Catastrophe in Care
Hospitals are being crippled by the costs of treating migrants
Tucson Weekly
Every illegal realizes that if he makes it to an emergency room in Southern Arizona, or anywhere around the country for that matter, he can get treatment, free of charge. It's federal law, and has been for 20 years. In its evolution, the policy has become a kind of federal health insurance program for illegals, and its rising costs are eating up resources that could otherwise go to poor and uninsured American citizens. It has created a financial nightmare for border hospitals and contributed to cutbacks in services at Tucson hospitals.

State Nursing Schools Can't Meet Demand
Detroit News
As Michigan's health care providers scramble to hire enough nurses, thousands of would-be caregivers are being turned away from the programs designed to train them. Michigan's 51 nursing schools can't find the space, faculty or training opportunities to take everyone who wants to get in and are graduating fewer students than five years ago -- despite surging demand to enter the field.

Shortage Of Nurses Has Rippling
Impact On Long-Term Care Facilities
Business Journals
As California hospitals embark on a hiring spree to meet state-mandated nurse staffing regulations, long-term care facilities are feeling the pinch. Lured by hospital starting salaries of $75,000 and signing bonuses of up to $10,000, fewer nurses are going into or staying in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, experts say, sparking a growing crisis across the state.

Nursing Schools Turn Away Qualified Applicants
New Hampshire schools say they
don't have room for students
The WMUR Channel
CONCORD, N.H. -- Publicity about the shortage of nurses has students flocking to schools, but many in New Hampshire are being turned away. Schools lack money, teachers and clinical space, forcing them to turn away even many qualified applicants. The New Hampshire Technical Institute officials say they turn away nearly three-quarters of all applicants, two-thirds of whom are qualified.

Nursing Shortage Gets A Shot In The Arm
Peoria Journal Star
PEORIA -- It was a high school science class that led Nikita Thomas to believe she wanted to be a nurse. Beginning today, Thomas will join other nursing candidates for a monthlong summer program. The goal is to help these high school and college students determine if nursing is the career for them.

Battle Threatens Calif. Stem Cell Agency
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO -- California's effort to become a world leader in human embryonic stem cell research has long been supported by a coterie of well-heeled patient advocates who found their champion in an obscure state senator from Sacramento. Now, however, a battle for control of the $3 billion in research money voters approved last year has unraveled the alliance and threatens to hinder the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine even before it awards its first grant, agency officials say.

Superbug Kills 12 At Spinal Unit
As Doctors Warn Of New Threat
The Independent
An outbreak of a lethal new bug at a leading specialist hospital has claimed 12 lives and is posing a grave new threat to the NHS, doctors have warned. More than 300 patients have been infected with the bug, a virulent new strain of Clostridium difficile, at Stoke Mandeville hospital in Oxfordshire, known for its world-famous spinal injuries unit supported by the former disc jockey Sir Jimmy Savile. But all attempts to control the infection, which causes severe diarrhoea that can be life-threatening, have failed.

Schools Opening Up to Alternative Medicine
The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- Once largely dismissed as a leftover fad from the Age of Aquarius, acupuncture, herbal remedies and other forms of alternative medicine are finding their way into curriculums at traditional medical schools — most recently the University of Pennsylvania.

Court Rules Medical Marijuana Laws Don't Shield Users
USA Today
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities may prosecute sick people who smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes, even in states that have legalized the practice, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. The court, in a 6-3 decision, concluded that state laws don't protect users from a federal ban on the drug. The decision is a stinging defeat for marijuana advocates who had successfully pushed 10 states to allow the drug's use to treat various illnesses.

Everyday Apples Pack Antioxidant Punch
ABC News
CONCORD, N.H. -- America's most common apple also may be its most potent. Just don't skimp on the skin. A Canadian government study that measured the levels of antioxidants in eight varieties of apples found that Red Delicious contain the highest concentrations of the health enhancing chemicals. And to get the most bang for your bite, be sure to eat the peel.