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Good morning, it’s Hannah. I spent the weekend reading 300 pages of hospital merger filings so you don’t have to. You’re welcome. Here’s what you need to know today.
Measles count rises in eastern Oregon
State health officials reported 23 measles cases in two rural counties as of Friday, up from 14 a week earlier. Nineteen of the cases are in children, and most were not vaccinated, officials said. Two children have been hospitalized. The state has set up two walk-in vaccine clinics and asked schools in the area to check records. Read more
Two Ohio systems agree to merge
Buckeye Valley Health and St. Brendan’s Health said Monday they will combine, creating a 14-hospital system with about 31,000 employees. The systems say the merger will save money on supplies and technology. Economists I spoke to said mergers like this one usually raise prices for insurers, which then show up in premiums. The state attorney general has 90 days to review.
Why nurses leave nights
A survey of 4,100 hospital nurses, published Monday by a nursing research group at a university in Pennsylvania, found that 38 percent of night-shift nurses planned to leave their jobs within two years, compared with 24 percent on days. The top reasons: sleep, staffing and pay differentials that haven’t kept up. The authors note it’s a survey, not a study of who actually leaves.
One number
$4,800. The entry price for a year at a hospital-run longevity clinic. My story on the boom, and the doctors who doubt it, is here.
That’s it for today. Reply to this email if you have a tip, a question or a better pun. I read every one.