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Some hospitals are bringing in dogs to spend entire shifts with doctors and nurses. The trained canines help staffers cope with the stress of their work amid high levels of burnout.
California has a few major changes coming to its health policy landscape in 2025. New laws that took effect Jan. 1 ban medical debt from credit reports, allow public health inspections of private immigration detention centers, and ban toxic chemicals in makeup.
Birth centers, where midwives deliver babies with emergency backup from hospitals, can offer an alternative for families as hospitals close maternity units. But the state’s stiff regulations and what many call a dysfunctional licensing process are hobbling new initiatives and forcing some facilities to shut down.
A primary care clinic burned, medical offices closed, and hospitals struggled with possible evacuations. The wildfires that have incinerated large swaths of Los Angeles County are stressing the region’s health care infrastructure. Still, providers continue to find ways to deliver vital care.
After rival hospitals in Terre Haute scuttled plans to merge, a state senator has introduced a bill to forbid similar mergers by repealing a state law he helped write.
A medical resident who listens to “An Arm and a Leg” is pushing for change with the American Medical Association and at the hospital where he works.
51Ƶ Health News staff made the rounds on national and local media in the last two weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Donald Trump’s first administration advanced rules forcing hospitals and insurers to reveal prices for medical services. Employers don’t want to risk backtracking during Trump’s second administration.
51Ƶ Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
A man in Chicago with a troubling symptom underwent a common procedure. Then he wanted to know why the hospital charged nearly three times its own cost estimate.
The helicopter evacuation of 70 people from a Tennessee hospital during Hurricane Helene is considered a success story. The building was destroyed by floodwaters, but no one died. In hindsight, why was it built next to a river?
The push-pull in Montana reflects a national tension as states try to decide what counts as fair checks on tax-exempt hospitals and industry players weigh in. The debate centers on whether nonprofit hospitals do enough good to earn their charitable status.
Ballad Health, with the largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in the nation, has failed for years to meet many quality-of-care goals, leaving some patients afraid of their local hospitals but with no other nearby options.
Two Indiana hospital rivals withdrew their application to merge after facing pushback from the Federal Trade Commission and the public.
For nearly 15 years, the feds have had oversight of Georgia’s treatment of people with mental illness and developmental disabilities. Observers say the state still jeopardizes some of its most marginalized residents by not meeting the terms of its settlement with the Justice Department.
51Ƶ Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Listen to 51Ƶ Health News' Jackie Fortiér recount how a backyard snakebite led to a harrowing hospitalization — and big bills — for a San Diego family.
Hundreds of people and the Federal Trade Commission weighed in on a proposed hospital merger in Terre Haute, Indiana, with most arguing that the creation of a monopoly would increase costs and worsen patient care.
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