Iowa news
UnityPoint CIO named to list of women power players in health IT
Women are key executives and decision-makers in health information technology, for both patients and providers. The list of women power players in health information technology includes those with long-established careers and rising stars in the field. As chief information officer of UnityPoint Health, Laura Smith is responsible for the information technology division of UnityPoint Health, which includes a team of 600 information technology professionals in several locations, the oversight of a $179 million information technology operating budget and delivery of an information technology portfolio of projects each year. (Becker’s Hospital Review)
UIHC joins efforts toward health equity
University of Iowa Health Care is the latest medical facility to join efforts toward health equity through a training program. The training and networking program, launched earlier this month, is a part of the American Medical Association’s network program designed to help advance racial justice and equity for patients, staff and communities. Similar efforts have been launched at other health systems in Iowa. (University of Iowa)
COVID-19 hospitalizations up, new cases down as pandemic continues gradual rise in Iowa
One week, COVID-19 hospitalizations go up, and new reported cases go down. The next week, new cases go up, and hospitalizations go down. That’s been the state of the pandemic in Iowa over the past month: both metrics alternatively rising and falling, although each have been gradually increasing overall since late March. That trend continued this week. New reported COVID-19 cases decreased to 3,987 this week, or about 570 new cases each day, on average. That’s down from about 612 per day last week. (Des Moines Register)
National news
Nearly four dozen hospital CEOs have left their roles this year as a record number of chiefs across all industries have resigned, according to a recent report by executive outplacement and coaching firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas. In the first five months of this year, 668 CEOs left their posts, the highest total since 2002. The total is up 24% from the 539 CEO exits announced in the same period of 2021. Forty-seven hospital CEOs exited their roles in the first five months of this year. That’s up from 26 hospital chiefs who resigned in the same period last year. (Becker’s Hospital Review)
‘Part of a new normal:’ COVID-19 reinfections are here to stay
In 2020, COVID-19 reinfections were considered rare. In 2021, breakthrough infections in vaccinated people could occur, but again, the risk was low. In 2022, that’s no longer the case for either. As more immune-dodging coronavirus variants emerge, reinfections and breakthrough infections appear increasingly normal. The U.S. doesn’t track COVID-19 reinfections. But U.K. researchers have found the risk of reinfection was eight times higher during the omicron wave than it was in last year’s delta wave. (USA Today)
Study: Ivermectin continues to show no benefit among COVID-19 patients
Preliminary results from a trial funded by the National Institutes of Health adds to a mountain of evidence showing ivermectin is not effective at treating COVID-19. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial – the gold standard for determining effectiveness of drugs – is the largest of its kind studying the controversial antiparasitic. Researchers from Duke University and Vanderbilt University recruited 1,537 participants, with about half of them receiving 400 micrograms of ivermectin for three days and the other half a placebo to see how long it took them to recover from COVID-19. (Des Moines Register)