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Hospitals create police forces to stem growing violence against staff

Hospitals create police forces to stem growing violence against staff

The Florida Legislature passed a bill (HB 825) this month that increases criminal penalties for assault or battery of hospital personnel. Nearly 40 states have laws that establish or increase penalties for assaults on health care workers, according to the American Nurses Association. And lawmakers in 29 states have approved or are working on similar laws, as well as ones that allow for the creation of hospital police forces. Critics worry the law enforcement focus could have unintended consequences. More from WUSF and Kaiser Health News.

Florida doctors can now deny health care coverage based on personal views

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed four pieces of legislation into law that he says will protect Floridians from medical mandates like masks and vaccines during the pandemic. He says collectively, the slate of bills he signed Thursday is strongest legislation in the nation for medical freedom. SB1580, the medical conscience law, gives health care providers and insurers new rights, including the ability to opt out of participation or payment for certain health care services on the basis of personal objections. [Source: WFLA]

Blood banks in Florida prepare to roll out FDA's updated donation policy

A revised federal policy does away with a three-month waiting period for blood donations for men who have sex with men (MSM). Moving forward, all donors will be screened using the same questionnaire that determines a person’s individual risk for HIV regardless of sexuality or gender identity. Susan Forbes of OneBlood says its donation centers are training workers to roll out the policy in a couple of months throughout Florida. [Source: Health News Florida]

How Central Florida hospitals are dealing with nurse burnout

The National Library of Medicine describes burnout as one of the biggest drivers of the ongoing nursing shortage. About two-thirds of nurses experience burnout, according to the American Hospital Association. The phenomenon isn't just a sense of exhaustion, it's a workplace injury, said Dr. Maureen Leffler, chief well-being officer at Nemours Children's Health in Orlando. [Source: WMFE]

Tips to help Florida parents with their teens’ mental health

There’s a youth mental health crisis in America — and Florida isn’t immune. As local parents navigate the crisis and try to boost their adolescents’ well-being, Jennifer Katzenstein, the director of psychology, neuropsychology and social work at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, offered tips on how to proactively address mental health issues among teens. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› How do Florida hospitals get organs for the sickest patients in need of transplants?
More than 100,000 people are waiting for a life-saving organ in the United States, with a new name added to the list every nine minutes. So, how does the U.S. organ transplant system work? To find out, we spoke with Anne Paschke, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit that runs the country’s organ transplant system.

› UF Health Jacksonville names new chief executive officer
Patrick Green, MBA, FACHE, has been named chief executive officer of UF Health Jacksonville and will join the organization July 10 following his highly successful leadership of one of the largest health care providers in the Northeast. Green served as executive vice president of Yale New Haven Health, and president and CEO of Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, Connecticut, since 2017.

› Health equity award winner tackles dismal breastfeeding rates, infant deaths in Orange County
Pediatrician Dr. Tara S. Williams, the 2023 winner of the Florida Department of Health-Orange County’s Dr. Bookhardt Award for Health Equity, is on a mission to improve breastfeeding rates in Orange County. Williams, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, has been a practicing pediatrician and breastfeeding medicine specialist for over a decade and is an executive member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Breastfeeding.

› Pasco County is taking proposals for how to use its opioid settlement funds
Communities across Florida are weighing how to spend millions of dollars that have come in so far from settlements opioid manufacturers and distributors made with the state. Pasco County is now accepting applications for community projects to address the crisis. The county will use nearly $900,000 dollars in its new “Opioid Treatment, Prevention and Recovery Fund” to pay for the efforts.