The weather. It's a topic that doesn't come up often in hospital news reporting, but this summer is set to be one of the hottest on record, and many hospitals are already grappling with the consequences of extreme heat.
Care Coordination
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill into law July 24 that will license all freestanding birth centers allowing them to more seamlessly operate throughout the state, according to a news release.
Some patients at HCA Healthcare's Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C., are experiencing longer wait times between ambulance pickup and emergency room admission, the Citizen Times reported July 25.
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in Tampa, Fla., reopened July 24 after a temporary shutdown because of an explosion risk from ruptured lithium-ion batteries.
Pittsfield, Mass.-based Berkshire Health Systems plans to limit the scope of its at-home healthcare services by the end of July, according to The Berkshire Eagle.
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The University of Louisville (Ky.) Hospital — the sole Level 1 trauma facility in the region — was without power for more than 12 hours July 15, the Louisville Courier Journal reported.
The emergency department is the most common point of entry for people who need care, yet long wait times often also make it the center of hospital patient dissatisfaction.
Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs, Conn. has launched its own ambulance service to ensure the quickest possible transportation of patients, CT Insider reported July 15.
Hospital-at-home programs are growing in popularity among hospitals, but the burden it adds to unpaid caregivers is one reason why 10 percent to 62 percent of families turn down the option, NPR reported July 18.
Last fall and winter, hospitals took a number of steps to handle what for many was an unprecedented demand for care amid a simultaneous surge of respiratory syncytial virus, flu and COVID-19.