Iowa news
Pella Regional to host baby fair
Pella Regional Health Center will host a Baby Fair scheduled from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Sept. 16, in the Main Entrance Lobby. The event is for new or expecting parents, grandparents and caregivers. The admission is free and guests may tour the Family Birthing Center, learn more about resources available to them, speak with medical providers and enter for prize giveaways. (Pella Regional Health Center)
University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital announces 2023 Kid Captains
The University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital announced its Kid Captains for the 2023-24 Iowa Hawkeye football season. The hospital said 12 children were selected from 2o71 nomination from seven states. The Kids Captain program is in its 14th season and honors pediatric patients by celebrating their stories. (KCRG)
St. Anthony Regional Hospital receives recognition as top hospital for nurse communication
St. Anthony Regional Hospital is one of 364 hospitals to receive five stars for nurse communication across the United States in the latest Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The star ratings are based on publicly reported measures and the nurse communication star rating is derived from three specific survey questions reflecting patients’ feelings regarding how well nurses explained medical matters, listened attentively and treated patients with courtesy and respect. The data was collected from hospital patients from July 2021 through June 2022. (Carroll Times Herald)
National news
Weight loss drugs may raise risk of complications under anesthesia
Patients who take blockbuster drugs like Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss may face life-threatening complications if they need surgery or other procedures that require empty stomachs for anesthesia. Some anesthesiologists in the U.S. and Canada say they’ve seen growing numbers of patients on the weight-loss drugs who inhaled food and liquid into their lungs while sedated because their stomachs were still full – event after following standard instructions to stop eating for six to eight hours in advance. (PBS News Hour)
Biden-Harris Administration launches national dashboard to track heat-related illness
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Climate Change and Health Equity launched a first-of-its-kind online information portal called the Heat-Related Illness EMS Activation Surveillance Dashboard, which maps emergency medical services responses to heat-related illness across the country. The dashboard was created in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
Nearly 2 in 3 hospitals struggle with cancer drug shortages
Cancer patients and oncology clinicians continue to grapple with an ongoing national drug shortage that is now affecting 57% of hospital pharmacies, according to an American Society of Health-System Pharmacists poll. This is even after the Food and Drug Administration approved additional imports of chemotherapy drugs in early June to increase quantities. (Becker’s Hospital Review)