Florida’s strategic approach to address nursing shortage shows encouraging progress
The nursing shortage has affected hospitals across the country since the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to affect them today. At the peak of the pandemic, about 100,000 registered nurses left the workplace, citing stress, burnout and retirement as contributing factors, according to data from the National Council of State Nurses Associations. Some experts believe the nursing shortage could continue for years to come. The Nurse Journal predicts that Florida will meet its demand for nurses between 2028 and 2030. [Source: WEAR]
Recreational vs. Medical Marijuana: What will happen to the medical marijuana industry once marijuana is legalized?
If enough voters approve it in November, recreational marijuana for adults will be legalized in Florida. How will that affect the state’s medical marijuana program, which voters overwhelmingly approved in 2016? What’s the point of having a medical marijuana card if you can just walk into a licensed marijuana dispensary and be let in? [Source: Florida Today]
Florida seniors have new option to get mental health help from home
Florida residents with Medicare can now get mental health help from home. Talkspace, a national online behavioral health company, serves 5 million people in Florida who have traditional Medicare. The company said the telemental health therapy is aimed at addressing high rates of anxiety and depression among seniors. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Judge postpones Florida Medicaid eligibility class action until July
A federal judge has rescheduled to start in July a trial in a class action lawsuit challenging Florida’s removal from the Medicaid program after the federal public health emergency declared because of the COVID-19 pandemic ended. The lawsuit alleges the state failed to provide adequate notice before removing people from the health care program. The dispute is rooted in the federal public health emergency that began in 2020 and ended in the spring of 2023. [Source: News Service of Florida]
New Data Finds ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Drinking Water for 8.9 Million Florida Residents
About 90 million people in the United States have toxic “forever chemicals,” or PFAS, in their drinking water, according to the latest federal data. That’s 8.9 million Florida residents out of 89.3 million nationwide, according to calculations by the Environmental Working Group based on a database from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The data shows that 33 percent of systems tested so far contain PFAS. [Source: WUSF]
Around Florida:
› Manatee Memorial Hospital to stop treating poor and uninsured patients due to lack of funds
Manatee Memorial Hospital is cutting back on care for poor and uninsured patients, except for emergency room visits, to meet legal obligations. The for-profit hospital notified officials May 6 that, starting June 1, it will no longer accept patients enrolled in the Manatee County Health Insurance Plan (Good County) or unfunded referred patients from the nonprofit WeCare Manatee.
› Miracle baby: Jackson Health doctors perform first intrauterine embolization in Florida
Laney Ramos Arango is now holding her healthy 5-week-old baby boy, Lucas, and she owes it all to doctors at Jackson Health System who performed the first reported intrauterine embolization procedure at Holtz Children’s Hospital in Florida, saving the baby’s life.
› Florida hospital uses Zika virus to help treat one of the deadliest childhood cancers
Neuroblastoma is one of the deadliest childhood cancers, usually occurring in the abdomen, kidneys, adrenal glands and along the spinal cord. Although it is a rare disease with only 800 cases diagnosed each year, it accounts for 15 percent of childhood cancer deaths. Now, a team of doctors in Florida may be at the forefront of a new, life-saving treatment.
› $48 million North Florida Rehabilitation Hospital opens in West Jacksonville
A national healthcare real estate investment and development firm headquartered in Birmingham has opened its latest healthcare project in Northeast Florida. Sanders Trust is taking on the $48 million project, which will create a 60,000-square-foot facility with 50 beds, a 12-bed brain injury treatment unit, a multi-disciplinary therapeutic gym and an outdoor courtyard.
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