Latest California Healthline Stories
Need a COVID-19 Nurse? That’ll Be $8,000 a Week
A shortage of nurses has turned hospital staffing into a sort of national bidding war, with hospitals willing to pay exorbitant wages to secure the nurses they need. That threatens to shift the supply of nurses toward more affluent areas.
Parents Complain That Pediatricians, Wary of COVID, Shift Sick Kids to Urgent Care
Referrals of children to urgent care clinics or emergency rooms have become so prevalent that the American Academy of Pediatrics came out with interim guidance on how practices can safely continue to see patients. The academy recommended that pediatricians strive “to provide care for the same variety of visits that they provided prior to the public health emergency.”
Listen: COVID Stresses Rural Hospitals Already ‘Teetering on the Brink’
Crooked Media’s “America Dissected” explores the rural health crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Podcast guest KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal said: “I expect we’ll see a lot more rural hospital failures.”
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 7: After a Rural Town Loses Hospital, Is a Health Clinic Enough?
In Fort Scott, Kansas, the Community Health Center’s big green-and-white sign replaced Mercy Hospital’s name on the front of the town’s massive medical building. In the final chapter of Season One: “No Mercy,” we have an appointment to see what’s inside.
‘Is This Worth My Life?’: Traveling Health Workers Decry COVID Care Conditions
Frequently employed by staffing agencies based in other states, nurses and other healthcare professionals can find themselves working through crisis without advocates or adequate safety equipment.
Enfermeros itinerantes en alto riesgo frente a condiciones de atención de COVID-19
Desde que la pandemia de COVID-19 causó un terremoto en el sistema de salud, más enfermeros itinerantes viajan de estado en estado, arriesgando sus propias vidas.
Meet Josh. He’s a teenager in Fort Scott, Kansas, who dropped out of high school around the same time the town’s hospital closed. He says those two things are related.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: David vs. Goliath: How to Beat a Big Hospital in Small Claims Court
In a classic — and hilarious — David vs. Goliath story, Jeffrey Fox takes on a huge hospital over an outrageous bill, and wins.
Medicare Fines Half of Hospitals for Readmitting Too Many Patients
The penalties are the ninth round of a program created as part of the Affordable Care Act’s broader effort to improve quality and lower costs. The average reduction in federal payments is 0.69%, with 613 hospitals receiving a penalty of 1% or more.
Hospitalized? You Can Still Vote in Most Parts of the Country
Hospital staff in states such as California and New York can help patients obtain ballots and vote. In other states, you need a relative to assist you.