Iowa news
Iowa Hospital Association honors UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital employees
The Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) honored two UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital team members at its annual meeting, Carmen Kleinsmith and Clif White. Kleinsmith, senior vice president and chief nurse executive at UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital, was named the 2022 Iowa Organization of Nurse Leaders’ Outstanding Nurse Executive. The award is intended to recognize an individual who demonstrates outstanding achievement in nursing leadership and holds the leadership position of Nurse Executive. IONL is an affiliate group of the Iowa Hospital Association. White, UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital’s Safety and Regulatory Compliance program manager. was honored as a 2022 Iowa Hospital Association Hospital Hero for demonstrating exceptional commitment to care and service. (Corridor Business Journal)
Medicare Advantage Programs Help Ease the Struggles of Rising Food Costs for Seniors
With food prices increasing at an annual rate of 13.5%, according to the Consumer Price Index, a rate not seen for more than 43 years, some seniors are finding ways to save on how much they spend on healthy food with special programs available through Medicare Advantage health plans. The annual enrollment period for Medicare began Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7. Medica’s Healthy Savings benefit gives qualified members the opportunity to save up to 50% on fresh fruits and vegetables, up to $65 each quarter. About 83% of Medica’s Medicare Advantage members qualify for the program. Medica is a nonprofit health plan headquartered in Minnesota. The company serves communities by providing health care coverage and related services in the employer, individual, Medicaid and Medicare markets. Besides Iowa and Minnesota, it operates in Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming. (Associated Press)
Iowa’s top medical oversight board names its new executive director
The Iowa Board of Medicine has chosen a new executive director. Dennis Tibben, a longtime official with the Iowa Medical Society, has been appointed to lead the state agency that licenses medical doctors, investigates complaints and disciplines physicians for medical malpractice. The medical board also is responsible for administering state laws and regulations that govern the practice of medicine in Iowa. (Des Moines Register)
National news
Phishing scheme may have compromised info of 33,850 Michigan Medicine patients
Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine is notifying 33,850 patients that some of their personal health information may have been compromised due to a phishing scheme that targeted employees’ email accounts. On Aug. 23, the health system learned that hackers were targeting its employees with a phishing scheme in which the hackers lured employees to a webpage designed to get them to enter their Michigan Medicine login information. Four employees entered their login information and accepted the multifactor authentication prompts, which allowed the hackers to gain access to their Michigan Medicine email accounts. (Becker’s Health IT and CIO Report)
The financial burdens facing hospitals
As the American Hospital Association advocates for hospitals and the patients they serve, they are amplifying the stories of the hard decisions hospitals are making as they fight to protect care — despite challenges — so their communities don’t lose access to essential health care. (American Hospital Association)
Cumulative flu hospitalization rate hits 13-year high
The CDC estimates there have already been nearly 7,000 flu hospitalizations in the U.S. this season. Not since the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic have cumulative hospitalizations been so high this early in the season. The agency also estimates there have been at least 880,000 flu illnesses and 360 deaths this season, which started at the beginning of October. These are estimates, based on preliminary data from the agency’s flu hospitalization surveillance network. The network conducts population-based surveillance for laboratory-confirmed influenza-related hospitalizations in counties across 13 states, representing about 9% of the population. (FluView)