Florida Hospital Association

The state Supreme Court approved a request by the Florida Hospital Association, Florida Medical Association and American Medical Association to file a brief supporting an attempt by UF and Shands to short-circuit the lawsuit.

Hospitals must submit a record of how much they are spending to treat people in the country illegally to curb the numbers transported to Florida from the southern U.S. border by the federal government.

The Florida Hospital Association said the House budget is harsher on hospitals, but said both chambers are proposing to eliminate funds for facilities that treat large numbers of Medicaid patients.

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Mary Mayhew, president of the Florida Hospital Association, about how the state's hospitals are navigating the Supreme Court's decision on vaccine mandates.

Florida Hospital Association president Mary Mayhew says staff having to isolate due to the virus and workers taking lucrative travel jobs are posing challenges for hospitals amid the omicron surge.

Groups representing nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living facilities and home health providers detail issues such as nurse and CNA shortages and a lack of nursing faculty and student slots at colleges.

Hospitalizations in the state due to COVID have dropped below levels from the same date a year ago, according to the association and federal data. .

In advance of the 2022 legislative session, lawmakers eye ways to bolster education and training programs for nurses and other health professionals to help alleviate industry-wide staffing woes.

Florida health officials say the number of COVID cases is continuing to trend down, but the president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association tells legislators that staffing concerns remain.

Nursing shortages were already a problem, but the COVID-19 pandemic and population growth are making things worse.