Like most people in Minnesota, state Rep. John Poston, R-Lake Shore, had never heard about peer-run respite homes. But then he had a conversation with one of his constituents, Jode Freyholtz-London, executive director of Wellness in the Woods, a Verndale-based nonprofit devoted to helping rural Minnesotans get access to high-quality mental health care. During her meeting with Poston, Freyholtz-London explained that respite homes are facilities that provide beds and specialized support for people in mental health crisis. Run by a team of certified peer support specialists, respite homes are a low-cost, non-medical mental health treatment option that can give people in crisis time to heal — and free up much-needed space in busy emergency rooms and psychiatric wards. Some 17 states, including Wisconsin, already have peer respite homes up and running, but there are none in Minnesota. Because she is convinced that people in Greater Minnesota could benefit from peer-run respite … [Read more...] about Funding sought to start peer-run respite homes to support Minnesotans in mental health crisis
Non medical home care cost
Surprise medical bills: The doctor is not in your insurance plan
Visit The Boston Globe Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Comment on this Scroll to top of page Liz Kowalczyk Globe Staff March 29, 2019 The expectant mother was in labor at South Shore Hospital when she requested a common pain medicine, which was administered by an anesthesiologist. Home with a newborn days later, she was surprised when a bill arrived from the doctor’s group for $2,143.44. Another patient who went to Emerson Hospital’s emergency department for what turned out to be a broken rib also received a surprise bill: $300.91, for the services of the doctor who read the X-ray.Neither of the patients initially knew the reason behind the hefty additional charges, according to complaints they filed with state regulators. They sought care at hospitals that were fully covered by their insurance plans. What they didn’t know was that the two doctors were not — and had billed the patients directly for their services. Advertisement … [Read more...] about Surprise medical bills: The doctor is not in your insurance plan
CDC: Unvaccinated boy who nearly died of tetanus recovered after almost $1M in care
PORTLAND, Ore. — An unvaccinated 6-year-old Oregon boy was hospitalized for two months for tetanus and almost died of the bacterial illness after getting a deep cut while playing on a farm, according to a case study published Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 2017 case is the first case of pediatric tetanus in Oregon in more than 30 years and alarmed infectious disease experts who said tetanus is almost unheard of in the U.S. since widespread immunization began in the 1940s. The child received an emergency dose of the tetanus vaccine in the hospital, but his parents declined to give him a second dose — or any other childhood shots — after he recovered, the paper said. "When I read that, my jaw dropped. I could not believe it. That's a tragedy and a misunderstanding, and I'm just flabbergasted," said Dr. William Schaffner, an expert in infectious diseases and chair at the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Vanderbilt University … [Read more...] about CDC: Unvaccinated boy who nearly died of tetanus recovered after almost $1M in care
High Country dilemma: Health care costs are reaching crisis levels
EAGLE • This is the time of year Janet Jordan dreads: open enrollment on individual and small-group health insurance markets and the inevitably rising prices on Colorado’s Obamacare exchange.“Every year when I go through this, I have employees expressing anger and upset and spouses expressing anger and upset,” Jordan said. “It’s not easy to pick the plan and then tell your employees how little you’re going to be able to contribute to it for their families.”Jordan runs Heartwood Custom Woodworks, an Eagle flooring and cabinetry company that she and her husband, Carl, founded in 1992.She said she has to offer some insurance subsidy to find and retain workers in an increasingly tight labor market. But Heartwood can only pay half of the insurance for their 15 or so employees, and nothing for their families.“It’s the anti-benefit. It truly is, because insurance never goes down. It always goes up,” Jordan said. … [Read more...] about High Country dilemma: Health care costs are reaching crisis levels
PIPELINE FROM AFRICA: Recent immigrants do much of the low-paying, back-breaking work of caring for frail Americans at home. Back home, they’re seen as success stories.
ACCRA, Ghana — It had been 12 years since Rita Sarpong went home to Ghana. She’d missed siblings’ weddings, the births of nieces and nephews, even the death of her father, sacrificing time with her own family so that she could help frail, aging Americans stay at home with theirs.Almost up to the moment she boarded the plane, Sarpong was working nearly around the clock. A home health aide, she cared for a 90-year-old retired insurance agent with severe arthritis by day. Then at night, she drove from Newton to Wrentham to look after a woman in her 80s who was prone to falling. Related Links Stranger in the house That made for 104 hours a week of work that was equal parts tedious, stressful, exhausting, and essential. After she reached Logan Airport, dragging three suitcases loaded with gifts for her family — mainly used clothes from her closet — Sarpong collapsed in her seat. For the next nine hours, as food carts rolled by carrying lunch, dinner, … [Read more...] about PIPELINE FROM AFRICA: Recent immigrants do much of the low-paying, back-breaking work of caring for frail Americans at home. Back home, they’re seen as success stories.