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Thomas Maino knew he was going to die. Suffering from serious ailments, the 93-year-old veteran had rejected invasive treatments and asked only that he be made comfortable after he was admitted to a Syracuse nursing home in November 2008. But on a snowy Saturday morning the following January, his moans could be heard down the hallway. (Porat, Adams and Huseman, 4/7)

Nurses and other medical staff are leaving their positions in Texas’ nursing homes because of low pay, advocates say, setting up the possibility for a nursing shortage in long-term care facilities as the state’s 65-and-over population booms in the next few years. The state’s low Medicaid reimbursement rate contributes to the low pay, a dynamic that’s driving nurses out of nursing homes or out of the health industry entirely, said Julie Sulik, vice president of Clinical Services for Southwest Long Term Management. (Blanchard, 4/6)

Gov. Pete Ricketts has approved new whistleblower protections for nurses in Nebraska. The governor signed a bill Wednesday that would ban retaliation against nurses who file complaints with the state. It also would guarantee confidentiality for nurses even if their allegations later become a public record. (4/6)

A Chicago teaching hospital urged a federal appeals court on Tuesday to overturn a National Labor Relations Board ruling that allows unions to organize in healthcare facilities by adding so-called micro units of workers into existing bargaining units. (Iafolla, 4/6)