Illinois is facing a multibillion-dollar budget crisis due to changes in federal Medicaid policy that will reduce the state’s ability to levy provider taxes, resulting in a $4-6 billion a year hit to the state’s Medicaid program.
hospitals
Posted inNews
Plainfield Police Department to Host 2025 National Take Back Day
The DEA is hosting a national take-back day on April 26th, 2025, from 10am-2pm, where the public can surrender expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances for destruction.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
Governor, hospital leaders urge hospitals to postpone non-emergency surgeries during Omicron Surge
To prepare for a likely surge of post-holiday Omicron COVID-19 cases and to prepare for a potential shortage of staffed ICU beds, Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Health and Hospital Association are urging hospitals to take every possible measure to maintain and expand bed capacity, including postponing non-emergency surgeries and other procedures as needed and without risking patient harm.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
COVID cases continue to increase in Will County heading into the holidays
Will County is heading in the wrong direction with its COVID numbers as they continue to rise. The seven-day rolling test positivity rate went from 8.3 percent as of last Friday to 8.6 percent on Wednesday and COVID-Like Illinois Emergency Department (CLI-ED) visits at area hospitals rose to 10.4 percent.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
Nursing shortage hits area hospitals
Across the country and in every state, including Illinois, there is a shortage of nurses. Hospitals are doing everything they can to fill nursing jobs to care for patients.
COVID-19’s latest surge exacerbates long-standing forces driving nursing shortfalls, prompting an all-hands-on-deck scramble to maintain patient care, according to an article posted on the Association of American Medical College’s website.
The article outlines how at a hospital system in Dallas, Texas, doctors were performing duties normally done by nurses and medical assistants, such as turning and bathing patients.
Posted in#NNPA BlackPress, Black Experience, Black History, Community, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Featured, Health, National, News, NNPA, NNPA Newswire, Stacy Brown
Study Shows How Medical Community Neglected African Americans with Covid
NNPA NEWSWIRE — The report noted that hospitalization rates for Black and Latinx patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 are approximately three times higher than those of similar White patients. “It is therefore unsurprising that of the 216,635 COVID-19–related deaths in the United States to date for which we have race and ethnicity data available, 29.3% have been Black (34,374) or Latinx (29,063), which correlate with US population norms,” the authors continued.
Posted in#NNPA BlackPress, Commentary, Community, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Featured, National, News, NNPA, NNPA Newswire, Op-Ed, Politics
OP-ED: Access Is Always Appropriate — Even in a Pandemic
NNPA NEWSWIRE — In Florida, the legislative session is a sparse 60 days. During the 2020 session, legislators barred the public from feasibly attending committee hearings. The public was unable to access the state building and were forced to go to offsite locations like the convention center and log onto remote access software to share public testimony. They were not able to log on from the comfort of their homes, and there were no accommodations for persons with disabilities.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
COVID vaccine debate and fear mongering in Will County
Will County is apparently not immune to the unfortunate politics of the COVID vaccine that has spread across the country like… well, a pandemic. Data has shown that most who are now ending up in hospitals suffering from COVID are the unvaccinated and most large numbers of cases are in states with low percentage of vaccinated individuals.
Posted in#NNPA BlackPress, Black Experience, Black History, Community, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Featured, Health, National, News, NNPA, NNPA Coronavirus Task Force, NNPA Newswire, Politics, Stacy Brown
New Coronavirus Variant a ‘Concern’ for Health Officials
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Nearly 219 million people globally had contracted the novel coronavirus since March 2020, when officials officially declared a pandemic. Over 4.5 million have died, including more than 657,000 in the United States, where the disease has disproportionately attacked African Americans and other communities of color. Health officials have identified the Delta variant — and the lack of those vaccinated — as the primary reason over 100,000 people in the United States are currently hospitalized — the largest number since the beginning of the year.
Posted in#NNPA BlackPress, Business, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Economy, Featured, National, News, NNPA, NNPA Newswire
Medical Debt: The Other Part of the Pandemic’s Fallout
NNPA NEWSWIRE – “If you’re considering bankruptcy as a solution for medical debt, you’re not alone. Unmanageable medical care debt and the hardships that often come along with it – like loss of work or reduced access to credit – can be a recipe for financial ruin,” Sarah C. Brady, a San Francisco-based financial consultant, wrote for Credit Karma.
Brady warned that filing for bankruptcy isn’t always an ideal solution.
