Category: Healthcare

Here Comes the 4th—and the Fireworks Injuries

The Fourth of July is upon us (happy birthday, America!) and, with it, no shortage fireworks—and the injuries that come with them.

The Fourth of July is upon us and, with it, no shortage fireworks—and the injuries that come with them. If you work in emergency care, you have likely already seen quite a few patients with burns, loss of fingers, or worse.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, an estimated 9,100 Americans were treated in U.S. emergency departments for fireworks-related injuries in 2018. Of these injuries, which most commonly included burns to the hands, fingers, and arms, about 62% of them occurred around the Fourth of July. That is roughly 190 injuries per day between June 22 and July 22.

Of these injuries, most occurred among children aged 10 to 14, and for children under 5 years of age, sparklers accounted for more than half of the total estimated injuries.

“Each year, too many emergency room doctors see too many fireworks-related injuries. Don’t make the emergency room part of your holiday; don’t let children play with fireworks,” Dr. Sarah Combs, an emergency room doctor from Children’s National Medical Center, said in a statement released by the CPSC.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

15 Companies Hiring in Healthcare Right Now

Looking for a job in healthcare? Don’t believe the hype about the summertime slump. Here’s 50,000 jobs available right now.

The jobs market typically sees a summertime slump. Through the months of June, July, and August, it is almost as if hiring takes a vacation, and the available opportunities slow to a trickle, picking back up in September and continuing through until the holiday season. However, there are still plenty of companies hiring in healthcare right now. If you’re looking for employment, or just thinking about weighing your options, these 15 companies have a strong selection of opportunities, totaling nearly 50,000 jobs between them.

  1. trustaff
    Jobs Available: 8,366
    Top Positions: Physical Therapists, Respiratory Therapists, Case Managers
  2. CoreMedical Group
    Jobs Available: 6,334
    Top Positions: Registered Nurses, Physical Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists
  3. Supplemental Health Care
    Jobs Available: 5,492
    Top Positions: Registered Nurses, Physical Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists
  4. Therapia Staffing
    Jobs Available: 5,034
    Top Positions: Speech Language Pathologists, Physical Therapists, Analysts
  5. Aureus Medical Group
    Jobs Available: 4,276
    Top Positions: Registered Nurses, Physical Therapists, Medical Technologists
  6. NP Network
    Jobs Available: 3,606
    Top Positions: Nurse Practitioners, Physicians, Physician Assistants
  7. UnitedHealth Group
    Jobs Available: 2,737
    Top Positions: Analysts, Nurse Practitioners, Engineers
  8. Club Staffing
    Jobs Available: 2,140
    Top Positions: Physical Therapists, Respiratory Therapists, Occupational Therapists
  9. Med Travelers
    Jobs Available: 2,136
    Top Positions: Physical Therapists, Respiratory Therapists, Occupational Therapists
  10. RehabCare
    Jobs Available: 2,121
    Top Positions: Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists
  11. IQVIA
    Jobs Available: 1,871
    Top Positions: Analysts, Engineers, Scientists
  12. HealthPro – Heritage Rehabilitation
    Jobs Available: 1,500
    Top Positions: Physical Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists
  13. MAS Medical Staffing, Inc.
    Jobs Available: 1,250
    Top Positions: Physical Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists
  14. LocumTenens.com
    Jobs Available: 1,114
    Top Positions: Psychiatrists, Physicians, Nurse Practitioners
  15. Staff Care
    Jobs Available: 1,113
    Top Positions: Physicians, Dentists, Registered Nurses

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

89% of Patients Consult “Dr. Google” First

Dr. Google is in. 89% of patients queue up Google and search for their symptoms before going to see a medical provider. But this isn’t exactly a good thing.

No matter what symptoms you Google, it seems as though the search engine ends up painting a bleak picture, returning worst-case-scenarios like that you are having a heart attack, or that you have cancer, or any number of complex diseases or conditions. Or maybe even worse, it downplays more serious conditions. Yet, for some reason, 89% of patients queue up Google and search for their symptoms before going to see a medical provider.

The reason? According to a recent survey conducted by eligibility.com, where the staggering number came from, it is because patients wanted to see just how serious their symptoms were before seeking a professional diagnosis and treatment.

This practice comes with its own problems, of course, since Dr. Google is not an actual doctor and neither are the people who are Googling their symptoms. For instance, Googling “nasal congestion,” which is the most popular symptom Googled in Texas, Georgia, and Florida, returns the following possibly related, mildly problematic health conditions: seasonal allergies, common cold, sinusitis, upper respiratory infection, and animal allergy. However, it can also be a symptom of something more serious that should not go ignored, such as thyroid disorders, the flu, or even pregnancy, and Google has absolutely no way of saying for certain. Meanwhile, on the other side of it, patients who Google their symptoms can be susceptible to “cyberchondria,” a sort of adjunct hypochondria, in which they experience unreasonably high anxiety regarding common symptoms due to their search behavior.

While Google may be a useful tool for a lot of things, one thing is for certain: it is no replacement for a living, breathing medical professional. And even Google will tell you that.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

1 in 6 Insured Americans Get a Surprise Bill for Hospital Care

Patients often aren’t aware they are being treated by an out-of-network doctor while in a hospital, and the cost of such can be quite unexpected.

Rachel Bluth, Kaiser Health News

About 1 in 6 Americans were surprised by a medical bill after treatment in a hospital in 2017 despite having insurance, according to a study published Thursday.

On average, 16% of inpatient stays and 18% of emergency visits left a patient with at least one out-of-network charge. Most of those came from doctors offering treatment at the hospital, even when the patients chose an in-network hospital, according to researchers from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Its study was based on large employer insurance claims. (Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the foundation.)

The research also found that when a patient is admitted to the hospital from the emergency room, there’s a higher likelihood of an out-of-network charge. As many as 26% of admissions from the emergency room resulted in a surprise medical bill.

“Millions of emergency visits and hospital stays left people with large employer coverage at risk of a surprise bill in 2017,” the authors wrote.

The researchers got their data by analyzing large-employer claims from IBM’s MarketScan Research Databases, which include claims for almost 19 million individuals.

Surprise medical bills are top of mind for American patients, with 38% reporting they were “very worried” about unexpected medical bills.

Surprise bills don’t just come from the emergency room. Often, patients will pick an in-network facility and see a provider who works there but isn’t employed by the hospital. These doctors, from outside staffing firms, can charge out-of-network prices.

“It’s kind of a built-in problem,” said Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation and an author of the study. She said most private health insurance plans are built on networks, where patients get the highest value for choosing a doctor in the network. But patients often don’t know whether they are being treated by an out-of-network doctor while in a hospital.

“By definition, there are these circumstances where they cannot choose their provider, whether it’s an emergency or it’s [a doctor] who gets brought in and they don’t even meet them face-to-face.”

The issue is ripe for a federal solution. Some states have surprise-bill protections in place, but those laws don’t apply to most large-employer plans because the federal government regulates them.

“New York and California have very high rates of surprise bills even though they have some of the strongest state statutes,” Pollitz said. “These data show why federal legislation would matter.”

Consumers in Texas, New York, Florida, New Jersey and Kansas were the most likely to see a surprise bill, while people in Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Maine and Mississippi saw fewer, according to the study.

Legislative solutions are being discussed in the White House and Congress. The leaders of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee introduced a package Wednesday that included a provision to address it. The legislation from HELP sets a benchmark for what out-of-network physicians will be paid, which would be an amount comparable to what the plan is paying other doctors for that service.

That bill is set for a committee markup next week.

Other remedies are also being offered by different groups of lawmakers.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

FCC Sets Vote on $100M Telehealth Program for Rural U.S.

The FCC will vote next month on a $100 million program that aims to expand telehealth to rural patients and veterans by funding technology for providers.

The Federal Communications Commissions will vote next month on the Connected Care Pilot Program, an effort to develop and expand telehealth programs for the United States’ underserved rural residents and veterans that comes with a $100 million price tag. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr announced the July 10th vote yesterday during a visit to a rural health clinic in Laurel Fork, VA.

The three-year program, which has the backing of multiple health organizations, focuses on funding healthcare providers through the Universal Service Fund to secure broadband services to enable low-income patients and veterans to access telehealth services.

“With advances in telemedicine, healthcare is no longer limited to the confines of traditional brick and mortar health care facilities With an Internet connection, patients can now access high-quality care right on their smartphones, tablets, or other devices, regardless of where they are located. I think the FCC should support this new trend towards connected care, which is the healthcare equivalent of moving from Blockbuster to Netflix,” Carr said in a statement released yesterday. He went on to explain that the program, which was revealed nearly a year prior to the proposed vote in July of 2018, “will focus on ensuring that low-income Americans and veterans can access this technology.”

The Connected Care Pilot Program aims to expand access to care, improve outcomes, and reduce costs by creating a “a model for the adoption of connected care technologies and bridging the doctor divide in rural America,” per the statement released by Carr.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

4 Ways to Make a Healthcare Facility Cleaner and Safer

Maintaining a clean and sanitary healthcare facility is vital, both for the patients being treated there and the medical professionals working.

by Anita Ginsburg

Maintaining a clean and sanitary healthcare facility is vital, both for the patients being treated there and the medical professionals working. If the facility is not as clean as possible, patients and employees alike can suffer from illness thanks to the high volume of bacteria around them, which impedes both your professionals’ ability to work and your patients’ healing.

Even clean medical establishments should always be looking to improve in terms of sanitization. The following tips can help industry professionals protect and promote the health and wellbeing of employees and patients.

Disinfect Daily

Bacteria builds up in public spaces and on public objects, especially in the fall and winter months. Doctors and other health experts have stated many times that disinfecting these public spaces and objects—waiting rooms, bathrooms, doorknobs—will minimize the chances of sickness spreading. Healthcare facilities’ cleanliness can be improved by diligently cleaning surfaces with antibacterial wipes and sprays.

Encourage Sick Employees to Stay Home

The urge to power through an illness and go to work is commendable, but doing so will only compromise the cleanliness of a facility and make things more dangerous for coworkers and patients. Those who are in charge of medical facilities should make clear to employees that it’s better to stay home and heal than it is to work while ill.

Utilize and Maintain an Industrial Boiler

Industrial boilers play a crucial part in the day-to-day operation of healthcare facilities. Along with heating the buildings, providing hot water to the kitchens and laundry rooms and maintaining ideal humidity levels, boilers are essential for sterilization. All instruments that come into contact with patients must be sterile, especially surgery equipment. Boilers pump the steam that aids in cleaning that equipment. Keeping your facilities’ boilers operating at peak efficiency will help keep your whole facility running smoothly.

Place Reminders around the Facility

While most people know about healthy habits, they often forget and fail to keep these habits in the midst of the average day’s hustle and bustle. Placing reminders around the facility helps to remind visitors, patients, and even professionals to keep these habits in mind, especially while in your facility.

Waiting room signs can remind visitors to cover their mouths while sneezing, and bathroom signs can remind people to wash their hands thoroughly. Hand sanitizer stations can also go a long way towards making a facility as clean as possible.

Anita Ginsburg is a freelance writer from Denver, CO. She studied at Colorado State University, and now writes articles about about health, business, family and finance. A mother of two, she enjoys traveling with her family whenever she isn’t writing.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

Hiring Spotlight: CoreMedical Group

In this Hiring Spotlight, learn more about CoreMedical Group and the thousands of openings they have available for nurses, therapy professionals, and physicians.

Welcome to the Hiring Spotlight, a feature that takes a deeper look at companies that are offering excellent opportunities for you across the country.

Company Profile

For more than 25 years, CoreMedical Group has been a leader in healthcare staffing and recruiting for registered nurses, physical and occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, respiratory therapists, physicians, and medical management roles for placement in hospitals and healthcare facilities across the country. Their mission to “Connect People, Improve Lives, and Give Back” is the foundation of everything they do. With thousands of openings across all 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii, if the right position for you is out there, you can very likely find it with CoreMedical Group.

Take a look at a handful of their openings below, or view thousands of CoreMedical Group’s available jobs by clicking here.

Featured Openings

Nursing Jobs:

RN, Med/Surg $10K BONUS – Muskogee, OK

Immediate need for experienced Med/surg RN’s to join a leading hospital system. Prefer RN’s with 2+ years clinical experience in Medical/Surgical unit or related specialty. Active OK license, BLS Certified.

RN – Registered Nurse – Honolulu, HI

Client in HI seeking HI- TELE (RN) to work 12 hour shifts, Rotating Day / Night. Must work weekends. May be asked to be on-call at times. If voluntary on-call from regular scheduled shift, and called to report, hours will be paid at straight time for regularly scheduled shift.

RN, Nurse, Critical Care, ICU – Frisco, TX

Immediate need for a Registered Nurse with 2 or more years Critical Care / ICU experience in a fast-paced, high acuity setting to join a leading hospital system. BSN Degree preferred. ACLS, BLS Certified. Active TX license.

RN – Registered Nurse – Washington, D.C.

Client in DC seeking RN OR (RN) to work Weekends, Days (05:00-08:00)

RN – Registered Nurse – Los Angeles, CA

Client in CA seeking Staff Nurse Inpatient-CVICU/Coronary-Fast Response (RN) to work 07:00 AM to 07:00 PM

Advanced Practice Jobs:

Nurse Practitioner – Houston, TX

Immediate opening for an experienced Acute Care Nurse Practitioner to join a leading hospital. Qualified candidates will have 3 or more years experience. Must have TX License and prescriptive authority.

Physician Assistant – Albuquerque, NM

CoreMedical Group has partnered with a client in New Mexico that needs ongoing coverage for their Urgent Care. If you do not currently have a NM license but are interested, we can help facilitate this process for you.

Nurse Practitioner – Colorado Springs, CO

CoreMedical Group has partnered with a client in Colorado that needs ongoing coverage for their Neonatal program. This opportunity requires an active CO license.

Nurse Practitioner – Altoona, PA

CoreMedical Group has partnered with a client in Western Pennsylvania that needs ongoing APP coverage for their Hospital Medicine program. If you do not currently have a PA license but are interested, we can help facilitate this process for you. Night Shifts 7p-7a. Block Scheduling. Ongoing Need. Full Sub-specialty support. Market Competitive Rates.

Physician Assistant – Santa Clara, CA

CoreMedical Group has partnered with a client in California that needs ongoing coverage for their Urgent Care. If you do not currently have a CA license but are interested, we can help facilitate this process for you. Mon- Fri- 9 hr day- no weekend, no call. Must see all ages. Minor procedures. Market competitive rates.

Therapy Jobs:

Physical Therapist – PT – Portland, OR

Client in OR seeking Temp – PT – Home Health (Days) Portland, OR (PT) to work Days

Occupational Therapist – OT – Syracuse, NY

Client in NY seeking OT – Ongoing Saturdays (OT) to work Days

Speech Language Pathologist – SLP – York, PA

Client in PA seeking Temp – Rehabilitation – Speech Language Pathologist (Days) York, PA (SLP) to work Days

Occupational Therapist Outpatient Clinic – Rock Hill, SC

Immediate need for a Licensed Occupational Therapist to join a dynamic team of therapists. Prefer an OT with 1 or more years of experience working with pediatric patients. SC License.

Physical Therapist – PT – Macon, GA

Client in GA seeking Travel – PT – Physical Therapy (762) – Days (PT) to work 07:00-19:00

Physician Jobs:

Pediatric Practice Physician – Sidney, OH

Seeking a board certified or board eligible Pediatrician to join a very successful practice. Provider will see approximately 20 to 25 patients per day and enjoy a 1 in 4 call rotation with other employed pediatricians. The practice opportunity is about a 95 percent outpatient and 5 percent inpatient opportunity.

Urology Physician – Machias, ME

This is an opportunity to join a critical access, hospital affiliated multi-specialty group in a small town in Eastern Maine. The practice has been going strong for many years and continues to grow and progress with the times. This is a permanent position. Pay Rate median $450,000 annually and will be dependent on qualifications and experience. Incentive compensation based on WRVU generation. Relocation $10-15k. Sign on bonus $25k.

Physician – Sitka, AK

CoreMedical Group has partnered with a client in Alaska that needs ongoing coverage for their Emergency Medicine program. This opportunity requires an active AK license.

Physician – Punta Gorda, FL

CoreMedical Group has partnered with a client in Florida that needs ongoing coverage for their Neuro-Interventional Radiology program. If you do not currently have a FL license but are interested, we can help facilitate this process for you.

Physician – Williamstown, MA

Outpatient Primary Care. Board Certified FM or IM or BE within 2 years. BLS. Mon- Fri- 8a-5p with weekend call. October start date ongoing. Market competitive rates.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

Trump’s Immigration Policies Bad for U.S. Elder Care Industry

Immigrants account for a quarter of the long-term care workforce. Who will care for the elderly, if Trump has his way on immigration?

The Trump administration’s proposed immigration policies could mean bad news for the long-term care industry.

According to a study published this month by Health Affairs, immigrants account for nearly a quarter of the long-term care workforce, which historically has seen high turnover and poor retention rates. The study found that immigrants make up 23.5% of the long-term care workforce, including 12% naturalized citizens, 8% legal non-citizens, and 3.7% undocumented immigrants, as well as accounting for 18.2% of healthcare workers as a whole.

“We rely heavily on immigrants to care for the elderly and disabled, particularly in their everyday care,” said Dr. Leah Zallman, the study’s lead author, an assistant professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School and the director of research for the Institute for Community Health at the Cambridge Health Alliance. “These policies are going to leave millions of elderly and disabled stranded without care.”

The study concludes by saying, “Curtailing immigration will almost certainly move us in the wrong direction, worsening the shortage and the availability of high-quality care for elderly and disabled Americans.”

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

Maine Death with Dignity Act Becomes Law

Maine’s Governor signed a bill into law on Wednesday to allow some terminally ill patients to pursue medically assisted suicide.

Maine’s Governor, Janet Mills, signed a bill, known as the Death with Dignity Act, into law on Wednesday to allow some terminally ill patients to pursue medically assisted suicide. The law establishes legal and medical procedures to allow adult patients with a terminal illness and a short time to live to make the informed decision to be prescribed medication to end their life. The procedures the law puts in place include, among others, two waiting periods, one written and two oral requests, a second opinion by a consulting physician, and a psychological evaluation.

“It is my hope that this law, while respecting the right to personal liberty, will be used sparingly; that we will respect the life of every citizen, with the utmost concern for their spiritual and physical well-being, and that as a society we will be as vigorous in providing full comfort, hospice and palliative care to all persons, no matter their status, location or financial ability as we are in respecting their right to make this ultimate decision over their own fate and of their own free will,” Governor Mills said prior to signing the bill.

Once the new law goes into effect, Maine will become the eighth state to allow medically assisted suicide, joining Oregon, California, Colorado, Vermont, Washington, Hawaii, and Washington, D.C.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

Healthcare Job Growth Continues Upward Trend

The latest numbers have been released from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the healthcare workforce remains healthy in terms of employment growth.

The latest numbers have been released from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the healthcare workforce remains healthy in terms of employment growth.

The latest statistics, released on June 7th, show that healthcare job growth has continued its upward trend yet again, adding over 16,000 new jobs to the workforce in the month of May—more than 20% of all new jobs added last month. The industry has been a boon for employment numbers consistently over the past twelve months, having added 391,000 positions in that timeframe.

Currently, the unemployment rate among those in the healthcare industry is a mere 2.4%, significantly lower than the national unemployment rate of 3.6%.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.