Today’s NewsStand

Today’s NewsStand

By Iowa Hospital Association|
|May 4, 2022

Iowa news

How to map out an innovation strategy

A recent survey of 100 health system executives found only 6% have a “fully developed” digital health strategy. Iowa-based UnityPoint Health may well fit into that category, with a $100 million venture capital fund aimed at driving consumer-based digital transformation and a managing director of innovation who has a good idea of the path forward. But that path isn’t always clear. (HealthLeaders Magazine)

Steindler Orthopedic sells Iowa City office

Seven weeks after the state approved construction of a new $19.2 million Steindler North Liberty Ambulatory Surgery Center, the affiliated Steindler Orthopedic Clinic sold its Iowa City home base. Steindler Orthopedic plans to stay in its 33,843-square-foot medical office in Iowa City until it can move into a new 55,000-square-foot clinic in 2024. The clinic will be adjacent to its new 35,880-square-foot ambulatory surgery center near the Interstate 380 and Forevergreen Road corridor. (The Gazette)

Newly reported COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations rise in weekly Iowa coronavirus update

Newly reported COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rose for a second consecutive week. The number of new COVID-19 cases was 2,114 over the past week, or an average of 302 per day. They were the highest figures registered in one week by the state health department updates since early March. There were 86 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa on Wednesday, up slightly from 84 last week, according to federal data. Of those, nine patients required intensive care for COVID-19 complications, an increase from six cases reported last week. (Des Moines Register)

 

National news

Virus mutations aren’t slowing down. New omicron subvariant proves it.

During those terrifying early days of the pandemic, scientists offered one piece of reassuring news about the novel coronavirus: It mutated slowly. The earliest mutations did not appear to be consequential. A vaccine, if and when it was invented, might not need regular updating over time. This proved overly optimistic. COVID-19 has had billions of chances to reconfigure itself as it has spread across the planet, and it continues to evolve, generating new variants and subvariants at a clip that has kept scientists on their toes. (The Washington Post)

COVID-19 patients in the ICU don’t suffer alone. A new study finds their families suffer PTSD symptoms too

A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found nearly 64% of people who had a family member in the intensive care unit for COVID-19 experienced symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder three months after admission. It’s a stark increase from what was seen in similar studies conducted before the pandemic, said lead author, Dr. Tim Amass, assistant professor of medicine at the department of pulmonary sciences and critical care at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. (Des Moines Register)

What a medium COVID-19 risk level means

As COVID-19 cases rise nationwide, some cities and counties reentered “medium risk” categories for virus transmission this week. Most cities and counties use the CDC’s community levels of virus activity to determine risk categories. The levels are based on three combined metrics: the amount of local hospital beds in use, hospital admission rates and the number of new COVID-19 cases. Communities reporting at least 200 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days automatically qualify for the medium risk designation. Communities with fewer than 200 cases per day that are seeing 10 to 19.9 new admissions per 100,000 or 10 to 14.9% of beds filled by COVID-19 patients also meet criteria for the medium risk, according to the CDC. (Becker’s Hospital Review)

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