Iowa news
ChildServe announces Iowa City expansion, first satellite location
ChildServe will double the size of its Iowa City facility and open its first satellite location in the state in Hiawatha. Groundbreaking for the 13,000-square-foot expansion of the Iowa City facility is planned for spring 2023. The project will increase access to outpatient therapy services, including speech, occupational and physical therapy and autism and applied behavioral analysis services. The Hiawatha location is planned to open in spring 2023. The 7,540-square-foot space will offer autism and applied behavioral analysis services and outpatient therapy, including speech and occupational therapy. (Business Record)
RN recognized with Iowa Hospital Association’s Hospital Hero Award
Each year, the Iowa Hospital Association recognizes health care employees who have acted courageously in a crisis or who have selflessly served their hospitals and communities throughout their careers with a Hospital Hero Award. Among the team at UnityPoint Health – Finley Hospital is a Hospital Hero in Karen Gronau, RN. Karen has been part of the Surgery Department at Finley Hospital for 33 years and serves as the department’s Clinical Team Leader. Finley Hospital President and CEO Chad Wolbers officially presented Karen with her award at the IHA’s Annual Meeting in early October. (Dubuque Today)
Corridor campuses expand efforts to churn out nurses
The need for nurses is so deep that the University of Iowa — in seeking a $12 million boost in state appropriations for next year — vowed to commit most of that new money, if granted, to growing the nursing workforce. Concerted efforts to grow the UI College of Nursing, which boasts a bachelor of science in nursing program tied for No. 9 nationally in the 2022-23 U.S. News & World Report rankings, has resulted in an 11% enrollment bump over five years to 160 students today. Given the torrent of nurse departures and ever-swelling nurse demand regionally and nationally — as Americans live longer and nurses are embedded into new settings beyond hospitals, like grocery stores and workplaces — the UI is not alone in plotting innovative ways to churn out recruits. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
National news
Some CommonSpirit affiliates in the process of restoring IT systems
Seattle-based Virginia Mason Franciscan Health has begun the process of restoring its IT systems that were taken offline during the ransomware attack that impacted Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health hospitals nationwide. Virginia Mason providers can access their patients' EHRs, with MyChart functionality expected to be available in the coming days. The hospital said it will take some time before all systems are up and running again but said it is continuing to monitor which systems are safe and secure enough to restore. (Becker's Hospital Review)
Kids’ mental health care leaves parents in debt and in the shadows
Untold numbers of families are dealing with myriad challenges finding and paying for mental health care, and then ending up in debt. There are too few therapists and psychologists in the U.S. — and fewer still who accept insurance. That compounds the financial toll on families. Tabulating the impact isn’t easy. Many refinance their houses, drain college savings, or borrow from family. But that kind of borrowing often isn’t included in estimates of medical debt. As a result, it’s hard to know how much families are paying out of their pockets for mental health treatment. (Kaiser Health News)
As links to MS deepen, researchers accelerate efforts to develop an Epstein-Barr vaccine
Maybe you’ve never heard of the Epstein-Barr virus. But it knows all about you. Chances are, it’s living inside you right now. About 95% of American adults are infected sometime in their lives. And once infected, the virus stays with you. Most viruses, such as influenza, just come and go. A healthy immune system attacks them, kills them and prevents them from sickening you again. Epstein-Barr and its cousins, including the viruses that cause chickenpox and herpes, can hibernate inside your cells for decades. Although childhood Epstein-Barr infections are typically mild, exposure in teens and young adults can lead to infectious mononucleosis, a weeks-long illness that sickens 125,000 Americans a year, causing sore throats, swollen glands and extreme fatigue. (CNN)