Declining church memberships, an aging clergy, increasing healthccare costs and dwindling donations are creating conflicts for church leaders who are caught between caring for their ministers and managing budgets. At the same time, researchers have found that mainline Protestant ministers tend to be more overweight, stressed and depressed than the general population, creating increased health risks for the clergy.
The defining difference between Democratic presidential candidates Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama throughout the campaign has been their contrasting views whether the government should require all Americans to have health insurance. Clinton says yes, that such a requirement is essential for creating a system in which everyone has health coverage. Obama disagrees, arguing that the law should not force anyone to buy insurance they cannot afford.
Detroit-based Henry Ford Cottage Hospital has begun a $10-million program to add 20 private rooms and expand its services. The expansion includes rooms in a new medical and surgical unit with modern furniture and concierge-style guest services.
Thousands of doctors have gone on strike at public hospitals across the Dominican Republic to demand higher salaries and better working conditions. More than 10,000 doctors were participating in the strike, and organizers have warned of a possible weeklong stoppage if the government does not meet their demands.
The Hall Family Foundation has donated $43 million to a massive expansion project by Kansas City, MO-based Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics. The $800 million expansion at Children's Mercy will more than double the size of its complex and increase its presence in the Kansas City-area suburbs. The Hall Foundation gift is the largest in the hospital's 110-year history, officials said.
Oregon-based malpractice insurer Northwest Physicians Insurance Co. is offering discounts to doctors that use computerized personal health records and e-mail to communicate with patients. Under the program, 2,600 physicians insured by the company will receive patient safety discount points for connecting online with their patients using iHealth, which includes a practice Web site for physicians and secure e-mail and patient personal health records for patients.
Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center of Seattle has proposed a deal to buy a neighboring condominium complex for $93 million as part of an expansion project. The deal is contingent on the state Legislature passing a law allowing the sale of such a condo complex.
The House Health and Welfare Committee has approved a bill aimed at creating a statewide trauma system through Kentucky hospitals. Several trauma physicians who spoke at the committee meeting said expanding Kentucky's current trauma-care system will reduce deaths and disabilities from trauma injuries.
An Eastern Kentucky hospital that hired the state's former Gov. Ernie Fletcher as a consultant got a $3.4 million state settlement in the final weeks of the Fletcher administration for disputed Medicaid claims. Records from the state Department for Medicaid Services show that Kentucky agreed to pay $3,446,836 in exchange for Pikeville Medical Center dropping its claims for additional reimbursement.
Only about 1 in 4 Americans know the warning signs of a heart attack and what to do first, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A similar report conducted in 2001 showed nearly 1 in 3 to be well informed on heart attacks.
