Hello fellow Nurse, this is your weekly handoff. Some quick and dirty nursing news that’s worth sharing. Enjoy!

Something from our subscribers

We are so thankful to have so many new fellow nurses that are tuning in every week that we want to hear more from you! Starting last week, we want you to submit your funniest or strangest or most heart warming nursing stories. However, I posted the wrong email… oof. So apologies, if you submitted already, please resend to the correct email below. Then, every week we will pick one to share! This will be shared anonymously- so don’t be afraid to add some humor and flare, just like we love here!

Please submit all stories to: [email protected] 

Please be conscious of HIPAA and omit any PPI or detail that may give hints to the people, hospital, and nurses involved in your story. We may slightly alter your story or change names for this reason.

Something that made headlines

It’s never gonna be good when it makes it into the New York Times. Owners and operators of four different nursing homes claimed more than $83 million as their own from tax payers while neglecting the residents of said nursing homes. “They put profit over people again and again while vulnerable New Yorkers were reduced to skeletons”, Letitia James, who filed the lawsuit said. Apparently this misuse of Medicaid and Medicare funds dates back to 2013. The testimony’s included horrific retellings from residents and their families of the type of neglect these resident’s endured. This infuriates me, mostly because of the harm it caused, but also from first hand experience working in a nursing home in my college days and how limited resources were. This is clearly an issue across the board of funding issues in nursing homes. You would think that simple medical supplies cost an arm and a leg the way we had to ration briefs and wipes. Across the board, this country needs to do so much better for our elderly.

Something to strike about

Lately there are just endless nurse striking headlines- last week was in Washington, this week we are headed to Austin Texas and Wichita Kansas. On June 27th the largest nurses strike ever occurred in both of these states. This one doesn’t have the happy resolve ending that the hospital in Washington had last week though. This strike resulted in a three day lock out, preventing nurses from returning to work. “Nurses won’t be intimidated by petty antics when we’re in a fight for the future of our hospitals and the health of our patients and communities.” Said Jessica Gripentrog, a RN at Ascension in Austin. This article suggests no resolve just yet, but hopefully soon. Reading this, I am also wondering how much this hospital must be paying emergency travel nurses to hold down the fort inside. Strikes are on the rise, what’s your opinion?

Something to listen to

This podcast, or you can read the summation of what was discussed, dives into looking into the causes of Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s, with numbers on the rise, still has no clear answer to the the big why of how it happens. This podcast discusses the latest theory which includes a term researchers are calling the “gut-brain-axis”… in other words, your toot caboose and your brain are talking. This theory says that these pathogens, that could be causing Parkinson’s, may be entering through your gut into the vagus nerve. They then go on to discuss what brought on this theory and it is that 30% of those with Parkinson’s have a different gut microbiome than others. Specifically a large amount of a bacteria known to cause brain abscesses and also a lot of inflammation causing bacteria were present. However, with such limited research, there are no clear recommendations on what specific diet could help or if there is a way to prevent Parkinson’s through this. So while we may not be any steps closer to stopping Parkinson’s, we are learning more and more that the whole body is one big communicating machine. Treat it well! Or as best as you can.

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