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Health Care in the News

Articles in Abstract


US health care system headed for perfect storm 

News from Washington University in St. Louis - Saint Louis, MO, USA, Aug 20

According to McBride, the growth of the elderly population will heighten concerns about the workforce needs in health care. "There are already shortages of ..


Health Care Labor Shortage: Fact or Fiction?

Twin Cities Planet - Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, Aug 20

By Sally Kane , Minnesota 2020 Minnesota is on course for a health care workforce shortage never before seen in our state’s history. ...


Senior communities address care shortage

MPNnow.com - Rochester, NY, USA, Aug 19

“This timing will heighten the current nursing shortage across the board and specifically affect long-term care.” The Senior Health Alliance is a consortium ...


Two Florida Universities Partner in Effort To Boost Minority ...

Kaiser network.org - Washington, DC, USA, Aug 19

Minorities represent 33% of the US population and 9% of the US nursing workforce, according to the Herald . A 2004 study conducted by former HHS Secretary ...


Gundersen Lutheran Health System is Recognized for Safe Lifting ...

Aug 19

Patient safety, advocacy for healthcare excellence, successful implementation of safe lifting initiatives, and willingness to share results and assist other ...


Academic leaders work to ease work force crisis

American Medical News (subscription) - USA, Aug 17

Other issues fueling shortages of health care workers: lifestyle preferences (medical students want regular hours and time home with families), ...


Colleges get $129m to build on

Boston Globe - United States, Aug 17

"New and updated facilities will enhance the education we currently deliver and allow us to create new programs - especially in healthcare - in response to ...


Paterson OKs ban on mandatory overtime for nurses

NewsChannel 9 WSYR - Syracuse, NY, USA, Aug 15

Albany, New York (WSYR-TV) – Governor Paterson this week has signed into law a bill that will ban mandatory overtime for nurses in hospitals and other ...


Nursing Workforce Center Opens in Kansas City Elana Gordon KANSAS ...

KCUR - Kansas City, MO, USA, Aug 14

The nation's first bi-state nursing workforce center is opening up in Kansas City. The more than half a million dollar project is being funded by the Robert ...


NGA Center for Best Practices - Workforce Update – August 11, 2008
 

House Subcommittee Approves More Visas for Foreign Nurses, Rollover Green Card Allotments

On the last day of session before the August recess, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law approved a bill (HR 5924) that would authorize 20,000 visas per year for foreign nurses and authorize grants to U.S. nursing schools to increase their enrollment and create new training programs.

By an 8-1 vote, the subcommittee also approved a bill that would allow unused green card allotments to roll over to subsequent years.


'Second Life'

Nurse.com - Falls Church, VA, USA, Aug 11

Miller says the experience can add to nursing students' knowledge and will influence their reactions once they are in the workforce. ...


View Needs of Elderly Through a Consumer Lens 

Nurse.com - Falls Church, VA, USA, Aug 11

So, Hansen says, every member of the healthcare workforce needs to gain more expertise in geriatrics. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing, ...


Secretary Gassman Highlights Training Success at Ashland Memorial Medical Center (pdf)

WI, Aug 11

Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Roberta Gassman today highlighted the success of three individuals starting new careers as health care workers at Ashland Memorial Medical Center….


A prescription for our nursing shortage

Wis Opinion - Madison, WI, USA, Aug 11

The second, and long-term goal of this bill, is to help universities educate more American nurses to fill the vacancies in our workforce. ...


Dane County leads the nation with its medical translation services

WKOW.com, WI, Aug 11

Right now, there are only about a dozen bilingual doctors serving Dane County's estimated 40,000 Spanish-speakers. …Until a decade ago, just about anyone could claim they were bilingual. Today, Dane County's translators are not just qualified; they're certified through a ground-breaking program started by UW Hospital's Shiva Bidar-Sielaff.


Home health care headache

Great Falls Tribune - Great Falls, MT, USA, Aug 10

It's not uncommon for health care providers with Spectrum's home health care services in Great Falls to drive 200 miles per day. ...


Program points at-risk youth to careers

The Columbian - Vancouver, WA, USA, Aug 10

The senator intends to drop a bill in September that would give states money for workforce training programs. A draft version of the bill warns that some ...


Sanders authors nursing program funding bonanza

Bennington Banner - Bennington,  VT,  USA, Aug 9

Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., that would provide a significant boost to nursing education both nationwide and in Bennington County. The provision, included in the ...


UE using grant to nurse work force shortage

Henderson Gleaner - Henderson, KY, USA, Aug 9

There is a critical shortage of new nurses entering the work force, Penland said, and the grant will help UE do its part to address the problem. ...
 


States urge "cultural competency" in health care

CNN - USA, Aug 8

Some states have passed laws requiring that health education programs train students in cultural competency. As the ethnic profile diversifies in the United ...


Aurora Health Care Employee Named YMCA Black Achiever of the Year

Wisbusiness.com - Madison , WI,  USA, Aug 7

6 /PRNewswire/ -- Maggie Beckley of Aurora Health Care has been honored as YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee's YMCA's Black Achiever of the Year. ...


New Alliance Between Leaders in Health and Medicine to Address ...

MarketWatch - USA, Aug. 7

The Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing designs and delivers leading-edge continuing education for nurses. The Institute accesses the expertise of faculty ...


The California Board of Registered Nursing Approves
Affiliations ...

MarketWatch - USA, Aug. 6

We are creating the next generation of healthcare leaders, and the country needs them sooner rather than later. We are thrilled to be able to work with ...


Health care issues still impair rural areas

Jamestown Sun - Jamestown, ND, USA, Aug. 5

“We’ve got an inadequate workforce in many parts of rural North Dakota, and yet we’ve got an increase in the number of people who need that workforce the ...


Funding is available for laid-off workers

Janesville Gazette - Janesville, WI, USA, Aug. 4

Through the US Department of Labor and Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, money is available to help workers who have been displaced through no ...


Daily News: Advocate Asks for Nurse Education Funding

 Nurse.com - Falls Church, VA, USA, Aug 1

"Overreliance on foreign-educated nurses by the healthcare industry serves only to postpone efforts to address the needs of nursing students and the US ...


August 2008 AMA Health Care Careers e-Letter

Take the 2-year track: Best health fields with an associate degree

Four years of college isn't for everyone –- some health care professionals included. Here are 10 fields that require only a 2-year associate degree for entry:
 

  • Dental hygienist
  • ,
  • Diagnostic medical sonographer
  • Respiratory therapist
  • Radiologic technologist and technician
  • Occupational therapist assistant
  • Physical therapist assistant
  • Licensed practice/vocational nurse
  • Surgical technologist
  • Massage therapist
  • Cardiovascular technologist and technician


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Supply of radiologic technologists may be catching up to demand

The results of a new survey indicate that the health workforce shortage may be easing in at least one field -– radiologic technology.

Data from the nationwide Radiology Staffing Survey 2008, conducted by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists, show that the profession is reaching a balance between the number of positions available for radiologic technologists and the number of new practitioners entering the field.

The trends show that the vacancy rates have been dropping over the past 5 years, said an ASRT representative. In radiography, for example, vacancy rates were 10.3 percent in 2003, 7.7 percent in 2004, 5.4 percent in 2005, 4.5 percent in 2006, 3.7 percent in 2007, and 3.4 percent as of first quarter 2008.

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Health care workforce planning not meeting nation's needs

Our "historic incremental, piecemeal approaches" to health care workforce are no longer effective. The US needs a new, collaborative, coordinated, national health workforce planning initiative that transcends geographical and professional boundaries.

A new report by the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC), "Out of Order, Out of Time: The State of the Nation's Health Workforce," focuses attention on these challenges and offers 40 findings that document what is "out of order" with respect to the nation's health workforce.

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AHECs working to "prime the pump" of future health professionals

The recent National AHEC Organization meeting in Denver was a gold mine of information on successful Area Health Education Center initiatives throughout the country to address health care workforce shortages and ensure health care access for all Americans.

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Results of dental hygiene survey now available (pdf)

A new survey of dental hygiene education program directors details the challenges and opportunities facing the profession, including degree elevation, faculty recruitment and retention, cultural diversity of dental hygiene professionals, new technologies in dental hygiene curricula, and student recruitment and admissions.

"Today, one of the most pressing issues facing our health care system is the shortage of health care workers. From lab technicians,to nurses, to pharmacy technologists, to rural and urban physicians, the demand for our health care workers is increasing just as more and more of our workers reach retirement age and leave the workforce. We cannot afford to have our hospitals short-staffed or our health care professionals to be working triple shifts. We must address this shortage and ensure that all of our citizens have access to quality health care."


Jim Doyle,Governor
State of Wisconsin