Many of Florida's long-term care facilities are suffering a staffing crisis as a result of the COVID pandemic

The COVID pandemic has taken a toll on Florida’s long-term care facilities, not only with patient deaths but also because nursing homes and assisted living facilities can’t find and keep workers. Short-staffing and high employee turnover rates are causing problems throughout the long-term care industry, leading Florida lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis to take action. [Source: WFTS]

Column: Floridians fighting sickle cell disease deserve attention

Sickle cell is the most common inherited blood disorder in the U.S. and impacts more than 8,000 Floridians –yet this condition is often overlooked and under-supported as a public health issue. This disease causes severe complications for patients like severe pain, anemia, frequent infections, blindness, kidney disease and increased risk of stroke, forcing many people into a lifetime of disability. It even shortens an individual’s lifespan by two to three decades below that for the average American. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Hospices are now big business for private equity firms, raising concerns about end-of-life care

Hospice care, once provided primarily by nonprofit agencies, has seen a remarkable shift over the past decade, with more than two-thirds of hospices nationwide now operating as for-profit entities. The ability to turn a quick profit in caring for people in their last days of life is attracting a new breed of hospice owners: private equity firms. That rapid growth has many hospice veterans worried that the original hospice vision may be fading, as those capital investment companies’ demand for return on investment and the debt load they force hospices to bear are hurting patients and their families. [Source: Health News Florida]

Worried about monkeypox? Here's how the vaccine will be rolled out.

The Florida Department of Health has finalized a plan for the targeted release of the state's limited monkeypox vaccine supply. The federal government has doled out the vaccine to requesting states according to their need. By mid-July, Florida had received about 25,000 doses that were distributed through county health departments. [Source: WJCT]

The 988 mental health hotline network is expanding, but rural areas still face care shortages

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s 988 phone number, which launched July 16, was designed as a universal mental health support tool for callers at any time anywhere. But the U.S. is a patchwork of resources for crisis assistance, so what comes next isn’t universal. The level of support that 988 callers receive depends on their ZIP code. [Source: Kaiser Health News]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Moody and hospital districts are in a legal battle over opioid settlements [News Service of Florida]
Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office last week pushed back against two public hospital districts battling Moody about settlements with pharmaceutical industry companies over the opioid epidemic. As part of a flurry of filings in Leon County circuit court, Moody’s office disputed arguments by the Sarasota County Public Hospital District and Lee Memorial Health System that Moody had reached settlements that would improperly scuttle the districts’ separate legal claims against the industry.

› BayCare Health System announces plans for new Parrish hospital [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
The BayCare Health System is expanding its reach into Manatee County with plans to open a new hospital in Parrish by the end of 2025. BayCare currently operates 15 hospitals in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk Counties, and will expand its footprint into Manatee starting this year. The health care system announced plans to operate the Parrish hospital on Wednesday.

› Coral Gables Hospital nurses vote to join nation's largest RN union [Florida Trend]
Citing a desire for improved staffing and a strengthened voice in patient care protections, registered nurses at Coral Gables Hospital in South Florida voted by 57 percent Thursday to join National Nurses Organizing Committee-Florida (NNOC), an affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU), the nation’s largest RN union.

› Treace Medical Concepts opens new headquarters in Nocatee [Jacksonville Daily Record]
Eight years ago, John Treace set up shop in a 100-square-foot office to develop plans for a medical products company. After deciding to focus on surgical treatments for bunions and seeing a large potential market, in 2017 he moved Treace Medical Concepts Inc. and its 25 employees into a 9,000-square-foot office in the Nocatee development in Ponte Vedra. Treace thought that was all the space his company would need for the foreseeable future.