Today’s NewsStand — Feb. 14, 2020

Today’s NewsStand — Feb. 14, 2020

By Iowa Hospital Association|
|February 14, 2020

Featuring hospital and health care headlines from the media and the Web.

Iowa News       

State official was warned two years ago about ‘grave risk’ to Iowans at Glenwood Resource Center
An administrator at a state-run institution for people with disabilities warned a top state agency official two years ago that conditions at the facility had deteriorated to the point that “client welfare stands at grave risk.” Katherine Rall, the facility’s director of quality management at the time, reached out directly to Jerry Foxhoven, then the director of the Iowa Department of Human Services, in February 2018 and alleged that poor conditions at the Glenwood Resource Center threatened worker and patient safety, according to emails. (Des Moines Register)

Two UI seniors pushing for bill, would give students excused mental health days
According to the Iowa Department of Public Education, one in every five students in Iowa, ages 13 through 18, have or will have a serious mental health illness. Studies show when kids struggle with mental health, they may have difficulty concentrating or reaching their potential in school. Two seniors at the University of Iowa’s College of Nursing are trying to change that. (KWWL)

Waterloo MercyOne team turns hospital materials into sleeping bags for homeless
After seeing the idea in another part of the country, MercyOne breast surgeon Dr. Scott Stoeger worked with a team of colleagues to turn sterilization wraps into mats and sleeping bags for the homeless. The project is called the “Blue Mat Project”. In addition to sewing on his own, Dr. Stoeger held team gatherings at his home to assemble more than 60 mats and sleeping bags. The group also purchased inexpensive pillows to complete the bundles. (KWWL)

National News

Trump admin’s Medicaid work requirements struck down by appeals court
A federal appeals court Friday unanimously ruled against Arkansas’ Medicaid work requirements, a signature policy pushed by President Donald Trump’s administration that ties eligibility to the public insurance program for the poor to work or job training. (Healthcare Dive)

Price hikes drove employer-sponsored health costs to record high in 2018
Average health care spending for people with employer-sponsored insurance rose to an all-time high in 2018, costing $5,892 per person annually, according to a study released Thursday from the Health Care Cost Institute. Average out-of-pocket spending increased to $907 per person annually. (Healthcare Dive)

Five things to help weigh your coronavirus risk
The news about the novel coronavirus in China grows more urgent daily. The number of related deaths is now greater than 1,300, while tens of thousands of people have been infected — most of them in China. People returning to the U.S. from China are quarantined for 14 days. It can be frightening to think about the threat, but public health officials in this country constantly remind people that the risk of the disease here is low. (Kaiser Health News)

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