Hospitals

Health

Why Harborview is turning away patients

Harborview Medical Center is turning away all non-urgent patients, and has been for more than a week. The hospital is at 130 percent of its capacity. One big reason: staffing, both at the hospital and in other parts of the healthcare system. Dr. Steve Mitchell, medical director of Harborview's emergency department, explains what's going on and how the hospital is adapting. We also hear from nurse Nicole Johnson on burnout among frontline healthcare workers.

Health

Doctors in Chernihiv bear witness to their hospital's fate after Russian shelling

It was a sunny day in mid-March. The sky was blue. It felt like spring. Then the attack began on City Hospital No. 2. Doctors tell what it was like — and what's going on now.

Health

A healthcare researcher weighs in on the nurse-to-patient ratio debate

‘There's really been decades of research and hundreds of studies that have shown that low nurse-to-patient staffing ratios have a negative effect on patient outcomes.’

Health

As WA lawmakers consider a safe staffing bill, nurses warn of crisis conditions and risks to patients

'It's really important that we do have this safe staffing standard because adding more patients to the nurse's workload is literally hurting patients every single day. It's not good for them.'

Health

Here's something depressing for the holidays: states set new record for total annual deaths in 2021

The year 2021 isn’t even over, yet Oregon and Washington have already smashed their previous records for total annual deaths. Those records were just set last year. The coronavirus pandemic is only one piece of the explanation.

He’s 13-years-old, autistic and stuck in the hospital for the holidays. He’s not the only one

It's a growing problem in Washington: kids with developmental disabilities and complex behaviors who are stuck in the hospital with no reason for being there. Usually, they end up in the hospital after a crisis or an incident. But once the child is medically cleared to leave, their parents or their group home won't come get them citing inadequate supports to manage the youth's needs. While the state searches for alternative placements, the child waits.