Medical Debt and Nurse Shortages Haunt Winning Halloween Haikus

Readers, beware! There’s a bitter chill in the air and bloodcurdling screams coming from our newsroom. We received more than five dozen spooky submissions to �鶹Ů�� Health News’ fifth annual Halloween haiku contest. Here’s the winner and the top runners-up, illustrated by Oona Tempest. The judges’ favorites were inspired by school nurse shortages and the nation’s gut-wrenching medical debt crisis. Keep an eye on �鶹Ů�� Health News’ social media accounts ( formerly known as Twitter; ; and ) for more of our favorites. Enjoy!

1st Place

Costumed coughs in school!

Kids seek care but find instead

A ghostly nurse chair.��

— Madeline Steward

2nd Place

Other countries ask:

Medical debt, what is that?

Hospitals say, “Boo!”

— Tom Cook

3rd Place

Bobbing for apples.��

Drowning in medical debt.��

Either way, get wet.��

— Brynne McBride

While Halloween may be coming to an end, �鶹Ů�� Health News reporting continues year-round.��Send us your haikus at any time for possible inclusion in our Morning Briefing: /contact-haiku/.��

2022 Halloween Haiku Contest Winners

�鶹Ů�� Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at �鶹Ů��—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about .

<h2>Medical Debt and Nurse Shortages Haunt Winning Halloween Haikus</h2>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2023-10-31T05:00:00-04:00">
			October 31, 2023		</time>
		</div>
<p>Readers, beware! There’s a bitter chill in the air and bloodcurdling screams coming from our newsroom. We received more than five dozen spooky submissions to �鶹Ů�� Health News’ fifth annual Halloween haiku contest. Here’s the winner and the top runners-up, illustrated by Oona Tempest. The judges’ favorites were inspired by school nurse shortages and the nation’s gut-wrenching medical debt crisis. Keep an eye on �鶹Ů�� Health News’ social media accounts ( formerly known as Twitter; ; and ) for more of our favorites. Enjoy! </p><h2><strong>1st Place</strong></h2><p>Costumed coughs in school! </p><p>Kids seek care but find instead </p><p>A ghostly nurse chair.��</p><p><em>— Madeline Steward </em></p><h2><strong>2nd Place</strong></h2><p>Other countries ask: </p><p>Medical debt, what is that?  </p><p>Hospitals say, “Boo!” </p><p><em>— Tom Cook </em></p><h2><strong>3rd Place</strong></h2><p>Bobbing for apples.��</p><p>Drowning in medical debt.��</p><p>Either way, get wet.��</p><p><em>— Brynne McBride </em></p><p>While Halloween may be coming to an end, �鶹Ů�� Health News reporting continues year-round.��<strong>Send us your haikus</strong> at any time for possible inclusion in our Morning Briefing: <a href="/contact-haiku/">/contact-haiku/</a>.��</p><h2><strong>2022 Halloween Haiku Contest Winners</strong></h2><em><a href="/about-us">�鶹Ů�� Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at �鶹Ů��—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about .</em><p><a href="/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to �鶹Ů�� Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p><p>This <a target="_blank" href="/news/article/halloween-haiku-contest-medical-debt-nurse-shortages/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="">�鶹Ů�� Health News</a> and is republished here under a <a target="_blank" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src="/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/kffhealthnews-icon.png?w=150" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"></p>
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1st Place

2nd Place

3rd Place

2022 Halloween Haiku Contest Winners

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