Today’s NewsStand

Today’s NewsStand

By Iowa Hospital Association|
|April 25, 2022

Iowa news

One donor body can save hundreds of lives

According to the Iowa Donor Network: One donor can save up to eight lives through organ dona­tion and save and heal 50-300 lives through tis­sue donation. When the regional OPO has been notified of a potential donor, a procurement coordinator at the United Network for Organ Sharing dispatches the teams, making flight plans, reserving ground transportation, and arranging police escorts, as needed. If the donor has donated everything and is brain dead, the organ team, with a doctor, his assistant, and a nurse on standby, takes off. The tissue team, consisting of one to three surgical techs, takes off. If the patient suffered a cardiac death, meaning the heart stopped and oxygen is no longer keeping the organs from dying, only the tissue team departs. (Des Moines Register)

Iowa 5th lowest in expenses per inpatient day

Iowa had the fifth lowest adjusted expenses per inpatient day in 2020, as organized by hospital ownership type, in all 50 states, according to the latest statistics from Kaiser State Health Facts. These figures, which are based on information from the 2020 American Hospital Association Annual Survey, include all operating and nonoperating expenses for registered U.S. community hospitals, defined as public, nonfederal, short-term general and other hospitals. The figures are an estimate of the expenses incurred in a day of inpatient care and have been adjusted higher to reflect an estimate of the volume of outpatient services, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Becker’s Hospital Review)

Rural communities struggle to find EMT volunteers

Most rural ambulance services nationwide are dependent on volunteers. The National Rural Health Association reports that 53% of rural EMS units are staffed by volunteers-only, versus 14% in urban areas. A 2019 Iowa Department of Public Health publication states that 75% of Iowa’s emergency medical services are entirely volunteer-based and respond to approximately 10% of all EMS calls in the state. According to a NRHA policy brief, nearly 70% of rural EMS providers report having difficulty recruiting volunteers to meet staffing needs. (Sioux City Journal)

National news

Outbreak of acute hepatitis in kids spans 12 countries, cause unknown

At least 169 cases of acute hepatitis among children aged 1 month to 16 years old have been identified in 12 countries, the World Health Organization reported April 23. Seventeen children required liver transplantation. At least one death has been reported. Many cases reported gastrointestinal symptoms including abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting preceding presentation with severe acute hepatitis, and increased levels of liver enzymes or alanine aminotransaminase and jaundice. Most cases did not have a fever. The common viruses that cause acute viral hepatitis (viruses A, B, C, D and E) have not been detected in any of these cases, according to the WHO. (Becker’s Hospital Review)

Why mental illness in teens is soaring

M, an anxious and free-spirited 13-year-old girl, grew incensed at her mother and ran into the woods.
Her mental health had spiraled: depression, self-harm, a suicide attempt. Now her mother followed her into the woods, frantic. “Please tell me where u r,” she texted. “I’m not mad.” M is one of dozens of teenagers who spoke to The New York Times for a project examining how mental health disorders have emerged over decades as the biggest public health threat to American adolescents. (The New York Times)

The latest research on how COVID messes with smell

Loss of smell and taste was a distinguishing feature of early COVID-19. Most people infected in 2020 and 2021 lost their smell, regardless of how sick the coronavirus made them. That began to change with the delta variant that moved into the United States last summer and took over by the fall. Between 15-50% of people infected with delta lost their smell, compared with 50% to 80% of those with earlier variants, said Danielle Reed, a smell researcher and associate director of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. (USA Today)

Become a hospital advocate. Sign up for IHA Action Alerts.

Click here