Today’s NewsStand

Today’s NewsStand

By Iowa Hospital Association|
|June 22, 2022

Iowa news

Sanford to hire more than 700 foreign nurses by 2025

Sanford Health is planning to hire more than 700 internationally trained nurses over the next three years to work at the system’s four major medical centers and several critical access hospitals. Sanford has extended 860 job offers to nurses in the Philippines, Brazil, Canada and Mexico. The health system is partnering with the international nursing agency Connetics USA for recruitment and onboarding support. The nurses will be employed directly by Sanford through an initial three-year contract, though the goal is to retain them for much longer. (Becker’s Hospital Review)

Iowa call centers prep for launch of mental health hotline

In less than a month, people nationwide can dial 988 to seek help during a mental health crisis. Foundation 2 Crisis Services and CommUnity Crisis Services are the two centers in Iowa that will answer calls to 988. Besides calling, people can text 988 or use the Lifeline chat online to connect with a crisis counselor. (KCCI)

Iowa hospitals are among the country’s lowest for expenses per inpatient day

The average adjusted expenses per inpatient day for nonprofit hospitals in the U.S. was $2,738 in 2019. In three states, those expenses were more than $1,000 lower, including Iowa at the third lowest with $1,553 adjusted expenses per inpatient day. The numbers, which are based on information from the 2019 American Hospital Association Annual Survey, include all operating and nonoperating expenses for U.S. community hospitals, defined as nonfederal short-term general and other hospitals whose facilities and services are available to the public. The figures are an estimate of the expenses incurred in a day of inpatient care and have been adjusted to reflect an estimate of the volume of outpatient services. (Becker’s Hospital Review)

National news

Demand rockets for CEOs with excellent people skills

A sea change is unfolding in executive recruitment, where strengths sought from CEOs include new and often “softer” skills with less reliance on the traditional indicators of managerial potential. An analysis published in Harvard Business Review explored the change by examining nearly 5,000 senior executive job descriptions from an executive search firm from 2000 to 2017. The study yielded a variety of insights. Chief among them is, over the past two decades, companies have significantly redefined the roles of C-suite executives. Management of financial and operational resources remain highly relevant. But when companies today search for top leaders, especially new CEOs, they attribute less importance to those capabilities than they used to and instead prioritize one qualification above all others: strong social skills. (Becker’s Hospital Review)

When children with sickle cell grow up, they face a system not designed for them

For decades, sickle cell was considered a pediatric disease because it claimed the lives of so many young children. In 1970, more than 1 in 4 children born with sickle cell anemia in the U.S. died before turning 5. This changed when Congress took action to invest millions of dollars to establish sickle cell centers for kids and do more research. Death rates for children decreased by 68% in two decades. For the first time, most sickle cell patients were surviving well into adulthood. That also meant more sickle cell patients outgrew pediatric care and found themselves faced with a system not designed to meet their needs. (Iowa Public Radio)

AHA: Inpatient pay proposal is ‘woefully inadequate’

The American Hospital Association told CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure that the agency’s proposed 3.2% funding increase for inpatient payments is “woefully inadequate.” The hospital group said in a June 17 letter to the administrator it is particularly concerned about the inadequacy of the proposal “given the extreme inflationary environment in which we continue to operate.” The group is urging CMS to use its special exceptions and adjustments authority to make a retrospective adjustment to account for the difference between the market basket update that was implemented in 2022 and what the market basket is currently projected to be in 2023. It is also asking the agency to eliminate the productivity cut for 2023. (Becker’s Hospital Review)

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