Latest Kaiser Health News Stories
Rural Areas Send Their Sickest Patients to Cities, Straining Hospitals
Critically ill rural patients are often sent to city hospitals for high-level treatment, and as their numbers grow, some urban hospitals are buckling under the added strain. Meanwhile, mask-wearing and other pandemic prevention measures remain spotty in rural counties.
Need a COVID-19 Nurse? That’ll Be $8,000 a Week
A shortage of nurses has turned hospital staffing into a sort of national bidding war, with hospitals willing to pay exorbitant wages to secure the nurses they need. That threatens to shift the supply of nurses toward more affluent areas.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Crooked Media and KHN’s ‘No Mercy’ Dissect Fallout After Rural Hospital Shuts
Crooked Media’s “America Dissected” explores the rural health crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Podcast guest KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal said: “I expect we’ll see a lot more rural hospital failures.”
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 7: After a Rural Town Loses Hospital, Is a Health Clinic Enough?
In Fort Scott, Kansas, the Community Health Center’s big green-and-white sign replaced Mercy Hospital’s name on the front of the town’s massive medical building. In the final chapter of Season One: “No Mercy,” we have an appointment to see what’s inside.
Enfermeros itinerantes en alto riesgo frente a condiciones de atención de COVID-19
Desde que la pandemia de COVID-19 causó un terremoto en el sistema de salud, más enfermeros itinerantes viajan de estado en estado, arriesgando sus propias vidas.
‘Is This Worth My Life?’: Traveling Health Workers Decry COVID Care Conditions
Frequently employed by staffing agencies based in other states, nurses and other healthcare professionals can find themselves working through crisis without advocates or adequate safety equipment.
Meet Josh. He’s a teenager in Fort Scott, Kansas, who dropped out of high school around the same time the town’s hospital closed. He says those two things are related.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 5: With Rural Hospital Gone, Cancer Care Means a Daylong Trek
The hunt for good cancer treatment often means miles on the road, time spent waiting and exhaustion from treatment and transit. “The further you have to travel to get care, the less likely that you are going to take that effort to do that,” said Boban Mathew, an oncologist in southeastern Kansas.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 4: So, 2 Nuns Step Off a Train in Kansas … A Hospital’s Origin Story
Mercy Hospital and the people of Fort Scott, Kansas, have a long, tangled history. To understand what the town lost when the hospital shut its doors, we rewind the story to 1886.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 3: Patchwork of Urgent Care Frays After a Rural Hospital Closes
Fort Scott, Kansas, went without an ER for 18 days, after the local hospital shut down. Documenting local trauma during that “dark period” helped investigative reporter Sarah Jane Tribble unravel some of the complications that come after a rural hospital closes.
COVID Stalks Montana Town Already Saddled With Asbestos Disease
Residents of a small Montana community exposed to decades of asbestos contamination are taking extra precautions to keep COVID-19 away.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 2: Unimaginable, After a Century, That Their Hospital Would Close
After Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut its doors, investigative reporter Sarah Jane Tribble traveled to Kansas and spent time with former hospital president Reta Baker and City Manager Dave Martin — to understand what their town lost.
‘No Mercy’ Explores the Fallout After a Small Town Loses Its Hospital
Listen to “Where It Hurts,” each episode debuting on Tuesdays, from Sept. 29 through Nov. 10. When Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut its doors, locals lost care. Health workers lost jobs. The hole left behind is bigger than a hospital. Season One is “No Mercy.”
Las clínicas ambulantes está llevando el tratamiento de la adicción a zonas rurales remotas, en donde los pacientes carecen de acceso inmediato a medicinas y servicios.
Health on Wheels: Tricked-Out RVs Deliver Addiction Treatment to Rural Communities
Even when COVID-19 forced many addiction treatment clinics to scale back, Colorado continued to serve patients with addiction problems through an innovative program that married low-tech with high-tech. The state brought clinics on wheels to remote, underserved towns and used telehealth to connect patients with doctors.
A Fair to Remember: County Fairs Weigh Risk of Outbreak Against Financial Ruin
The threat of COVID-19 forced many county fairs to cancel this year. But some rural communities that depend on the annual economic and cultural boost decided to go ahead despite a pattern of outbreaks.
Rural Hospitals Teeter on Financial Cliff as COVID Medicare Loans Come Due
A lack of direction from federal administrators is causing confusion for many hospital administrators. Rural hospitals are among the ones hit hardest.
HHS Plan to Improve Rural Health Focuses on Better Broadband, Telehealth Services
The proposal details a wide-ranging agenda to remedy the gaps in health care and myriad challenges in rural America. In addition to more telehealth options, it includes shifts in hospital payments and expanded funding for school-based mental health programs.
