3.5 minute read

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Good Morning, Readers!

ICYMI: We’re hosting another amazing giveaway! What’s up for grabs? 5 sets of Cozy Earth sheets, valued at over $400 each! Giveaway ends this Friday, 8/23, so hurry and enter!

Today's Top Beats

❤️‍🩹 Cancer’s Effect on Spouses
💰 Medical Debt Cancellation
🏥 September Hiring Surge

HANDOFF

How Cancer Affects Patients’ Spouses

If you’ve got cancer patients, you might want to check on their spouses—they have an increased risk of suicide attempts and death by suicide, a new Danish study found. These risks were especially pronounced in the first year after diagnosis, with advanced-stage cancers, and with cancers of the pancreas, liver and biliary passage, esophagus, kidney, and central nervous system. The caveat is that the study only included heterosexual couples and excluded apparent self-harm with “undetermined intent.” Call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline if you or a loved one is in a crisis.

Plans to Cancel Medical Debt

Vice President Kamala Harris announced last Friday that, if elected President, she will seek to cancel over $200 billion in medical debt. A recent KFF analysis estimates Americans owe some $220 billion in medical debt. As STAT points out, Harris’ plan would require “unprecedented congressional and state government cooperation” to be successful. Harris also said she wants to speed up Medicare drug price negotiations and expand Biden’s drug pricing reforms, including insulin price caps, for all Americans.

Steward Told to Honor Severance Pay

In the latest update to Steward Health Care’s controversial plan to close two Massachusetts hospitals, Governor Maura Healey is demanding that Steward fulfill its severance pay for 1,200+ employees, which includes nurses. Healey secured $30 million from U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Steward’s hospital “operations,” but it’s not immediately clear if that money can be used for the severance pay. Steward—which is also closing a 125-year-old nursing school, as we reported previously—has not officially commented on the matter.

TOGETHER WITH COZY EARTH

Bed Side to Bed Time: The Sleep You Deserve

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TODAY'S TOP VITAL

$1.5 Billion

The amount of money Medicare beneficiaries would have saved in out–of-pocket costs in 2023 if prices for 10 popular drugs were set at their newly negotiated prices. Click here to learn what Medicare got out of the government’s first negotiations with pharmaceutical companies to lower drug prices.

PRN

THAT REMOTE LIFE WITH NURSE FERN

Preparing for the September Hiring Surge

The September hiring surge is just around the corner and, at Nurse Fern, we’re hoping it keeps up with tradition. As summer winds down, companies often get to serious work and there is a noticeable increase in September job postings… we definitely need it in the remote nursing world!

It has been a rough year for those nurses seriously applying to remote nursing roles. I’ve seen many nurses who have landed positions share that an offer didn’t come through until they’d applied to 50-100+ job postings. 

Here’s how to prepare for the September Surge:

1. Make sure your resume is updated and ready to go

2. Create a target list of companies and jobs to help narrow your search

3. Set up a system to track your application activity (Google Sheets is a great option)

4. Apply! Apply! Apply!

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BULLETIN BOARD

SUPPLY ROOM

Sticky Situations

This Tape Mate will help make sure you always have access to tape when you need it. It even comes in a glow in the dark version!

BREAK ROOM

Nurses vs. Doctors

Everyone’s favorite nurse, Nurse Blake, and everyone’s favorite doctor, Doctor Mike, recently released a collaboration we didn’t know we needed! Watch their hilarious podcast episode here where they discuss the hardest parts of nursing.

DISCHARGE INSTRUCTIONS

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