Washington State Hospital Association Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Further Proof That 2020 Stinks: More People Are Dying During The Pandemic, Not Just From COVID

By Tom Banse November 25, 2020

Graph showing excess deaths during the pandemic for Oregon and Washington

As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, it's now increasingly apparent that 2020 will be remembered for an unusually high death toll -- not just from COVID-19. In the medical field, deaths above what you would normally expect are called "excess deaths."Read More

Return To Elective Procedures Means Return To More Stable Finances For Rural Washington Hospitals

By NWPB News May 1, 2020

Smaller Washington hospitals like Mid-Valley Hospital in Omak faced tight budget considerations with a pause on elective surgeries. Courtesy of Mid-Valley Hospital

Hospitals in Washington are starting to act on the permission given them by Gov. Jay Inslee to resume non-essential medical procedures. Some may begin work by or before next week.Read More

Washington State Hustles For Masks, Gowns, Gloves, But Is Millions Short Of What It Wants

By Anna Boiko-Weyrauch April 30, 2020

Giselle Uribe-Sayah, 15, wears a garbage bag and handkerchief while joining a nationwide protest demanding PPE for healthcare workers on Thursday, April 9, 2020, outside of Evergreen Health in Monroe. CREDIT: Megan Farmer/KUOW

Getting adequate supplies of personal protective equipment remains a problem in Washington state. The goods are important to protect healthcare workers – and an indication of whether the state can reopen.Read More

Washington Hospital Association Imports Masks For Delivery To Rural Clinics

By Doug Nadvornick April 20, 2020

Volunteers flew 300,000 imported masks from China to smaller hospitals in Washington. CREDIT: Tim Pfarr/Washington State Hospital Association

Nine rural hospitals in Washington from Forks to Omak to Republic have new shipments of hospital masks, thanks to the organization that advocates for them in Olympia. And that organization’s CEO is getting a big kick out of the whole thing.Read More

Those Experiencing Mental Health Crisis Find Themselves Stuck In ER, With Nowhere Else To Go

By Tom Banse April 7, 2019

People in mental health crisis can be lodged for days on a gurney in a hallway, like these at Olympia's St. Peter Hospital emergency room, because there's nowhere else to go. TOM BANSE / N3

Some psychiatric patients are spending not just hours in the emergency room, but days or a week. They're living there in the ER because there is nowhere else to send them. Northwest policymakers are now making it a priority to create more treatment capacity for people in mental health and addiction crises.Read More