Jan 17 Omicron slamming South American hospitals as workers fall ill By Débora Álvares, Almudena Calatrava, Associated Press The coronavirus' omicron variant is barreling across South America and pressuring hospitals whose employees are getting infected and taking sick leave, leaving facilities understaffed to cope with COVID-19's third wave. Continue reading
Sep 16 Watch 5:45 Hospitals in sparsely vaccinated areas prepare to ration care Last week we heard how some hospitals in Idaho were overflowing and starting to ration care. That crisis has now spread statewide, and is forcing hospitals to start sending sick patients to neighboring states. William Brangham reports. Continue watching
Sep 03 Hawaii health care workers decry lack of COVID mandates By Caleb Jones, Associated Press Health care workers in Hawaii say a lack of government action is worsening an already crippling surge of coronavirus cases in the islands, and without effective policy changes the state's limited hospitals could face a grim crisis. Continue reading
Sep 03 Idaho hospitals nearly buckling in relentless COVID surge By Rebecca Boone, Associated Press Intensive care beds are full of unvaccinated coronavirus patients at a hospital in Boise, Idaho, and doctors are bracing for the need to conserve scarce resources for the patients most likely to survive. Continue reading
Jul 22 Watch 6:25 17-year-old makes color changing sutures that detect infection By Stephanie Sy, Rachel Wellford All over the world, infections at the site of surgical incisions are a major cause of new illnesses, extended hospital stays and even death. In the U.S. alone, these infections cost more than $3 billion annually, with even worse statistics… Continue watching
May 18 Many cancer patients pay dearly for hospital parking By Rebecca J. Ritzel, Kaiser Health News Patients often fork over payments comparable to valet rates to park while receiving care. Continue reading
Feb 16 Hospitals still ration medical N95 masks as stockpiles swell By Jason Dearen, Juliet Linderman, Martha Mendoza, Associated Press One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of medical-grade N95 face masks are pouring out of American factories and heading into storage, yet doctors and nurses say there still aren’t enough to keep them safe. Continue reading
Jan 04 Watch 10:11 U.S. vaccine rollout remains sluggish, as new coronavirus strain spreads The U.S. is stumbling out of the gate in getting the COVID-19 vaccine distributed in 2021, as a more contagious variant of the virus spreads around the country. Dr. Robert M. Wachter, the head of the department of medicine at… Continue watching
Jan 01 Watch 6:39 Reports highlight failures of the VA’s health system during the pandemic The U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs operates the nation's biggest hospital system, serving millions of former service members around the county. But according to a series of investigative reports in ProPublica, that system has suffered badly during the pandemic, and… Continue watching
Dec 02 Swamped hospitals scramble for pandemic help By Grant Schulte, Amy Forliti, Associated Press U.S. hospitals slammed with COVID-19 patients are trying to lure nurses and doctors out of retirement, recruiting students and new graduates who have yet to earn their licenses. Continue reading