skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Crossing MN's Political Divides: Hearing Today on CARE Act

play audio
Play

Wednesday, February 11, 2015   

ST. PAUL, Minn. - A bipartisan effort to provide more support for the state's many family caregivers is moving ahead at the state Capitol, with the bill getting its first committee hearing in the Minnesota Senate today.

Its author in the Senate, state Sen. Kent Eken, DFL-Twin Valley, said the CARE Act is designed to ensure that caregivers are engaged in the process and instructed on the often complex medical tasks they'll have to perform at home "to make sure that they're given the training that they need, that they're given notice of a discharge in a timely manner, and giving a person who's admitted into the hospital the ability to designate a caregiver in the medical record."

By streamlining the procedures, said the bill's author in the House, Rep. Nick Zerwas, R-Elk River, there will be improved care at home and a reduction in hospital readmissions "so that if you're in greater Minnesota or if you're in downtown Minneapolis, when you and your loved one gets discharged from the hospital, there's a standardized process and protocol to go over everything that that caregiver will need in order to take care of their loved one."

Zerwas has a personal connection to the need of family caregivers. He was born with a heart defect and spent his childhood in and out of hospitals, undergoing now a total of 10 open-heart surgeries.

"It was not uncommon," he said, "for me to go home on new medications, go home with a portable IV pump or a tube through my chest, and it was kind of 'OK, mom. Watch the nurse change the dressing once or twice and now we're going to send you out into the world.' "

According to AARP Minnesota, there currently are more than 670,000 family caregivers statewide, and that number is expected to grow as the population continues to age.

Details of the legislation (HF210 and SF107) are online at revisor.mn.gov.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021