We’re back with another edition of Ripped From The Headlines where the Conexus team brings you all of the latest nursing and healthcare news from the US. This time, we look at a study into Maine’s shortage of long-term care (LTC) workers, a ground-breaking transgender patient simulation, and one Wisconsin nurse who truly went above and beyond her job description!
Commission Begins Studying Shortage of LTC Workers in Maine
A bill was passed by the Legislature to create a 15-member panel to explore how to solve workforce shortages and other worker-related issues in LTC in Maine.
23 percent of Maine’s population is older than 65, with Mainers aged 18 to 24 dropping by 8 percent from 2010 to 2018. The state commission will explore ways to expand Maine’s LTC workforce and strengthen an elder-care system that’s facing increased demand from an aging population.
It’s not the first time the tipping point in Maine’s LTC has featured in the press with the Washington Post reporting the issue in August. The commission will meet throughout the fall and early winter before bringing a set of recommendations to the Legislature for review in January 2020.
Transgender Patient Simulation Debuts in UMN Nursing School
Students at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing will participate in a new transgender patient simulation this fall to learn how to better care for transgender patients.
The simulation will take place in September and will teach students how care can be different for transgender or nonbinary patients. The teachers, who will be transgender or nonbinary themselves, will take on the role of the patient and assessed by students.
The students will learn how to properly address each patient, refer to their body parts and be respectful while asking questions. The simulation is funded by a $1,000 grant from the University’s Institute for Diversity, Equity, and Advocacy.
ICU nurse donates part of liver to save 8-year-old Wisconsin boy’s life
Cami Loritz, an ICU nurse at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, donated part of her liver for a transplant that saved an 8-year-old boy’s life this summer.
Brayden Auten got sick in April and doctors at the Milwaukee Children’s Hospital said he had an aggressive virus that was attacking his liver. Desperate to find a donor, Brayden’s family posted his story on Facebook and were flooded with responses. Cami got in touch and proved to be a perfect match for Brayden.
“What she did was completely selfless, and she saved his life, plain and simple,” Brayden’s mother Ruth Auten said. Brayden returned home in July and is now gearing up to go back to school.
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