I never thought anything other than Covid-19 would be a major health concern of mine during the Covid-19 pandemic. But then my gyno found high-grade precancerous lesions on my cervix and suddenly, Ineeded to schedule surgery during a pandemic.
(Chicago Tribune) — The nation could see a year of accelerated hospital mergers, partnerships and expansions as the medical services industry braces for the coming health care overhaul, which could bring in tens of millions of new patients. Hospitals and health facilities nationwide cumulatively are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on buildings, marketing and […]
(AP) — As University of Chicago Medical Center struggles to unclog its emergency department, one statistic keeps pushing back. Because of overcrowding — a growing, nationwide problem — the hospital turns away ambulances more often than any other ER in Illinois. The city’s premier South Side hospital turns away ambulances for 13 minutes, on average, […]
(Wall Street Journal) — New York City will begin charging private hospitals as much as $1 million a year for hospital ambulances dispatched by the city’s 911 system, a controversial initiative that some medical professionals fear will prompt hospitals to stop providing the service. Mayor Michael Bloomberg approved the new fee as part of his […]
(AJC) — Carlton Garey owes The Medical Center of Central Georgia almost $6,000, and he can’t pay. The 45-year-old construction worker lost his job in July. Though he didn’t have health insurance before, it wasn’t a problem because he never had to go to the doctor. But recent health trouble sent him to the emergency […]
(AJC) — Twenty-two hospitals across Georgia stand out in the latest Medicare data for poor results for patients with pneumonia or heart trouble. Those negative ratings come on top of federal assessments that describe the quality of care in Georgia hospitals statewide as “weak.” Georgia hospitals posted particularly poor results for care of pneumonia patients […]
(NYT) — At Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, a borough that is home to 2.3 million people from more than 100 countries, lactation consultants spend extra time explaining to Bangladeshi women that the yellowbreast milk they produce right after birth is not dirty. Female obstetricians are always on duty overnight at the hospital’s maternity ward in […]
(Atlanta Journal Constitution) — Doctor-patient confidentiality is something we all rely on. The problem is, it’s not the law in Georgia. If you go to the hospital after an allergic reaction to an illegal drug, or even someone else’s prescribed Vicodin, you have a choice: Tell the doctor what drug you took, and maybe go […]
(Chicago Breaking News) — The Illinois Hospital Association today named long-time Democratic congressional aide Kimberly C. Parker as its first vice president of federal relations, opening the powerful state lobby’s first-ever office in Washington, D.C. As health reform is implemented during the next four years, IHA said it wanted a stronger presence in Washington. Hospitals […]
(Washington Post) — In District politics this election season, it’s hard to find consensus on much of anything. But closing the only city hospital east of the Anacostia River? That ranks somewhere between eliminating snow plowing and tossing grandmothers in the street on the list of political no-gos in this town. At a candidates’ forum held […]
(Washington Post) — Dot No. 1: Sometime today, the government of the District of Columbia is scheduled to take control of United Medical Center, a.k.a. Greater Southeast Community Hospital, foreclosing on loans made to a private operator back in 2007 as part of a deal to keep open the only hospital serving the city’s poorest neighborhoods […]