Iowa news
Nine Iowa hospitals named top 100 critical access hospitals
The Chartis Group, a health care consulting firm based in Chicago, has named its 100 best-performing critical access hospitals for 2023. Top hospitals are rated using publicly available data sets scored across eight performance pillars. Iowa had nine hospitals make the cut. (Becker’s Hospital Review)
University of Iowa pursuing $250M ‘health sciences’ building
Continuing its construction boom involving more than $1 billion in new and renovated facilities, University of Iowa Health Care next week will seek Board of Regents approval to spend $249 million on a new 263,000-square-foot Health Sciences Academic Building. The new six-story academic facility will house a trio of nationally esteemed departments central to the university’s health campus: Communication Sciences and Disorders; Health and Human Physiology; and Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science. (The Gazette)
Iowa nursing homes continue to lack enough workers
Staffing shortages in Iowa nursing homes remain alarmingly high and are almost twice the national average, according to Brad Anderson, the state director of AARP Iowa. Anderson says staffing shortages can lead to poor resident care and, in some unfortunate cases, serious neglect. Iowa now has 430 nursing homes. Since January of 2022, at least 21 nursing homes have closed. (Radio Iowa)
National news
AHA case study: Inova’s SAFE team addresses workplace violence
In a new American Hospital Association case study, Inova Health System credits its multidisciplinary team, Safety Always for Everyone, for reducing the severity and frequency of injuries in its emergency departments, behavioral health units and across the system. The SAFE team — comprised of experts from nursing, medicine, behavioral health, security, chaplains, pharmacy and other essential departments — responds to and mitigates violent incidents, conducts comprehensive debriefs, and develops and updates policies and procedures. (American Hospital Association)
Early 2023 health care wages on the decline
Early 2023 data is showing that health care labor costs are subsiding compared to 2021 and 2022, according to a new report from credit ratings agency Fitch. Despite the good news for hospitals, the 2023 average hourly earnings growth of 4.7% still outpaces the 2.4% average increase in hourly pay for health care workers from 2010 to 2019. Fitch attributed the jump in earnings to the conversion of contract labor to full-time workers. (Becker’s Hospital Review)
FDA panel recommends injectable drug to prevent RSV in infants
An independent advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration voted to recommend an injectable drug that can protect infants up to 2 years old from RSV. The 21-person panel voted unanimously to recommend the shot for newborns and infants during their first months of exposure to RSV. The group also voted 19-2 in favor of giving second doses to children up to age 2 who are vulnerable to severe infections, such as those with chronic heart or lung disease, during their second RSV seasons. The FDA must now decide whether to approve the injection, although it’s likely to follow the committee’s recommendation. (NBC News)