Hospital Matters: What just happened with 340B drug discounts in Minnesota and what's coming next

Ely's hospital is keeping healthcare ready as fires grow around northeastern Minnesota

The Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital is keeping "business as usual," even as some staff have been preparing to evacuate their homes when fires approach. Hospital CEO Patti Banks says the lessons learned during the COVID pandemic have been key to responding to the area's latest emergency. Host: Tim Nelson, Minnesota Hospital Association Guest: Patti Banks, Jodi Martin, Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital

Mental health care for children in Minnesota is struggling, despite some clear ideas about what to do

Kirsten Anderson, CEO at AspireMN has been advocating relentlessly to improve the response to rising mental health needs for Minnesota kids, including better reimbursements, new facilities and other developments. But too many of the state's kids are still winding up waiting for comprehensive care in the wrong place: hospital emergency rooms. We talk with Anderson about how we got here and where care needs to go. Host: Tim Nelson, Minnesota Hospital Association Guest: Kirsten Anderson, AspireMN

The healthcare workforce keeps changing, even as the pandemic's impact fades

Data shows the great resignation during the COVID pandemic is still echoing through the workforce – but hospitals are coping with new challenges now, including generational change, a recalibration of immigration by the Trump administration, and a big expansion of the availability of the N-CLEX test. We'll hear more about that from Patti Artley, chief clinical officer of Medical Solutions Group, a healthcare workforce solutions partner, about what's going on in nursing, a key sector of the hospital workforce. Host: Tim Nelson, Minnesota Hospital Association Guest: Patti Artley, Medical Solutions Group

Minnesota's hospitals re-affirm commitment to patient safety with new partnership

Federal regulations that went into effect this spring require hospitals that care for Medicare patients to meet new standards, including participation in a so-called "patient safety organization." MHA has partnered with ECRI, a PSO, to be a resource for hospitals in Minnesota that don't already have a patient safety organization in place. Host: Tim Nelson Guest: Anna Thomas, Principal Safety Consultant at ECRI [https://home.ecri.org/]

Hospital Matters: Lakewood Health is opening a new chapter on rural physician training this fall

Lakewood Health is joining programs in Grand Rapids and Wilmar, hosting University of Minnesota medical school grads for residencies focused on family practice and rural hospital care. Dr. Kaitlyn Schoeck, who trained in Staples herself, talks about why programs like this are important for the future of health care outside Minnesota's major cities. Host: Tim Nelson, Minnesota Hospital Association Guest: Dr. Kaitlyn Schoeck, Lakewood Health System