University of Connecticut officials say its 224-bed John Dempsey Hospital is too small and outdated to function on its own, doomed to run a deficit, and too antiquated to meet medical standards.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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
As the unemployment rate climbs in Hernando County, FL so has the number of county residents without medical coverage. However, toward the end of 2008, all three hospitals in Hernando County found themselves with fewer patients, and ultimately laying off staff.
President Barack Obama has named a University of North Dakota rural healthcare expert to head the federal agency in charge of improving access to care in the United States. Mary Wakefield, a nurse who heads that university's Center for Rural Health, was chosen to head the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius once called on lawmakers to bring health coverage to all state residents, and legislators largely ignored her. The Democrat has supported proposals to increase tobacco taxes to pay for healthcare initiatives, and lawmakers never seriously considered them. Her record on healthcare is getting renewed attention because she's viewed in Washington as a leading candidate for health and human services secretary.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, mentioned as a top candidate for health secretary, said she has not talked with President Barack Obama about joining his Cabinet. "There really isn't anything to tell. I haven't had any meetings about the position," Sebelius said in an interview with The Associated Press. Pressed on whether she had spoken to Obama about heading the Health and Human Services Department, Sebelius said, "I have not."
