IHA Daily Briefing: March 30

Durbin Introduces Legislation to Address Rural Healthcare Provider Shortages
Nearly 100 million Americans live in communities with too few doctors, and half the country lives in a mental healthcare desert. In response, Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin joined U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (TN) to reintroduce the bipartisan Rural America Health Corps Act, legislation to address growing health disparities by incentivizing more health professionals to serve and plant roots in rural communities. This bill is also co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski from Illinois' 13th Congressional District.

"Patients in rural Illinois deserve to have access to quality healthcare, but serious workforce shortages force patients to wait months or travel long distances to see a medical provider," Durbin said. "My bipartisan bill with Senator Blackburn would provide new funding and support for rural communities by expanding loan repayment programs so we can attract and retain more doctors, nurses, physician assistants, dentists, and behavioral health specialists in every corner of our state."

In a statement, Durbin's office said the Rural America Health Corps Act creates a new program under the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) National Health Service Corps (NHSC) to test whether an increased loan repayment amount and longer service commitment would better enhance recruitment and retention of doctors, nurses, dentists, and behavioral health providers in rural areas. Compared to the national average of 39%, only 26% of NHSC clinicians in Illinois serve in rural areas.

AHA Cyber Security Advisory: Iranian Hacking Groups Targeting Healthcare
An American Hospital Association (AHA) Cybersecurity Advisory released Friday outlines high-confidence indicators of compromise (IOC) associated with recent Iranian cyberattack activity targeting the Stryker Corporation, a medical supply and technology company. You are encouraged to share the advisory information with detailed information on these IOCs with your leadership, cybersecurity, information technology and physical security teams. AHA said the listed IOCs should be loaded into network defensive and threat-hunting tools as soon as possible. AHA members can click here to access additional guidance and resources from U.S. agencies and organizations to support hospital response and preparedness efforts, as well as recommended actions for hospitals and health systems to mitigate harm from potential cyberattacks.

Researchers Find 'Five-second Rule' Doesn't Apply to Surgical Devices
Even though the so-called "five-second rule" has been debunked in food safety, a similar mindset continues in surgical environments. While research shows implants drop more than 61% of the time during emergency procedures, no guidelines for managing these dropped implants has been established. In a study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, researchers took a closer look at the five-second rule, simulating real-life scenarios to determine what happens when orthopedic implants are contaminated.

The devices were placed on an operating room floor where the surgeon had stood for 10 seconds immediately following orthopedic surgery. The implants were then cleaned using different disinfectants and tested for specific pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus. While certain disinfectants did significantly reduce the bacterial counts compared to devices that were not disinfected, researchers determined that even brief exposure to nonsterile environments can introduce microbes that are not easily or fully removed from implants. Study authors recommended that, when possible, dropped implants should be replaced rather than disinfected.

Register: Pediatric Readiness in Rural Emergency Care
Join the Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC), in coordination with the National Rural Health Association, this Thursday, April 2, at noon CT for an informational session on the upcoming 2026 EMSC National Pediatric Readiness Project (NPRP) Assessment. Click here to register for the upcoming session to learn how this free 30-minute assessment can help emergency department (ED) teams evaluate their readiness and provide feedback and insights to support improvement and save lives in your rural community.

The NPRP Assessment is a nationwide, once-every-five-year opportunity for every ED to evaluate their pediatric readiness. The confidential, online self-assessment results give EDs a pediatric readiness score on a 100-point scale. For rural hospitals that care for patients of all ages, pediatric emergencies can be rare but high stakes. The informational session is an opportunity for rural EDs to find out where they are excelling and where improvements are needed while contributing to nationwide efforts to improve pediatric readiness.

The Infectious Respiratory Disease Surveillance Dashboard from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) provides the latest data on hospital visits, seasonal trends, lab test positivity and demographic data. IDPH also tracks COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus information through the Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System dashboard.

Briefly Noted

Leading the News

Diabetes drug metformin affects the brain, study finds: Here's how

The Hill

For more than 60 years, doctors have prescribed metformin as a frontline treatment for Type 2 diabetes. Now, researchers say they've uncovered something that was hiding in plain sight: Part of the drug's power over blood sugar comes from the brain.

University funding overhaul bill advances in House despite U of I opposition

Crain's Chicago Business

A bill that would overhaul the way Illinois funds its public universities advanced out of a House committee Thursday and could face a vote by the full House soon, despite continued opposition from the University of Illinois System, the state's flagship institution.

5 lessons from women CEOs on leading under pressure: McKinsey

Becker's Hospital Review

The CEO role is widely seen as one of the most demanding positions in business, often marked by isolation and constant pressure. For women, those challenges can be more pronounced due to underrepresentation, heightened scrutiny and narrower room for missteps, according to a March 20 McKinsey article.