Florida's strategic push to address nursing shortage shows promising progress
The nursing shortage impacted hospitals across the country during Covid-19 and is still having some lasting effects. Data from the "National Council of State Boards of Nursing" says roughly 100,000 registered nurses left the workforce during the pandemic's peak citing stress, burnout, and retirements as contributing factors. Some experts believe the shortage could continue for a few more years. The "Nurse Journal" says Florida is anticipated to meet the demand between 2028 and 2030.& [Source: WEAR]
Recreational vs medical marijuana: If weed is legal, what will happen to medical marijuana industry?
If enough voters go for it in November, recreational marijuana for adult use will become legal in Florida. What will this do to the state's medical marijuana program, overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2016? Would there be any reason to have a Medical Marijuana card if you can just head to a licensed marijuana dispensary and walk on in? [Source: Florida Today]
Florida seniors get new option for mental health help from home
Medicare enrollees in Florida now have greater access to mental health help from home. Talkspace, a national online behavioral healthcare company, is rolling out its service to 5 million traditional Medicare members in Florida. The company said its tele-mental health therapy aims to address the high rates of anxiety and depression in seniors. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Judge reschedules the class-action case on Florida Medicaid eligibility to July
A federal judge has rescheduled a trial to start in July in a class-action lawsuit over people being dropped from Florida’s Medicaid program after the end of a federal public health emergency declared because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawsuit alleges that the state did not properly inform people before dropping them from the health care program. The dispute is rooted in the spring 2023 end of the federal public health emergency, which started in 2020. [Source: News Service of Florida]
8.9 million Floridians have 'forever chemicals' in their drinking water, new data show
Nearly 90 million people in the United States have toxic "forever chemicals," or PFAS, in their drinking water, according to updated federal data. Of the 89.3 million exposed nationwide, 8.9 million are Floridians, as the advocacy organization Environmental Working Group crunched those numbers based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s database. The data show PFAS were present in 33% of systems tested so far. [Source: WUSF]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Manatee Memorial Hospital ends indigent and uninsured patient care over funding shortfall
Manatee Memorial Hospital is cutting indigent and uninsured patient care with an exception for emergency room visits to meet legal obligations. The for-profit hospital notified stakeholders on May 6 that it will no longer accept patients enrolled in Manatee County's health care plan, known as Good County, or unfunded referrals from the We Care Manatee nonprofit as of June 1.
› Miracle baby: Jackson Health doctors perform first in-utero embolization in Florida
Lainey Ramos Arango is now snuggling her healthy five-week-old baby boy, Lucas. This precious time is all thanks to the doctors at Jackson Health System who saved the baby’s life by performing the first-ever in-utero embolization reported in Florida at Holtz Children’s Hospital.
› Florida hospital using Zika virus to help treat one of deadliest childhood cancers
Neuroblastoma is one of the deadliest childhood cancers. It typically develops in the abdomen, kidneys, adrenal glands and along the spinal cord. It’s rare, with only 800 cases diagnosed each year, but it causes 15 percent of all childhood cancer deaths. Now, a team of doctors in Florida could be at the forefront of a new lifesaving treatment.
› $48 million North Florida Rehabilitation Hospital opens in West Jacksonville
A Birmingham-headquartered national health care real estate investment and development company has opened its newest medical project in Northeast Florida. The Sanders Trust is the developer behind teh $48 million project, building a 60,000-square-foot facility with 50 beds, a 12-bed brain injury unit, multidisciplinary therapy gymnasiums and outdoor courtyards.