- California: Colleen Coleman, a surgeon at Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, helped save the life of colleague Brian Dunn, an anesthesiologist, by giving him one of her kidneys. Dunn's kidneys had failed as a result of chemotherapy he received as a teenager. Coleman's donation almost didn't happen, the Associated Press reports, as an initial screening incorrectly said she was not a match. The surgery was successfully completed last month (AP/Sacramento Bee, 2/26).
- Illinois: Several hospitals and health systems in the state met last week to discuss efforts to help patients to access organ transplants. Rush University Medical Center said over the next three years it plans to double the number of kidney transplants from living donors it performs, while University of Chicago Medicine said it would increase transplantation activities 20 percent over five years. Northwestern Medicine is also looking to expand programs for living donors and will continue research into growing new organs. Loyola University Medical Center intends to launch a transplant program this year (Minemyer, FierceHealthcare, 2/24).
A medical first: Patient survives transplant after six days without lungs
- South Dakota: Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R) on Thursday signed a bill to give independent practice authority to nurse practitioners (NPs), meaning they may practice without supervision of a physician. According to Forbes, 22 states and Washington, D.C., have given full practice authority to NPs, motivated in part to increase health care access amid provider shortages, particularly in rural areas. According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, other states weighing full practice authority for NPs include Arkansas, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania (Japsen, Forbes, 2/24; Office of Gov. Dennis Daugaard press release, 2/23).
Are you making the most of your nurses? Understand the regulations.
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