Nation Aug 02

Across the country, a critical shortage of state psychiatric beds is forcing mentally ill patients with severe symptoms to be held in emergency rooms, hospitals and jails while they wait for a bed, sometimes for weeks.

Health Jul 19

By not allowing midwives to lawfully perform out-of-hospital births, advocates say, states like Alabama are not just hampering their ability to practice their profession. They are depriving expectant mothers who may not have easy access to obstetric care in a…

Health Jul 08

Many now recognize that providing good health care has to go beyond the doctor’s office — especially for minorities and low-income people. Limited access to healthy food, environmental perils, crime, insecure housing, insufficient recreational opportunities and the absence of affordable…

Health Jun 10

Earlier this month, dignitaries gathered at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro to cut the ribbon on a new medical school, only the second in a state with a dire shortage of doctors.

Health May 10

The Joint Commission, a nonprofit that accredits health care organizations and programs, calls maternal deaths “sentinel” events. “For every woman who dies, there are 50 who are very ill, suffering significant complications of pregnancy, labor and delivery,” Dr. William Callaghan,…

Health Aug 20

There are approximately 2,300 rural hospitals in the U.S., most of them concentrated in the Midwest and the South. For a variety of reasons, many of them are struggling to survive.

Health Jul 06

As more expensive specialty drugs come on the market to treat some of the most serious chronic diseases, more states are stepping in to cushion the financial pain for patients who need medicine that can cost up to hundreds of…