Iowa news
Broadlawns to build clinic near Drake, replacing university’s student health center
Broadlawns Medical Center will build a clinic on the corner of 29th Street and University Avenue to better serve residents in the Drake University neighborhood and members of the university community. The announcement was made during a joint news conference with Broadlawns and Drake officials on Monday. Construction is scheduled to begin in May 2022 with completion set for August 2023. Business Record
Polk County launches drive-thru flu vaccine clinic
The Polk County Health Department on Monday started its drive-thru flu shot clinic. The Polk County drive-thru flu clinic is 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. KCCI
Iowa’s daily COVID-19 average surpasses January peak
Iowa’s COVID-19 cases continued to rise Monday, with daily average cases surpassing the most recent peak in January 2021, before vaccines were widely available. Iowa’s daily average of COVID-19 cases was 1,867 on Sunday, according to New York Times data. That number represents the average number of new cases every day over the last week. Iowa Capital Dispatch
National news
Rural hospital mergers associated with improved patient outcomes
Rural hospital mergers were associated with better patient outcomes compared to hospitals that remained independent, a study from JAMA Network Open found. Mergers may increase access to financial resources, clinical expertise, and new technologies for small, rural hospitals. Hospital mergers may also increase market power through collective negotiation with payers and allow rural hospitals to join alternative payment models, such as accountable care organizations, the study stated. Revcycle Intelligence
Hospital administrators ask Florida lawmakers for help amid staffing crisis
Hospital administrators on Monday gave House committees a glimpse into the challenges facing health care professionals, describing efforts to re-imagine how care is delivered amid a nursing shortage and sizable financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. At the forefront of the concerns is a shortage of nurses, which the executives told lawmakers has created an emergency for hospital administrators. WJCT
US likely to miss big winter COVID-19 surge, analyst models predict
The U.S. may be spared from a significant surge in COVID-19 cases this winter, according to the latest analysis from the COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub — a group of researchers that advises the CDC. The researchers modeled four potential scenarios. In the most likely scenario, where childhood vaccinations rise and no new super-spreading variant emerges, new infections would steadily drop from an average of about 140,000 per day now, to about 9,000 each day by March, NPR reports. Becker’s Hospital Review