Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Staff Shortages Limit Admissions In Half Of Nursing Homes In Survey
As the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' staffing mandate looms, nearly half of nursing homes polled by the American Health Care Association are already limiting admissions due to severe staffing shortages, according to a report the industry trade group released Tuesday. In a survey conducted last month of 441 nursing homes across the country, seven out of 10 operators reported lower staffing levels than before the COVID-19 pandemic. (Eastabrook, 3/6)
It's not every day that our health care providers walk off the job and onto the picket line. Now, over 40 workers at聽Ascension St. John Hospital are contemplating taking bold measures.聽For them, it's to make sure things are running smoothly inside. "We're a huge stroke center, cardiovascular center, trauma center, but we are worried that we are about to be unable to meet some of those national standards if current practices continue," said Dr. John Bahling. (Bailey, 3/7)
New York鈥檚 Mount Sinai Medical Center said it鈥檚 closing two units at its Beth Israel Hospital in downtown Manhattan this month. Certifications for stroke and cardiac units expire in early March, according to court documents filed Tuesday. 鈥淒ue to the lack of staffing and increasing patient safety concerns, these designations will not be renewed,鈥 Mount Sinai said in an emailed statement Wednesday.(Coleman-Lochner, 3/6)
Johns Hopkins Medicine鈥檚 chief diversity officer is no longer in the role two months after she wrote a newsletter identifying people with 鈥減rivilege鈥 and sparking backlash. In the January newsletter from the Baltimore hospital and research center鈥檚 diversity office, Dr. Sherita Golden wrote that 鈥減rivilege鈥 was the 鈥渨ord of the month,鈥 defining it as 鈥渁 set of unearned benefits given to people who are in a specific social group.鈥 Those social groups were categorized as white people, heterosexuals, cisgender people, men and Christians, among others. (Price, 3/6)