Photo of health care professional checking a girl's tonsils

Health Care in the News

Articles in Abstract

OTC nursing graduates are first of kind

News-Leader.com - Springfield, MO, USA, May 14, 2009

... Community College's associate of science in nursing program, which was established last year in the spirit of OTC's mission: workforce development. ...

Quality improvement program for Missouri nursing homes leads to ...

McKnight's Long Term Care News - New York, NY, USA, May 14, 2009

Nursing homes and long-term care facilities in Missouri showed significant care improvements and cost savings over the last three years as a result of the ...

Young boost diversity as population ages

San Francisco Chronicle - CA, USA, May 14, 2009

"We have a more useful workforce, and we have more young people in school. That costs more money up front, but it will repay huge benefits in 10 years when ...

Dentists drop opposition to new practitioner position

Minnesota Public Radio - Saint Paul, MN, USA, May 13, 2009

Minnesota's mid-level dental practitioner legislation is not a perfect solution to the workforce problem in the eyes of many dentists. ...

Staff Shortages in Labs May Put Patients at Risk

The Wall Street Journal online, USA, May 13, 2009

By Laura Landro. The swine-flu outbreak has focused a spotlight on a looming risk for hospitals and their patients: a shortage of technicians to run critical lab tests.Vanderbilt University Hospital's lab had to pull staffers from other parts of the hospital and ask technicians to work double shifts to test incoming patients for swine flu earlier this month. "It was all hands on deck for a week," says Michael Laposata, chief pathologist at the large medical center in Nashville, Tenn.

New proposal offers help for nurses

WFIE-TV - Evansville, IN, USA, May 13, 2009

INDIANA (WFIE) - Indiana Senator Evan Bayh's proposing a new act that will allow thousands of nurses to complete their education, and help put an end to the ...

Viewpoint: To solve nursing shortage, change attitudes about nurses

Baltimore Sun - United States, May 12, 2009

He has called for more nurse educators, included nurses in discussion of health reform, and appointed nurse Mary Wakefield to head the Health Resources and ...

Filling the gaps with midlevel health providers

Knoxville News Sentinel - Knoxville, TN, USA, May 12, 2009

“That ratio is skewing more toward PAs each year since the PA work force is increasing faster than that of physicians,” said Perri Morgan, ...

Are schools preparing kids who want a job rather than college life?

Knoxville News Sentinel - Knoxville, TN, USA, May 12, 2009

In the clinical internship class, students get the chance to rotate through field placements. "I've seen everything from intensive care to therapy to ...

Put primary care doctors at the center of reform

Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA, May 12, 2009

By Deep Shah As a future physician in Georgia, I care deeply about the reshaping of our health care system. We need reforms that meaningfully enhance the ...

Health care interpreter roster now available

Capitol Report - St. Paul, MN, USA, May 11, 2009

By Capitol Report staff Health care providers can find health care interpreters through a new searchable database on the Minnesota Department of Health ...

"Dental care in short supply for low-income Wisconsin children"

JSOnline, Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee, WI, USA, May 10, 2009

On May 10 and 11 the Journal Sentinel ran an excellent 2-part series by Guy Boulton about the acute shortage of dental care for low-income people in WI: http://www.jsonline.com/business/44682137.html)

Immigration Amid a Recession

BusinessWeek - USA, May 8, 2009

That would disappoint employers in sectors such as health care,
farming, and technology, who say they're in need of workers despite rising unemployment. ...

GE to invest $6 billion on health care over next 6 years

Milwaukee Small Business Times - Milwaukee, WI, USA, May 7, 2009

General Electric Co. announced this morning that it will invest $3 billion on health care innovation, intended to lower costs and improve care. ...

UW-Eau Claire: Nursing doctorate program on regents agenda this week

Wisbusiness.com - Madison, WI, USA, May 7, 2009

... the university fulfill changing practice requirements in the field of nursing and help meet the growing workforce demand for health care professionals. ...

HHS Budget Puts Reform First

Earthtimes (press release) - London, UK, May 7, 2009

Additionally, this funding will enhance the capacity of nursing schools, increase access to oral health care through dental workforce development grants, ...

Amid nurse shortage, hospitals focus on retention

North County Times - Californian - Escondido, CA, USA, May 6, 2009

By RASHA MADKOUR - AP | Wednesday, May 6, 2009 12:07 AM PDT ∞ Yaima Milian, right, who is in a nursing residency program, uses a stethoscope to check on ...

Foundation increases grant to continue personal health records work

Wisconsin Technology Network, May 4, 2009

Project HealthDesign, a national program designed to support health and information technology pioneers to create a new generation of personal health records (PHR) systems, has been awarded a $5.3 million addition to its grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, bringing the project's total funding to $10 million. By Philip Davis.

U.S. health data czar sees role for government hand

By Susan Heavey, Reuters, May 1, 2009

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Electronic health records need a nudge from the government if the technology is to become widespread, the nation's new health information technology czar said on Thursday.

AMA Health Care Careers May e-Letter

www.ama-assn.org, May 2009

Featured profession: medical assisting
Top 10 highest paying nonclinical careers
Dear Reader feature, read about: outsourcing of medical transcription work, why there's a demand for health informatics, and the economic stimulus bill includes funding for health professions education.

Local Health Agencies, Hurt by Cuts, Brace for Flu

New York Times, Apr. 29, 2009

By KEVIN SACK. Published: April 29, 2009. The recession has drained hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of workers from the state and local health departments that are now the front line in the country’s defense against a
possible swine flu pandemic.

Gundersen Lutheran Health System is Recognized for Safe Lifting ...

foxbusiness.com, April 23, 2009

Tuesday, March 17, 2009. The objective of the Safe Lifting Leadership Award is to ... successful implementation of safe lifting initiatives, ... But, there's a big catch: some big events, like board elections, are considered "routine" under law. ...

Wis. could be first to require cochlear implants

Chicago Tribune - USA, Apr 23, 2009

Both houses of the Democratic-controlled Legislature approved a bill that requires private health insurance plans to cover cochlear implants, hearing aids ...

Now is not the time to put wellness on hold

Milwaukee Small Business Times - Milwaukee, WI, USA, Apr. 17, 2009

Rising health care costs are a significant risk to business growth, profitability and competitiveness. Creating and maintaining a healthier workforce is ...

NC Community Colleges to offer 12 career paths taking less than 6 months

Asheville Citizen-Times - NC, USA, Apr. 16, 2009

Bev Perdue today launched “12 in 6”, a workforce development initiative designed to benefit North Carolinians who have lost their jobs due to recent layoffs ...

Seeking a more perfect union for personal-care workers

Philadelphia Gay News - Philadelphia, PA, USA, Apr. 16, 2009

... for an initiative like the consumer workforce council that is a win-win for everyone. Home-care workers are largely invisible in our healthcare system. ...

WRX Launches Hospital Labor Waste Calculator

PR Newswire (press release) - New York, NY, USA

We'd like to move the industry past conversations of FTE (full time employee) or workforce reductions into conversations about the practices and processes ...

County health programs may take $60M hit. State will likely cut back local services, Legislature reveals

The Badger Herald, Madison, WI, USA, Apr. 15, 2009

by Alicia Yager. As the legislative Joint Committee on Finance begins budget deliberations Thursday, Wisconsin counties will likely suffer from the dismal economic conditions due to budget cuts. County Health and Human Services programs in particular are seeing sizeable cuts, according to a report from the Wisconsin Counties Association. The report estimates these cuts will amount to nearly $60 million over the biennium, but that figure could increase because not all cuts were included in the research.

Health industry cuts affecting frontline patient care in Madison

WKOW-TV.com - Madison, WI, USA, Apr. 14, 2009

Over the past few months, many dislocated workers in other industries have gone back to school to change careers. Healthcare has received a lot of interest. ...

UW School of Medicine and Public Health to end program that trains lab techs

Wisconsin State Journal - Madison, WI, USA, Apr. 14, 2009

By DAVID WAHLBERG. The UW School of Medicine and Public Health is ending its long-standing program that trains medical lab technologists, in cuts required by Gov. Jim Doyle’s proposed budget, university officials said Tuesday.

Center for Rural Affairs looks at Top 10 rural health care issu

Agri News - MN, USA, Apr. 14, 2009

Rural EMS providers are underfunded, face growing demand, and work force and volunteer shortages. Reform legislation must provide resources to make EMS ...

Nurse earns three degrees after leaving Manitowoc Mirro plant

Herald Times Reporter - Manitowoc, WI, USA, Apr. 13, 2009

But on May 16 the Shoto mother of two teenagers will graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with a master's degree in nursing. ...

Fewer Openings in Nursing Field

Wall Street Journal - USA, Apr. 13, 2009

Long term, there is still a need to replace the profession's aging work force and meet the growing demand for health care --particularly elderly care, ...

Stimulus funds to spread a wider net

Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee, WI, USA, Apr. 11, 2009

By Guy Boulton. Community health centers provide care to nearly one in eight people in Milwaukee - and that number is likely to increase given the thousands of people who have lost their health insurance along with their jobs. "We are seeing a whole lot more people who never expected to be in this situation," said Lee Carroll, executive director of Health Care for the Homeless of Milwaukee. But the community health centers also are getting some help from the economic recovery act. The four centers in Milwaukee will receive almost $1.4 million from the stimulus bill to hire additional doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners, medical assistants and other staff. In all, the 17 community health centers in Wisconsin will receive 4.1 million to help meet the projected increase in people seeking care.

Health care forum focuses on chronic illness

By Guy Boulton of the Journal Sentinel, Apr. 7, 2009

Madison - Working to prevent and manage chronic disease can help control the rise in health care costs - and controlling the rise in health care costs will be essential to significant health care reform. That was one of the key themes Tuesday at the third in a series of forums on health care reform being held throughout the country. Push for digital health records sparks debate

Push for digital health records sparks debate

By Mimi Hall, USA TODAY, Apr. 7, 2009

WASHINGTON — The blank wall behind the receptionists' desk stands as a symbol of efficiency in Peter Basch's bustling office. A dozen years ago, Basch and his fellow doctors went paperless and ditched the stacks of patients' charts that stood there. An early entry into the world of electronic medical records, Basch is an enthusiastic supporter. "It allows our staff and physicians to be far more organized," he says. And that means "more focused on the . .