Iowa news
Over 90% of Iowa’s hospitalized COVID-19 patients are not vaccinated
Almost all the people hospitalized with COVID-19 since the spring have been unvaccinated against the disease, spokespeople for three of Iowa’s largest health care systems said. The vaccine seems to be working to reduce the severity of the disease: Hospital officials said that vaccinated patients who tested positive for COVID-19 did not need admittance to the intensive care unit. (Des Moines Register)
Iowa Department of Public Health launches COVID-19 Vaccine and Health Equity Grants Program
The Iowa Department of Public Health is seeking eligible applicants to implement strategies that ensure greater equity and access to COVID-19 vaccine. Through this program, two funding opportunities are available, the National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities and Equity and Prioritizing Populations Disproportionately Affected by COVID-19. (Iowa Public Department of Health)
Genesis holds mock trauma drill to interest students in health care, facing staffing shortage
Genesis Health System is looking to fill hundreds of positions and hoping to attract high schoolers to the medical field with a ‘mock trauma’ drill. Genesis officials say the health system has more than 400 open positions in the Quad Cities area. The ‘mock trauma’ drill gave teens hands-on experience in different areas of the hospital including the trauma room, ambulance, and the MedForce landing pad. (KWQC)
National news
Tapping into the brain to help a paralyzed man speak
Dr. Eddie Chang, a neurosurgeon at the University of California, San Francisco Medical School helped Pancho, a man paralyzed since age 20, speak through an implant in his brain that connects to a computer program. (New York Times)
Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the HIV Medicine Association, the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, and the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists call for COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of hospital employment comes as more than 30 health systems and hospital associations have required vaccination for their workforces. Houston Methodist was the first, issuing its mandate March 31. University of Chicago Medicine is the most recent, issuing its mandate July 13. (Becker’s Hospital Review)
Hospitals push back on Lown Institute community benefits study
Hospitals are pushing back on a report released July 12 by nonpartisan healthcare think tank the Lown Institute that examines the amount hospitals spend on community benefits. The report found that 72% of the country’s private nonprofit hospitals had a fair-share deficit in 2018, meaning they spent less on charity care and community investment than they received in tax exemptions. The American Hospital Association, which represents nearly 5,000 hospitals in the U.S., said the report fails to account for several key community benefits hospitals offer. (Becker’s Hospital Review)