Stuck in licensing limbo, Florida nursing students want answers. They're not getting them

| 3/19/2024

Stuck in licensing limbo, Florida nursing students want answers. They’re not getting them

The careers of hundreds of aspiring nurses, have been put on indefinite hold over a standoff between Florida, where they trained, and New York, which administered the online tests but has refused to issue licenses because of questions about the checkered records and accreditation of some for-profit nursing schools in South Florida. [Source: Miami Herald]

Health-related bills, a priority of the Senate president, were formally sent to DeSantis

Health care bills that are a priority of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, were formally sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday after almost unanimously passing the Legislature. The widest-ranging bill (SB 7016) includes steps to increase the number of doctors in the state and to try to boost access to health care. The $717 million plan, for example, includes providing money to expand medical residency programs to try to keep more new doctors in Florida. More from the News Service of Florida and the Florida Phoenix.

Hospitals could top $1 billion in unpaid claims following cyberattack

The president of the Florida Hospital Association says the magnitude of the size of the impact of last month’s cyberattack on Change Healthcare has been misunderstood. Change Healthcare, which is owned by United Health, is the middleman that links hospitals and doctor’s offices to insurance companies. Mary Mayhew, who leads the Florida Hospital Association, says over 100 hospitals have been impacted statewide, which account for over 50% of hospital beds. [Source: Spectrum News]

Column: Cutting healthcare costs is good for business

At a time when Floridians are already struggling with inflation, our lawmakers should be doing everything they can to bring down health care costs, not increase them. A national survey released in September found that the average annual cost to provide health insurance for an employee rose by 5.2% in 2023 to over $15,000. Small businesses, which are also bearing the brunt of inflation, saw a 7.3% increase in health care costs. [Source: Tallahassee Democrat]

Pressure to expand Medicaid in Florida keeps slowly rising

The effort to bring Medicaid expansion to Florida will have to wait at least another year — even though many other southern states that resisted the expansion offered under Obamacare have had second thoughts and changed direction. The question is whether Florida will be one of the last states in the nation to enact expansion — similar to how it was among the last states to enact the initial Medicaid program that was first authorized in 1965. Florida did not come on board until five years later. [Source: Florida Politics]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Sarasota nonprofit helps veterans with PTSD heal with alternative therapies [WUSF]
A Sarasota-based nonprofit group is taking a holistic approach to treat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues. Operation Warrior Resolution is seeing success with an alternative therapy method called brain-based healing. While the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs offers more traditional, evidence-based therapy methods, the nonprofit’s CEO, Kendra Simpkins, says these often require patients to relive their trauma or bring up painful memories. She wanted to provide a different way for veterans to heal.

› UF Health's new CEO and hospital in St. Johns highlight industry's growth [Florida Times-Union]
UF Health St. Johns recently broke ground for a health and wellness campus at Durbin Park, part of its parent hospital system's $1 billion regional expansion plan. The first phase of the 42.5-acre UF Health St. Johns Durbin Park will include a full-service 150-bed hospital with a focus on orthopaedics, neurosurgery, cardiovascular medicine and women’s services.

› CDC director Cohen makes another Orlando visit hoping to build trust [WMFE]
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention visited Orlando last week to better strengthen ties between federal and local health services. “Trust is building relationships with those who have that trust with the communities we want to serve and be helpful,” said Dr. Mandy Cohen, who was appointed to the position last year. “So we know we have a lot continued work. Trust is not built in a day, and it has continued sustained efforts. So that is always going to be part of what we need to do.”

› Broward's school district says its measles outbreak is officially over [Health News Florida]
The Broward County School District said the outbreak of measles at one of its elementary schools is officially over. In an email to the Miami Herald last Friday, the district's communications officer wrote that the 21-day infectious period at Manatee Bay Elementary in Weston ended last week. He wrote that throughout that period, the district had received guidance from the Florida Department of Health in Broward.

Tags: Health Care eNews

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