As Congress works to pass a stopgap funding bill this week, Wisconsin health advocates are keeping an eye on several extensions for Medicare programs providing telehealth services and rural hospital funding.
Hundreds of registered nurses at the Geisinger Health System have voted to authorize a second strike following weeks of unsuccessful contract negotiations with management, their union announced Tuesday.
Roughly 800 nurses from Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Twp. as well as Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre and Geisinger Healthplex CenterPoint in Pittston took to the picket line for a five-day strike during the week of Feb. 16 to protest what they claim are unfair labor practices.
In an announcement Tuesday, the union, Service Employees International Union Healthcare Pennsylvania, said the nurses have now authorized a second strike “if needed” due to their continued lack of a contract.
Gov. Josh Shapiro visited Temple University this week where he promoted his $5 million program to address Pennsylvania’s nursing shortage.
The initiative, aimed at bolstering the state’s healthcare workforce through tuition assistance and hospital partnerships, is part of the governor’s 2025-26 budget.
The Nurse Shortage Assistance Program would provide funding to hospitals that collaborate with nursing schools, helping cover tuition costs for students who commit to working in Pennsylvania hospitals for at least three years after graduation. The goal, state officials say, is to increase nurse retention and expand the “pipeline” of professionals entering the field.
A new study from Penn’s School of Nursing, published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society, challenges conventional thought regarding the benefits of continuity in nursing care within intensive care units (ICUs).
The researchers find that increased nurse continuity is not associated with a reduction in in-hospital mortality—in some shifts, it is even linked to a modest but statistically significant increase in mortality. Researchers define “cumulative nurse continuity” as the proportion of 12-hour shifts during which a patient is cared for by a nurse who had previously attended to them. Although overall continuity increased over time, the data reveals that higher continuity is not associated with improved patient outcomes, prompting a re-examination of its presumed benefits.
A medical helicopter crashed in Mississippi on Monday, killing a pilot and two hospital workers on board, officials said. The University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jacksonville uses the helicopter, which is based out of the southern city Columbus, for air transports. The helicopter "had an accident" in a rural area not far from its base, according to the hospital. Two crew members on board were employed by the medical center, and the pilot was from Med-Trans, the company that owns and operates the helicopter. No patients were on board. The helicopter was returning to Columbus from a patient transport when it crashed in Madison County at around 12:30 pm, killing everyone on board.