Ella Ruder

Five U.S. hospitals have received an “F” safety grade from The Leapfrog Group for spring 2026.  Leapfrog calculates hospital safety grades using up to 22 CMS patient safety measures, data from the Leapfrog Hospital Survey and supplemental imputation. Read more about Leapfrog’s methodology here. For spring 2026, safety grades were…

As U.S. nurses increasingly employ AI in their day-to-day tasks, the American Nurses Association is advocating for more nurse-led guardrails amid concerns of bias, unclear accountability and a decline in professional judgement.  On April 22, the ANA hosted an invitation-only “AI in Nursing Practice Think Tank” for nursing leaders to…

For every additional patient assigned to a medical-surgical nurse in Pennsylvania, there is an associated 8% increase in fatality risk within 30 days, according to a study published April 30 in Medical Care.  The study analyzed outcomes of nearly 550,000 medical and surgical patients who received care at a Pennsylvania…

Birmingham-Hoover, Ala., is the top U.S. metropolitan area for college degree holders in their 20s, according to a study from payroll provider ADP. ADP analyzed anonymized payroll data from more than 209,000 Americans ages 20-29 at more than 20,000 U.S. employers from January 2025 to January 2026, according to the…

Thomas “Tog” Goss, MSN, RN, was appointed CEO of Putnam General Hospital in Eatonton, Ga., effective June 1. Mr. Goss will join Putnam General from Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin, a 140-bed acute care hospital in Milledgeville, Ga., where he serves as COO, according to a hospital news release. Atrium Health…

Physician burnout is declining, systems are finding new ways to recruit physicians without raising pay, but international physicians are in limbo amid visa renewal delays. There are just a few things to know about the physician workforce in 2026. Here is where the workforce stands in the first half of…

Orthopedics and plastic surgery have traded the top two spots in Medscape’s annual Physician Compensation Report every year since 2021, and both specialties have seen compensation climb by more than $80,000 over that span.  Orthopedic surgeons now command an average of $611,000 annually, up 20% from five years ago, while…

As da Vinci surgery platforms evolve into data-rich, digital ecosystems, health systems are discovering that the real value isn’t just in the operating room — it’s in what the technology can teach. During a featured session at Becker’s 16th Annual Meeting, Ankit Patel, MD, professor of surgery at Emory University…

In honor of National Nurses Month in May and National Nurses Week (May 6-12), hospitals and health systems are recognizing nurses across the country.  This year, the American Nurses Association is again highlighting “The Power of Nurses” as its National Nurses Week theme. Here are some stats to know about…

AI was front and center during recent earnings calls for UnitedHealth Group and Elevance Health, as leaders discussed their companies’ respective $1.5 billion and $1 billion tech investments. Both organizations, along with Centene, made Fortune‘s top companies for AI adoption in 2025, as well. Payers have been experimenting with internal and member-facing capabilities, while grappling with health…

With 2026 midterm elections around the corner, nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults are concerned about affording healthcare, according to an April 29 KFF poll. The survey canvassed 1,343 U.S. adults, of whom 1,107 were registered to vote. Here are six notes from the poll: 1. The share of adults concerned…

Rural healthcare is at an inflection point. Hospitals are closing or scaling back essential services. Labor and delivery units are disappearing. Rural operating rooms sit idle not due to a lack of patients, but to a shortage of clinicians. At the same time, policymakers are advancing initiatives like the President’s…

Medical liability insurance premiums increased nationwide for the seventh consecutive year in 2025, marking the longest sustained upward trend since the early 2000s, according to new research from the American Medical Association. AMA published two policy research reports on medical liability April 27. The first analyzes annual changes in medical…

New Mexico is the most at-risk state for drug use, according to an April 29 ranking from personal finance website WalletHub. The list was created to determine where drug use is most pronounced and which areas are most at risk by comparing the 50 states and Washington, D.C. across 20…

As part of a goal to return 10 million clinical hours to clinicians by 2028, Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health is piloting an ambient AI documentation tool for nursing units — a largely unprecedented goal for health system AI projects.  The system operates 32 hospital campuses and approximately 700 care sites throughout…

The majority of nurses working in long-term care said they are happy in their position, but 73.8% have reported their job has become more difficult in the last 18 months, a recent American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing survey found. The survey of nearly 500 nurses and certified nurse aides,…

Six healthcare organizations — including one health system — have been recognized on LinkedIn’s list of the 50 best U.S. employers to grow careers. The LinkedIn Top Companies 2026 list features organizations that provide employees with skill-building and advancement opportunities, according to an April 28 LinkedIn News post. It is…

Physicians are increasingly uncertain if their career choice was worth the debt they took on for training — and some of them would not choose medicine again under new federal caps on student loans, according to new data from Panacea Financial shared with Becker’s. The survey included responses from 270…

Hospitals are bracing for a cascade of financial pressures as rising insurance costs, Medicaid restrictions and a growing number of uninsured patients threaten to reshape patient behavior and erode margins in the years ahead, according to a new Moody’s Healthcare Quarterly report. From declining elective procedure volumes to worsening payer…

Revenue cycle leaders are facing a national coder shortage, intensifying payer complexity and tighter margins. In this environment, AI has become an operational necessity, not a strategic option. But the differentiator isn’t tool selection; it’s whether leaders have reframed workforce and governance for a technology that now arrives continuously, not…

Maine is the best state for nurses to practice in 2026, according to WalletHub’s annual ranking, which evaluates opportunity, competition and working conditions.  To determine the best and worst states for nurses, the personal finance company evaluated all 50 states across two two dimensions: opportunity and competition, and work environment.…

WalletHub released its 2026 ranking of the best and worst entry-level jobs April 27, and certified nursing assistants in nursing homes claimed the No. 3 spot — driven by a 2.9% unemployment rate, high job availability, and one of the lowest chances of being replaced by automation.   To identify the…

Florida has the highest number of “best” senior living communities, while three states — Alaska, Montana and North Dakota — have no top-ranked communities, according to an April 14 U.S News & World Report ranking.  In its 5th annual Best Senior Living ratings, U.S. News honored a total of 1,614…

In 2024, the uninsured rate grew for the first time since 2019, according to an April 9 KFF issue brief. KFF reviewed data on uninsured trends and demographics in recent years, focusing on individuals under 65 years old. Following a pandemic-era rollback of redeterminations, people eventually began facing eligibility checks after Medicaid’s continuous…