the trend: In addition to high rates of undocumented immigrants and high school dropouts who may not realize the importance of prenatal care, poverty and substance abuse are more prevalent than in most other California counties of a similar size.
During a time when many companies are downsizing and cutting costs, some hospitals in the Orlando, FL, area are hiring nurses by the dozens. The Villages Regional Hospital and Leesburg Regional, together called Central Florida Health Alliance, recently hired 64 nurses during a two-month span. Florida Hospital Waterman in Tavares has hired about 130 nurses since January. With stiff competition to attract qualified nurses, hospital recruiters say they have to be innovative and quick to act on the qualified candidates.