���ϳԹ���

The FDA licensed Ezplaz, the first freeze-dried plasma product available to adults in need of transfusion, on Wednesday. Ezplaz is intended for patients who need plasma -- such as those who are bleeding, need massive transfusion, or are bleeding while on warfarin -- when conventional frozen plasma is not available. (Bassett, 7/29)

With the promise that GLP-1 drugs, approved for diabetes and weight loss, can also treat ailments such as cancer and heart disease, the government is now exploring if they can reduce alcohol abuse among U.S. military veterans. With an estimated 400,000 U.S. veterans diagnosed with alcohol use disorder, the Department of Veterans Affairs said this week it is launching a randomized clinical trial to measure whether semaglutide, the ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, can reduce drinking and improve quality of life. (Rowland, 7/31)

A new study conducted by leading researchers across the U.S. suggests GLP-1 drugs could have a much greater impact beyond obesity. GLP-1s have become known as something of a go-to weight-loss drug. The research, published in “Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism,” illustrated that a variance in dosage or type of drug can impact results. (Djordjevic, 7/31)

OSF HealthCare agreed to pay $552,250 as part of a settlement agreement with the Health and Human Services Department’s Office for Civil Rights. After OSF HealthCare filed a breach report in October 2021 related to a ransomware attack, the agency launched an investigation to determine whether the provider had violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. The attack — which OSF HealthCare discovered in April 2021 — exposed the protected health information of 53,907 patients. (DeSilva, 7/31)

The story of Cleveland Clinic’s Avon campus has followed a familiar pattern: Build, grow, repeat. Fifteen years after opening the Richard E. Jacobs Health Center — and a decade after opening Avon Hospital — the Clinic is ready to build again in Avon. On Thursday, July 30, the health system broke ground on a $322 million expansion that will add beds, operating rooms and cancer services to the Avon campus. (Scalzo, 7/31)

Katrina Asselin was a teen mom when she got the idea to become a nurse. She had just given birth to her daughter, six days after her own 18th birthday, when the staff and nurses who helped during her delivery inspired her to pursue the same kind of work. (Richardson, 8/3)

The Geisel School of Medicine’s first female dean starts her tenure Saturday and she’s excited to turn a spotlight onto Dartmouth’s medical school. Jennifer Hunt, 55, comes to Geisel from the University of Florida College of Medicine where she has served as interim dean since 2024. (Shanahan, 8/1)

���ϳԹ��� News: Earlier Lifeline For Rural Hospitals Faces Test Under ‘Big Beautiful’ Law

A century-old hospital near Michigan’s southern border was one of the nation’s first to convert into a new emergency-focused model Congress created to save rural care. Afterward, though, use of Sturgis Hospital’s emergency department fell, according to data collected at the state level. In June, three years after taking the federal lifeline, the hospital closed, leaving residents of Sturgis, a town of about 11,000 people, without critical healthcare. Its leaders had tried “every reasonable option” to remain open, including seeking a buyer, according to a hospital news release. (Tribble and Leys, 8/3)

Cardiologists see this happen all too often: A patient is waiting in the hospital for a heart transplant, only to be disqualified because their fitness has fallen with each day in bed. Dismayed by such cases, Radha Gopalan, a heart transplant cardiologist at Banner–University Medical Center Phoenix, decided to try a twist on other rehabilitation programs. (Cooney, 8/3)

Hospitals have been quick to adopt artificial intelligence tools for automating note-taking during patient visits, saying they help lower physician burnout and increase revenues. Medical schools, though, are facing a vexing quandary over AI scribes. (Chan, 8/3)

Companies are exploring how robotics could reshape routine clinical care, developing devices to perform everyday tasks such as blood draws and ultrasound scans. Although the technologies are at different stages of maturity, they reflect a broader push by manufacturers to address health systems’ pressing challenges including workforce shortages and the need for safer, more efficient care delivery. (Dubinsky, 7/31)