Report
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
The NYS Cancer Consortium’s Colorectal Cancer Action Team acknowledges March as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Each year in New York State, approximately 9,000 people develop colorectal cancer, and 3,000 New Yorkers die from it. One out of every 24 adults will develop colorectal cancer sometime in their life. Colorectal cancer occurs most often as people age (60% of new cases occur among those age 65 and older), however nearly 94% of all colorectal cancers are diagnosed after age 45. Average Risk Colorectal Cancer Screening Starts at Age 45: Regular screening for colorectal cancer can save lives. For adults at average risk for colorectal cancer, the United States Preventive Services Task Force and the American Cancer Society now recommend that screening for colorectal cancer begin a...
Rural Hospitals, Short of Staff, Brace for Omicron
https://www.marketplace.org/2021/12/28/rural-hospitals-short-of-staff-brace-for-omicron/ By Savannah Maher Dec 28, 2021 Heard on: Hospitals in the U.S. are struggling to stay staffed up. Many were short of workers even before the pandemic caused an exodus of doctors and nurses from the field. Now, the more transmissible omicron variant is sending some of the remaining workers home, and hospitals are running out of backup plans — particularly in rural areas. Vermont was already in dire need of health care workers, even before the pandemic drove many into early retirement and other careers, according to Jeff Tieman with the Vermont Association of Hospitals. “Our workforce is shrinking and stressed, you know, at a time when we need it to be growing and resilient,” he said. In New Mexico, more...
HOW NEW YORK STATE CAN PRESERVE RURAL ACCESS TO EMS
In order to preserve rural communities’ access to emergency medical services, New York State government must act now. Due to inadequate reimbursement from Medicaid causing strained budgets, minimal provided incentive for volunteers, and lack of utilization of EMS capabilities, rural ambulance agencies are at risk of closing down or consolidating with other agencies. Fewer ambulance agencies will only increase response and wait time for emergency medical situations, putting rural New Yorkers at an even higher risk of serious medical complications. To amend this crisis, New York State can increase the Medicaid reimbursement rate for EMS, increase incentive for volunteerism by providing SUNY scholarships for volunteers and/or their children, and initiate community paramedicine programs in rur...