Feds threaten funding to Johns Hopkins' All Children's Hospital
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital is under the threat of losing public funding unless issues found in a recent inspection are promptly addressed, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
Among the problems cited by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: falling short on infection control, quality improvement, how it hires and manages doctors, and its leadership structure.
The inspection follows a major investigation and resignation of top officials at the Florida hospital after the Times revealed a dramatic increase in deaths and complications in its heart surgery unit. (Tampa Bay Times)
Mount Sinai hosts live surgery training for gender affirmation procedures
Mount Sinai Health System plans to host a three-day training to educate healthcare professionals about gender affirmation procedures.
The event will feature five live surgeries including a metoidioplasty (female-to-male surgery), laryngeal surgeries for voice feminization, vaginoplasty, facial feminization and chest surgery. It will also incorporate moderated video sessions, expert panel discussions and didactic sessions analyzing hormone therapy, fertility preservation and hysterectomy, transfeminine procedures, transmasculine procedures and sexual functioning after gender-affirming surgery.
The conference will be held Feb. 28 to March 2 on the Mount Sinai Hospital campus and will be presented by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and the American Society of Gender Surgeons. (Release)
Texas AG seeks permission to drop Planned Parenthood from Medicaid coverage
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking permission to remove Planned Parenthood from the state’s Medicaid program as the legal fight to permanently block the provider plays out.
Paxton’s office initially sought to remove Planned Parenthood from Medicaid following a series of videos that allegedly showed staff at its clinics agreeing to illegally perform abortions to obtain samples for fetal tissue research. A district court judge issued an injunction, saying the videos show no proof of wrongdoing.
However, an appeals court overturned that injunction, sending the case back down for further analysis. The court will rule on Feb. 8.
“There is no justification for continuing to prevent Texas from terminating Planned Parenthood from the state’s Medicaid program when the 5th Circuit has already determined the district court’s injunction is unlawful,” Paxton said in a statement. (Austin American-Statesman)