All articles tagged with #hospitals
A BuzzFeed-style piece aggregates anonymous firsthand accounts from doctors, nurses, and other medical workers who reveal troubling, sometimes dangerous, realities inside healthcare—from unsafe practices and staffing pressures to profit-driven decisions and insurer intimidation—shedding light on a gap between public trust and the realities of modern medicine.
Vice President JD Vance has urged the Justice Department to investigate hospitals he says may have fraudulently billed insurers for gender-affirming care for minors, citing an HHS report that alleges upcoding and misused diagnostic codes to boost payments. The move follows CMS cutting Medicaid funding for such care and comes amid broader political clashes over gender-affirming treatments, with major medical groups disputing the claims. The report also notes more than 30 facilities billed puberty-blocking drugs under non-specific endocrine-disorder codes, totaling nearly $50 million, raising questions about whether these were fraudulent practices or coding mistakes.
A powerful earthquake hit western Colombia, killing at least 265 people and injuring thousands, with more than 84 hospitals reporting damage. The remaining health facilities are overwhelmed as rescuers search rubble and evacuate patients, while thousands remain missing and international aid is being sought to sustain the emergency response.
Michigan hospitals report a surge of Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus, with over 500 cases this year and more than 3,000 since 2021; the CDC lists it as an urgent threat. It can spread on surfaces in healthcare settings and cause severe infections, including bloodstream infections. Hospitals say increased testing and strict contact precautions are helping, but the risk to people outside hospitals remains low, and patients should follow discharge guidance to reduce exposure.
A 26-year-old Welsh man, Leon Gillespie, scaled the roof of Ysbyty Glan Clwyd hospital in a hooded costume he said looked like a crow, then stared at doctors and patients for about 50 minutes before being fined and charged with causing a nuisance on NHS grounds; he later admitted to two shoplifting offences and paid restitution.
U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 rankings place Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto and UCSF Medical Center among the nation’s top 20 adult hospitals, with Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose 8th nationally for rehabilitation and John Muir Health Concord Medical Center 48th in cardiology, highlighting the Bay Area’s strength in medicine across specialties.
Twelve Florida hospitals are ranked among the nation’s best in the 2026-27 US News & World Report ‘Best Hospitals’ list, with standout highlights including Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center leading Florida cancer care, Mayo Clinic Florida atop cardiology and orthopedics, and Bascom Palmer Eye Institute as the No.1 eye hospital, reflecting broad strength across specialties.
U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 rankings name the University of Kansas Hospital as the top Kansas-side facility in the Kansas City region, followed by Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City, Saint Luke’s East Hospital in Lee’s Summit, AdventHealth Shawnee Mission, and NKC Health Hospital in North Kansas City. Missouri’s Barnes-Jewish Hospital tops the state's list. The rankings are based on risk-adjusted outcomes across 14 specialties and 23 procedures, drawn from about 800 million patient-care records across roughly 4,500 hospitals to identify 505 top regional facilities.
U.S. News & World Report’s 2026-27 rankings place UC Davis Medical Center as the top Sacramento-area hospital, with Sutter Medical Center and Mercy General following; six Sacramento-area hospitals earned Best Regional Hospitals status, and UC Davis is eighth-best in California. The rankings also flag local hospitals' strengths in cancer, cardiology, orthopedics, and rehabilitation, based on outcomes, processes, and structure.
Israeli airstrikes across Gaza killed at least seven Palestinians and hit medicine warehouses beside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, destroying essential medicines and supplies and worsening a fragile healthcare system. Attacks also struck sites in Gaza City and al-Mawasi, with Gaza’s Health Ministry reporting 7 dead and 76 wounded in 48 hours, bringing the ceasefire toll to about 1,222 killed and roughly 73,349 killed overall since October 2023. Israel says it targeted Hamas depots overnight amid ongoing ceasefire disputes and broader disarmament talks.
Congressional committees on both sides advanced bipartisan price-transparency bills to require hospitals and insurers to disclose prices, aiming to lower medical costs and premiums; supporters cite potential savings, while opponents warn of administrative burdens, and lawmakers hope to bundle the measures into a lame-duck package for final passage.
AdventHealth will take over daily operations of Intermountain Health’s Lutheran Hospital in Wheat Ridge, Platte Valley Hospital in Brighton, and Good Samaritan Hospital in Lafayette through a joint venture, with Intermountain exploring options for Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver; the arrangement isn’t a sale and is targeted to close in early 2027 after regulatory approval, with analysts noting potential antitrust scrutiny due to market concentration.
The White House proposed a rule to cut hospital payments for routine imaging services (X-rays, ultrasounds, MRIs) to level with what doctor’s offices are paid, aiming to save about $9.5 billion for the Medicare trust fund over a decade (the CBO estimates about $7.6 billion in savings). The rule would apply to most scans except contrast-enhanced procedures, would take effect January 1, and is open to public comment before finalization. Proponents say site-neutral payments curb healthcare spending, while hospitals argue they cover more complex patients and higher overhead. This continues prior site-neutral efforts, including recent moves on off-campus drug administration.
King’s College Hospital in London opened the UK’s first rooftop garden for its 60-bed Critical Care Unit, allowing ICU patients to spend hours outdoors while still connected to life-support via weatherproof cabinets; the six-bed rooftop setup aims to advance research on how nature, light, and fresh air affect recovery, stress, and well-being for patients, families, and staff, with designers Nigel Dunnett and Sarah Price leading the landscaping.
Former Healthcare Systems of America-Florida CEO Michael Sarian is named in a Miami-Dade lawsuit alleging he siphoned at least $14 million from HSA Florida to fund a lavish lifestyle, including a $109,000 transfer to a Beverly Hills hotel for his son’s baptism and a forged signature to divert funds. Sarian denies wrongdoing as HSA Florida, which operates five South Florida hospitals, grapples with financial distress after taking over from Steward Health Care in 2024; multi-state lawsuits and leadership clashes complicate the case.