Category: nurses

In Nurse’s Trial, Investigator Says Hospital Bears ‘Heavy’ Responsibility for Patient Death

Nashville nurse RaDonda Vaught is charged with reckless homicide for giving the wrong medication to a patient at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

As a Nurse Faces Prison for a Deadly Error, Her Colleagues Worry: Could I Be Next?

Former nurse RaDonda Vaught is on trial for reckless homicide, and her case raises consequential questions about how nurses use computerized medication-dispensing cabinets.

Hospitals Recruit International Nurses to Fill Pandemic Shortages

Montana’s largest hospital recently signed employment contracts with two dozen foreign nurses. Nationwide, a backlog of 5,000 international nurses await approval to enter the U.S.

Nurses in Crisis Over Covid Dig In for Better Work Conditions

In tough labor negotiations across the nation, here’s what nurses don’t want: “appreciation that is lip service,” “marketing campaigns” and “shiny new buildings.” And this year might well prove to be a turning point in efforts to organize health care’s essential workers.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Big Biden Budget Bill Passes the House

President Joe Biden’s social spending budget is on its way to the U.S. Senate, where Democratic leaders are (optimistically) hoping to complete work by the end of the year. Meanwhile, covid is surging again in parts of the country, along with the political divides it continues to cause. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner previews next week’s Supreme Court abortion oral arguments with Florida State University law professor Mary Ziegler.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Why Health Care Is So Expensive, Chapter $22K

Congress is making slow progress toward completing its ambitious social spending bill, although its Thanksgiving deadline looks optimistic. Meanwhile, a new survey finds the average cost of an employer-provided family plan has risen to more than $22,000. That’s about the cost of a new Toyota Corolla. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Rebecca Love, a nurse academic and entrepreneur, about the impending crisis in nursing.

Labs With No One to Run Them: Why Public Health Workers Are Fleeing the Field

Across California, public health departments are losing experienced staffers to exhaustion, partisan politics and jobs that pay more for less work. The public health nurses, epidemiologists and microbiologists who work to keep our communities healthy are abandoning the field.

Worn-Out Nurses Hit the Road for Better Pay, Stressing Hospital Budgets — and Morale

Managers are trapped in a pricey hiring cycle, competing for critical care nurses who can monitor covid patients on life support. Some hospitals are looking abroad to replace staffers who quit to become travel nurses or leave the profession.

California Vaccine Mandate Extends to Aides for People With Disabilities

Even though they perform the same intimate tasks as nursing home and hospital workers, in-home health aides initially were left out of California’s vaccine mandate. They must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 30.

Mandatory Vaccines for Health Care Workers Might Upend Nurses’ Training

The Biden administration is requiring workers at health care facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid payments to be vaccinated. For the minority of nursing students who have refused a shot, the new policy could mean they can’t get the training they need in a hospital or other health care venue.