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

Iowa News

Salmonella link spurs recall of 228 million Iowa eggs
An Iowa egg producer is recalling 228 million eggs after being linked to an outbreak of salmonella poisoning. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said eggs from Wright County Egg in Galt, Iowa, were linked to several illnesses in Colorado, California and Minnesota. (Des Moines Register)

Vinton hospital staff handles two AirCare emergencies simultaneously
On any given day the helipad at Virginia Gay Hospital sits empty. Perched on an elevated spot just off the golf course, the landing pad sits unnoticed by most passersby. But Wednesday, August 11, was no ordinary day. (Vinton Today)

Pella Regional receives hospital improvement grant
The funding will help Pella Regional to implement an electronic patient registry system to help patients with chronic diseases to monitor their care – a process that would have been expensive and time-consuming without a grant to purchase and implement new software tools. Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic was the other facility in the state to receive a similar grant. (KNIA)

Meet a real-life trauma nurse
Brenda McGraw taps her background in public health, emergency nursing and as a volunteer paramedic in Waukee in her role as emergency management coordinator for Mercy Medical Center. Serving on state and federal Disaster Medical Assistance Teams has also allowed her to use her skills around the world, most recently in Haiti. (Des Moines Register)

U.S. News

Strike or settle? Duluth nurses voting today
More than a month after Twin Cities hospitals and nurses settled their most bitter contract dispute in recent history, a similar battle is playing out in Duluth. Some 1,320 nurses are set to vote Wednesday whether to ratify a three-year contract or stage a one-day walkout. The Minnesota Nurses Association is recommending against ratifying the contract because it does not include its proposed language on staffing. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Healing rural patients with a dose of broadband
Millions of Americans who live in rural areas travel long distances to get health care. Or they may go without it. But high-speed Internet connections now make it possible to bring a doctor’s expertise to patients in far-off places, if those places are connected.  As part of its National Broadband Plan, the Federal Communications Commission has pledged $400 million a year to connect nearly 12,000 rural health care providers. (National Public Radio)

Minnesota certifies 11 health care homes
Minnesota has certified 11 medical clinics as health care homes to better coordinate care of people with chronic illnesses. Sometimes called “medical homes,” the clinics remain the sites where patients go to receive regular care. The change is that a team of clinicians coordinates a patient’s care wherever it is provided, and builds a partnership with the patient and sometimes the family to improve the patient’s health and quality of life — and with fewer hospitalizations seeks to reduce care costs. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Missouri’s Proposition C vote yields wide range of political effect
Primarily along party lines, the political feedback for Missouri’s overwhelming rejection of the insurance mandate in the new health care law by a nearly 3 to 1 margin has ranged from euphoria to angry denial with a few yawns tossed in for good measure. As expected, Republicans applauded the vote as the launching of a national trend while the administration dismissed it as meaningless. (Columbia Missourian)

End to COBRA subsidy means higher health insurance bills
COBRA requires employers to continue insurance for former employees, typically for 18 more months, if they pay the entire premium plus a 2 percent administrative fee. Last year, Congress approved a 65 percent COBRA premium subsidy, but it ended May 31. People who started on COBRA before May 31 can still get the aid. But those who had exhausted the 15-month subsidy, and the newly unemployed, aren’t eligible. (USA Today)

L.A. County supervisors call for increased patient safety measures
Los Angeles County supervisors on Tuesday ordered improvements intended to shore up patient safety at the county’s hospitals and clinics after reviewing a study commissioned to look at malpractice payouts. The risk management study, conducted by the Abaris Group, a Walnut Creek-based independent consulting firm, found that payouts for malpractice cases settled between 2005 and 2007 increased from more than $8 million to more than $12 million. (Los Angeles Times)

Doctorate in nursing causes confusion, resentment
As nonphysicians with doctorates proliferate, the potential for confusion has grown, and physicians aren’t happy about it. A 2008 survey by the American Medical Association found that 38 percent of patients believed that nurses with doctorates were medical doctors.The American Medical Association has produced model “truth in advertising” legislation that requires health professionals, including physicians, to wear badges that clearly spell out their credentials. (Kansas City Star)