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Oregon Health & Science University | MICHAEL MCDERMOTT/OHSU

New suit claims permanent nerve damage from drug trial

Susan Woods worked for Oregon Health & Science University and was a patient there when she enrolled in a drug trial that left her with permanent and serious injuries, according to her suit

Sep 26, 2024
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Debra Ragoonanan, a nursing assistant at what’s now called the Massachusetts Veterans Home atHolyoke, says she has endured post-traumatic stressdisorderaftera covid outbreakin 2020killed dozens atthe facility, where she still reports for work. The state agreed to a $56million settlement for veterans and their families, but caretakershave gotten little assistanceas they grapple with the fallout. | AMY MAXMEN/KFF HEALTH NEWS

Nursing aides plagued by PTSD after ‘nightmare’ covid conditions, with little help

A KFF Health News investigation reveals that employers and the government have offered nursing aides little assistance for PTSD and other ongoing maladies triggered by hazardous work during the pandemic.

Sep 26, 2024

Oregon State Hospital in Salem, Oregon, on Nov. 21, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Oregon State Hospital bringing in outside help after multiple violations and patient deaths

The Oregon State Hospital has hired a consulting firm to help it address safety violations that federal inspectors have flagged after three patient deaths and other issues like sexual contact between patients. The hospital will pay the company up to $1.7 million.

Sep 24, 2024

AKKALAK AIEMPRADIT/SHUTTERSTOCK

Daiya Healthcare settles Medicare fraud allegations

Active in Portland, Vancouver, Gresham and across the western United States, a healthcare staffing firm that specializes in care for the elderly has settled two lawsuits filed by former employees that sparked federal investigations of alleged fraudulent billing

Sep 24, 2024
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DANIEL AGRELO/PIXABAY

Cyberattacks plague the health industry. Critics call feds’ response feeble and fractured.

Health care weathered more ransomware attacks last year than any other sector, and that was before a debilitating February hack of payments manager Change Healthcare. Executives, lawyers, and policymakers are worried the federal government’s response is underpowered, underfunded, and too focused on hospital security.

Sep 24, 2024

HATICE EROL/PIXABAY

COVID-19, RSV, flu: Updated shots are available now in Oregon

Reformulated flu and COVID-19 shots are available to Oregonians starting this month. And an RSV vaccine — developed only last year — could have an unprecedented impact in keeping infants out of the hospital this fall and winter.

Sep 24, 2024

SHUTTERSTOCK

How North Carolina made its hospitals do something about medical debt

State officials threatened to withhold public money from hospitals, pioneering a strategy that could become a national model

Sep 24, 2024

Rachel Prusak, executive director of the Oregon State Board of Nursing, speaks to the Oregon Behavioral Health and Health Care House on Sept. 23, 2024, about efforts to improve her agency's responsiveness to people seeking licenses. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Delays, poor service at Oregon health licensing boards being addressed, lawmakers told

A nursing board call center is helping responsiveness, but other agencies report mixed results as one lawmaker seeks to plug workforce gaps with out-of-state professionals

Sep 24, 2024
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MELISSA JOHNSON/CC BY 2.0

Federal regulator hauls huge drug middlemen into court over insulin prices

The Federal Trade Commission has accused three health care giants and their drug-supply middlemen of pushing patients to buy more expensive versions of the life-saving medication. The companies control access to where about 80% of patients get their medications

Sep 24, 2024