hospitals

As the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida rose to an all-time high on Wednesday, the state’s hospital systems started making plans to suspend elective procedures.

Florida leads the nation in the percentage of inpatient hospital beds occupied by people with COVID-19, according to data posted Tuesday by the federal government.

As Community Health Systems has downsized, what remain are like zombie hospitals – little more than legal entities still taking patients to court even though the new owners don't sue.

Since January, hospitals were supposed to be disclosing true prices for their services, as a way to empower patients to shop around. Turns out, compliance is spotty and the data can be hard to find.

COVID-19 and dozens of other acute illnesses now qualify for home treatment thanks to a new federal effort aimed at freeing up hospital beds.

The financial gap between wealthy hospitals and safety-net hospitals, which take everyone who walks through their doors, has widened during the pandemic, an NPR and PBS Frontline investigation found.

For more than a year, people couldn't sit with loved ones as they died in hospitals. Those lonely deaths took a toll on families. Now some doctors are questioning whether the rules were too strict.

The CDC says hospitals saw a lot more emergency cases involving drug overdoses, as well as mental health crises and suicide attempts. Many emergency departments weren't ready.

During a statewide phone call, Department of Health Secretary Scott Rivkees told hospitals they cannot use “second dose” vaccine supplies to give initial vaccinations to more people. Rivkees' remarks came as Gov. Ron DeSantis makes vaccinating people ages 65 and older his top priority. But hospital executives pressed Rivkees about the state’s limited supply of “first dose” vaccines and how they can get a share of them.

Drugs for COVID-19 are sorted into three basic categories: They work, they don't work, or there simply isn't enough information to know. A generic steroid is one medicine that proved helpful.

A federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine tracker showed that as of Monday, nearly nearly 25.5 million doses had been distributed. Florida had received 1.66 million doses.

Officials at the Wisconsin medical center first suspected a now-former employee inadvertently left the Moderna drugs out of cold storage. But an investigation concludes they were deliberately removed.