Featuring hospital and health care headlines from the media and Web.

Iowa News

Dr. Matt Gritters: Hospital Hero
Dr. Matt Gritters, an emergency department physician at Pella Regional Health Center, has been selected as one of 10 “Hospital Heroes” for 2010. He will be recognized at the Iowa Hospital Association’s Annual Meeting on October 7. (Pella Town Crier)

Project finds Iowa ranks 6th in nation in well-being of children
Iowa ranked sixth overall in a composite index of 10 key indicators that measured health-care, educational and economic factors that contribute to the well-being of children. Overall, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Vermont ranked best in the sum of standings in the 10 measures evaluated in the Kids Count yearly report, while Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas held the lowest ratings. (Sioux City Journal)

U.S. News

Obama’s new health official faces hostility in the Senate
Two weeks after taking office, Dr. Donald Berwick is still struggling to tamp down a furor over past statements in which he discussed the rationing of health care and expressed affection for the British health care system. And he is finding his ability to do his job clouded by the circumstances of his appointment, with many Republicans in open revolt over President Obama’s decision to place him in the post without a Senate confirmation vote. (New York Times)

Hospital savings: Salaries for doctors, not fees
Called Bassett Healthcare, this modest hospital of 180 beds delivers high-quality care at low costs in the face of federal reimbursement policies that discourage many of its best practices.  Changing those policies is crucial to the success of health care reform, economists say — something Mr. Obama said that he would do. “Our proposals would change incentives so that doctors and nurses finally are free to give patients the best care, not just the most expensive care,” the president said Thursday in Ohio. (New York Times)

State budget gaps to total $84 billion for fiscal 2011: study
That bleak assessment contains one ray of good news: The total is slightly less than the estimate in March for an $89 billion gap. The biggest shortfall to make up may be the reduction in federal aid for medical programs. Congress hasn’t approved extending this aid after increasing support as part of last year’s stimulus package. (MarketWatch)

Poll shows majority of seniors are bewildered by new health care reform law
The survey found that only 17 percent of respondents could answer even half of the 12 questions about key provisions in the law selected by the NCOA. Only 14 percent of respondents, for instance, knew that the new reforms don’t include cuts to doctors treating Medicare patients; just 24 percent were aware that the changes will extend the solvency of the Medicare program; and only 14 percent were aware that the reforms are projected to cut deficit spending. (The Hill)

California whooping cough outbreak largest in decades
In the midst of what could be the largest whooping cough outbreak in more than 50 years — and the death of six infants under 3 months of age — California health officials are recommending booster shots for nearly everyone in the state, especially health care workers, parents and anyone who may come in contact with babies. (USA Today)

Hospitals offering staff on-site wellness programs
Several Phoenix-area hospitals are keeping employees healthy with on-site wellness programs that offer access to doctors and classes on living well. (Phoenix Business Journal)

The do-it-yourself house call
The idea is for heart patients to take readings like their weight, blood pressure and other key metrics using wireless and other technologies; the data are then transmitted to a case manager or medical care giver. That way health care givers can catch, and address, warning signs before the patient lands in the ER with shortness of breath or a heart attack. In the past, patients have found such technology difficult to use. But a number of managed-care companies are experimenting with electronic devices meant to make the process easier. (Wall Street Journal)

Woman who faked cancer gets prison term
A judge sentenced a Tennessee woman to 42 months in prison for faking breast cancer and told her it was “reprehensible” that she took donations of sick leave, money and cancer patient support services for five years. “It seems like to me some confinement is necessary,” Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole said Monday after a four-hour hearing in which attorneys for 39-year-old Keele Maynor of Chattanooga asked for a probation sentence that would allow her to work and pay about $54,000 in restitution. (National Public Radio)