Communities rely on providers like the Sanford Bemidji Medical Center for top-flight health care. But hospitals rely on their communities as well -- and a blast of hurricane-force winds in June showed just how ready people in the region were to come to the aid of the Bemidji Hospital. In this episode, Sanford Bemidji Medical Center CEO Karla Eischens talks about the support she and her staff got when lights went out and the trees came down.

Host: Tim Nelson, Minnesota Hospital Association

Guest: Karla Eischens, Sanford Bemidji Medical Center

The Minnesota Department of Health has issued its annual adverse heath event report, and there are some good signs in the data: although patient admissions are growing, adverse event increases have slowed for the first time since the pandemic. Minnesota Hospital Association associate vice president of quality and safety Jenny Schoenecker talks about the latest data and quality and safety efforts around the state.

Host: Tim Nelson, Minnesota Hospital Association

Guest: Jenny Schoenecker, Minnesota Hospital Association

With a July 4th target date for a budget reconciliation looming, major devlopments in federal health care are in the offing in Congress. Becky Wifstrand, Director of Federal Policy and Regulatory Affairs at the Minnesota Hospital Association, talks in this episode about where the One Big Beautiful Bill Act stands.

Host: Tim Nelson, Minnesota Hospital Association

Guest: Becky Wifstrand, Minnesota Hospital Association

This week, we talk to Becky Wifstrand, the Director of Federal Policy and Regulatory Affairs here at the Minnesota Hospital Association, about Medicaid, Medicare and some of the nitty gritty of the budget reconciliation bill that Congress has been working on since January. These may be some of the most consequential weeks in health care in the U.S. in a decade.

Host: Tim Nelson, Minnesota Hospital Association

Guest: Becky Wifstrand, Minnesota Hospital Association

Friday is Hospitals Against Violence day, or #HAVhope on social media. A couple high profile incidents this year underline the need to protect patients and staff, and so we talked to Josh Gramling, director of Occupational Health and Wellness and Jessica Malone, Clinical Care Improvement Manager, both at Hennepin Healthcare, as well as Steve Daniel, director of shared security services and emergency preparedness at HealthPartners. They talked about the need for everyone to play a role in preventing violence in health care settings. Minnesota Hospital Association associate vice president Jenny Schoenecker also talked about recent industry-wide initiatives in Minnesota.

Host: Tim Nelson, Minnesota Hospital Association

Guests: Josh Gramling, Jessica Malone, Hennepin Healthcare; Steve Daniel, HealthPartners; Jenny Schoenecker, Minnesota Hospital Association

Safety and security are watchwords at any hospital in the U.S. now, and many providers are deploying technology to help thread the needle of welcoming staff, patients and visitors while turning threats away. Evolv Technologies stations are common sights at many facilities, and this week we talked to Jason Grellner, vice president of health care at Evolv. Grellner talked about how technology and people can interact most successfully -- and safely.

Host: Tim Nelson, Minnesota Hospital Association

Guest: Jason Grellner, Evolv Technologies

Allina Health has three workforce development programs aimed at getting entry-level employees into nursing assistant positions and offering medical assistant and surgical tech apprenticeship training. Allina chief nursing executive Dre Carpenter says the paid programs are aimed at filling workforce gaps and helping people develop their careers -- to registered nursing and other positions. Carpenter says its a win for employees and a win for Allina.

Host: Tim Nelson, Minnesota Hospital Association

Guest: Dr. D'Andre Carpenter, Allina Health

As many as one in six jobs in Minnesota hospitals are vacant, according to the most recent workforce survey from the Minnesota Hospital Association. Nationally, nearly 40% of nurses intend to leave the profession within the next five years, according to a recent survey of 800,000 nurses conducted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

Labor economists say Minnesota will be struggling with its entire workforce in the years to come, and employers will have to get creative to keep serving their clients, customers and patients.

Bruce Mehdizadeh, senior director of sales with Care.ai, is a provider of artificial intelligence assisted care technology and a Minnesota Hospital Association endorsed business partner. Hospital Matters talked to Mehdizadeh about AI and its role in the future of health care.

Host: Tim Nelson, Minnesota Hospital Association

Guest, Bruce Mehdizadeh, Care.ai

Job vacancies in Minnesota hospitals surged in 2022 in the wake of the COVID pandemic. Last year, that started to show signs of reversal, particularly among nurses. Nurse vacancy rates improved noticably in the Minnesota Hospital Association's 2024 workforce report. This week, we talked with Adam Karlen, chief nursing officer at M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital, about what the workforce issues look like on the ground.

Host: Tim Nelson, Minnesota Hospital Association

Guest: Adam Karlen, M Health Fairview

Hospitals, clinics and nursing homes are worrying more and more about the fate of Medical Assistance, Minnesota's version of Medicaid, as budget talks continue in Washington. Analysis by the Congressional Budget Office indicated a massive spending cut that has won preliminary House approval would require substantial cuts to Medicaid. Roundtables around the state have been talking about the impact and this week, we'll bring you a sample of what people have been saying.

Host: Tim Nelson, Minnesota Hospital Association

Featured speakers: John Connolly, deputy commissioner, Minnesota Department of Human Services; Grace Arnold, commissioner, Minnesota Department of Commerce; Ginny Shadow, client at Fernbrook Family Center; Tim Walz, governor, State of Minnesota, Kelly Morrison, U.S. Representative, MN-3; Tina Smith, U.S. Senator.