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Steward Health Care has announced that it will shutter the New England Sinai rehabilitation hospital in Stoughton by next April, a decision that will put further pressure on regional hospitals already struggling to discharge patients who need continued care. In a letter sent to state officials Dec. 4, a law firm for Steward Health Care System said it planned to submit a formal notice with the state to close 39 rehabilitation service beds, 119 chronic care service beds, and all ambulatory care services at New England Sinai Hospital. As of Wednesday, there were 45 patients in the hospital. (Bartlett, 12/6)

The top Democrat and Republican on a powerful Senate committee launched a wide-ranging investigation into private equity's impact on the U.S. health care system on Wednesday. ... "The American people deserve to understand the role that PE [private equity] firms play — and any potential resulting negative financial or patient care impacts — in the delivery of their health care," wrote the senators, who lead the Senate Budget Committee. (Kaplan, 12/6)

The healthcare industry is slowly emerging from years of financial turmoil, but for many hospitals and health systems, 2024 won't bring relief. Industry watchers say the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are lingering and some providers are operating in the red. Next year will be another year for recovery and adjustment to new standards in pricing and patient care. (Hudson, 12/6)

A record number of occupational visa certificates were issued this year to nurses and other healthcare workers by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools. The nonprofit, which helps foreign-educated nurses work in other countries by verifying their credentials for federal and state agencies, said it issued almost 27,000 visa certificates this year—85% of which were for registered nurses—twice as many as in 2022. The number of certificates has quadrupled since 2017. (DeSilva, 12/6)

The killing of a Connecticut nurse making a house call in October was a nightmare come true for an industry gripped by the fear of violence. Already stressed out by staffing shortages and mounting caseloads, heath care workers are increasingly worrying about the possibility of a patient becoming violent – a scenario that is too common and on the rise nationwide. Joyce Grayson, a 63-year-old mother of six, went into a halfway house for sex offenders in late October, to give medication to a man with a violent past. She didn’t make it out alive. (Collins and Eaton-Robb, 12/7)

The largest expansion of federally funded medical residency slots in over two decades was supposed to be a major lifeline for rural hospitals struggling with provider shortages. But very few rural hospitals have received the coveted slots so far. America's health provider shortage is most staggering in rural communities, where people are generally older and sicker than those in urban areas. (Goldman, 12/7)

Dialysis group Fresenius Medical Care said on Wednesday that data including medical records on 500,000 patients and former patients were stolen from a U.S. subsidiary's data warehouse. "The incident may have affected approximately 500,000 patients, former patients, guarantors and 200 staff located across several states, U.S. territories and four countries," the German company said in a statement. (Burger, 12/6)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Watch: The Long-Term Care Crisis: Why Few Can Afford To Grow Old In America 

For many in America, especially people in the middle class, old age is a daily struggle to keep up with basic activities. For some, the trials of dementia add to the emotional and financial burden for loved ones and caregivers. Long-term care options — assisted living, home care, or full-time family care — are costly, complex, and often inadequate. Jordan Rau, �鶹Ů�� Health News senior correspondent, moderated a Zoom event Dec. 5 about “Dying Broke,” an investigative project undertaken with The New York Times and Times reporter Reed Abelson about America’s long-term care crisis. Panelists shared their lived experiences of caregiving. (Rau, 12/6)