Ella Jeffries

The Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center, a nonprofit organization that works to share threat intelligence, issued an alert Oct. 1 regarding LockBit 5.0, a ransomware variant that represents an elevated risk to healthcare and other enterprises. The variant is the latest iteration of the ransomware-as-a-service group, which resurfaced in…

A nurse-led intervention at San Francisco-based UCSF Health cut inpatient admissions of older adults by 11.6%, according to a study published Aug. 21 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.  The study analyzed 2,731 emergency department visits of older adult patients between May 1, 2021, and April 30, 2024. Here are…

Stryker’s Smoke-Free OR Campaign Julie Greenhalgh, RN, BSN, CNOR, never smoked a day in her life, yet she has all the tell-tale signs that will plague her for the rest of her life: the raspy voice, the chest-deep rattle when she inhales, and the persistent cough. That’s because, over the…

Occasionally, Healthcare Plus Solutions Group® (HPSG) has organizations call us asking for help to accomplish a goal or hit a specific metric. It could be in the areas of patient experience or employee engagement, or more specifically in outcomes like turnover/retention. They often expect us to bring in a list of to-dos…

By 2037, the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis projects a shortfall of more than 187,000 physicians across 31 of 35 specialties, including notable gaps in anesthesia, obstetrics and gynecology, and radiology. As physician shortages intensify in the years ahead, healthcare leaders are being asked to address two challenges simultaneously:…

A number of healthcare roles do not require education beyond a high school diploma, with average annual salaries reaching up to $72,415. Many of these roles require obtaining a certification and passing an exam, according to a June 9 article from Indeed. Several roles are also in high demand. Over…

Forty-three hospitals across 18 states have converted to rural emergency facilities since the law that created the designation took effect in January 2023, according to data from CMS. Here are the hospitals that have converted to rural emergency status, by state: Alabama (3) Bullock County Hospital (Union Springs) East Alabama…

Carmel, Ind., is the best small city to live in the U.S., largely due to economic and health factors, according to a Sept. 30 list from WalletHub. The Indiana city has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation, a median credit score of 775 and the 11th-lowest share…

EHR-related complaints that may sound mundane — extra clicks, redundant alarms and data scattered across systems — can reflect a deeper frustration, healthcare executives told Becker’s.   Michelle Charles, DNP, RN, chief nursing informatics officer for Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Parkview Health, said each upgrade often adds new screens and notifications while…

Healthcare supply chains are under immense pressure, and the stakes in 2025 are higher than ever. Policy shifts, rising costs and tariff implications are compounding long-standing challenges around inventory management. For hospitals and health systems, this creates a delicate balancing act: clinical and pharmacy leaders must ensure uninterrupted access to…

Independent physician practices are disappearing as hospitals, payers, corporate entities and private equity expand their reach, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.  Here are five key takeaways: 1.In 2024, just 42% of physicians worked in private practice, down from 60% in 2012. Nearly half (47%) were employed by…

The FDA has approved Eli Lilly’s imlunestrant, an oral estrogen receptor antagonist, for the treatment of adults with estrogen receptor positive, HER2-negative, ESR1-mutated advanced or metastatic breast cancer that has progressed following at least one prior endocrine therapy.  The approval is based on results from a phase 3 trial, which…

Healthcare was one of only a few sectors that posted job gains in August, adding more jobs than the overall economy. At the same time, healthcare organizations across the U.S. face financial challenges, with at least 77 hospitals cutting jobs in 2025.  With healthcare seen by some as the “backbone”…

Cases of a rare, flu-related complication that causes brain inflammation among children are on the rise, a new CDC report suggests. During the 2024-25 flu season, 109 children were diagnosed with influenza-associated encephalopathy, according to the report, which is based on cases clinicians and health departments confirmed with the CDC.…

Emerging technologies have greatly improved efficiency at most health systems. Over 50 healthcare leaders spoke with Becker’s about their best uses of tech in the past year. The leaders featured below are speaking at Becker’s 10th Annual Health IT + Digital Health + RCM Conference, Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.…

Nursing is a profession built on compassion and resilience, yet beneath its caring façade lies a growing mental health crisis. Many don’t know that nurses face one of the highest rates of suicide risk among healthcare workers, a silent epidemic rarely acknowledged in national headlines. Research shows that registered nurses…

There will be an expected 18.6 million deaths from cancer in 2050, up from 10.4 million cancer deaths in 2023, according to a study published Sept. 24 in The Lancet.  For their analysis, researchers used the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors study to generate estimates of cancer…

Dozens of hospitals and health systems were included on Forbes‘ inaugural list of America’s Best Employers for Company Culture. Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to develop the ranking, which draws on surveys of more than 218,000 employees at companies with 1,000 or more workers in the U.S.  Respondents…

Between August 2021 and August 2023, 63.6% of adults in the U.S. had at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor, according to a data brief published Sept. 16 by the National Center for Health Statistics. The brief defines cardiovascular risk factors as uncontrolled high blood pressure, uncontrolled high blood lipids,…

Hospitals, physicians and other healthcare providers could lose more than $32.1 billion in revenue in 2026 should Congress allow ACA tax credits to expire at the end of 2025, according to a new Urban Institute analysis published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The analysis found that 7.3 million people…

Forbes has recognized 250 healthcare organizations on its inaugural list of America’s Best Employers for Healthcare Professionals, published Sept. 25. The publication partnered with the market research firm Statista to develop the list, which is based on survey responses from more than 17,000 healthcare and social services professionals from organizations…

Hospitals that charge patients and insurers the highest markups for common surgeries also tend to deliver worse outcomes, according to new research published in JAMA Surgery. The study analyzed data from nearly 2,000 U.S. hospitals and found that those with the highest markups — often for-profit and urban — had…

Amazon’s primary care provider One Medical has launched new appointments nationwide for patients experiencing symptoms related to perimenopause and menopause. The visits connect patients with primary care providers trained to identify and treat a wide range of symptoms associated with menopause, such as hot flashes, sleep disruption and changes in…

Generation Z employees — those born between 1997 and 2012 — are the least likely generation to prefer fully remote work, according to a report from Gallup. Only 23% of Gen Z employees prefer exclusively remote work, compared to 35% of baby boomers, Generation X and millennials, according to the…