ORBIE AWARDS: From UCare via Instagram, VERBATIM: “Congratulations to this year’s National ORBIE Awards 2025 Finalists including UCare’s own EVP/CIO Darin McDonald, nominated in the Health Care sector. Last year he WON the Large Enterprise ORBIE. We’re so proud of you Darin.” POST: https://fluence-media.co/4gMALf3 (SPONSORED: UCare)
POLL: Via CNN, VERBATIM: “The proportion of American adults who identify as LGBTQ+ has risen to 9.3% of the population, according to a Gallup Poll released Thursday. The finding represents an increase of more than 1 percentage point from 2023’s estimate. The proportion of the population identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or non-heterosexual has nearly doubled since 2020 and has jumped from 3.5% since 2012, when it was first measured by Gallup, an analytics and advisory company based in Washington, DC.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/41oeRdr
MORE: Via Gallup, from the poll:
SEE: https://fluence-media.co/430MdAv
DOGE: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “The Department of Government Efficiency‘s (DOGE) work to overhaul the federal workforce and cut down government spending have many on edge, according to a new survey. The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, released Thursday, shows that 58 percent of respondents are worried that programs like student financial aid and Social Security payments could face delays. Another 29 percent did not express the same concerns.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3EXrC5W
MORE: Via Reuters, VERBATIM: “Republicans are largely backing Musk's DOGE effort so far, but the rest of the country is less impressed. Some 42% of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll support Musk's taskforce for cutting government spending, compared with 53% who oppose the endeavor. The division cut cleanly across partisan lines.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gPXAyk
STI: Via Medscape, VERBATIM: “The self-collection of sexually transmitted infection (STI) tests circumvents barriers that deter adolescents and young adults (AYAs) from seeking clinic-based reproductive healthcare, a text-based national survey suggested . . . The MyVoice by Data Diggers survey revealed that of 764 respondents, 695 (91.1%) would use free STI self-collection kits based on a urine sample or vaginal swab. Those who would not use such a kit (5.9%) cited concerns about test accuracy and discomfort with specimen collection.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/41qy2mY
WORK: Via McKnights Senior Living, VERBATIM: “Eighteen percent of Americans aged 65 or more years work full or part time for an employer or are self-employed, and most note positive effects on their health and well-being, according to new findings from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging. Positive health effects of work were reported more often by survey participants aged 65 and older compared with respondents aged 50 to 64.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3QpJk4L
GEN Z: Via Morning Consult, VERBATIM: “Based on a survey of 1,000 Gen Z respondents between the ages of 13 and 27, this report provides insight into how the generation thinks about their ability to form friendships and nurture interests, how they feel mentally and physically, and their sense of their own consumption habits . . . There's a big gender divide among Gen Z: Gen Z women are more likely to feel anxious and lonely, be less confident about their finances, and are less happy with their appearance than Gen Z men.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Dcrtep
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3KsuDrZ
AUDIT: From Max Nesterak via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “Minnesota’s 104 nonprofit general hospitals appear to give back more to their communities than they receive in tax breaks, although it depends on what is counted as a community benefit, and with the caveat that tax benefits are difficult to estimate. That’s the squishy assessment the Office of the Legislative Auditor delivered in a report on Wednesday to state lawmakers, who had ordered an evaluation of how nonprofit hospitals’ community benefit spending stack up against the sizable tax breaks they receive.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/434vH2g
NURSES: Via Rep. Michelle Fischbach, VERBATIM: “Congresswoman Fischbach (MN-07) introduced the Protecting America's Seniors Access to Care Act to prohibit the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from implementing the provisions of the Biden Administration's minimum staffing rule.” FISCHBACH: "A report commissioned by CMS itself found that there is no single staffing level that guarantees quality care, and a mandated ratio will force facilities to turn away patients or close their doors altogether across communities like those in greater Minnesota. I am proud to lead the efforts of Congress to keep a potentially disastrous policy from being implemented and I look forward to working with The Trump Administration and stakeholders on policies that support nursing staff recruitment and retention to solve the ongoing workforce shortage in this country." READ: https://fluence-media.co/3D46v1l
NEXTGEN: From Carly Mallenbaum and Torey Van Oot via Axios, VERBATIM: “The number of first-year Black medical students in Minnesota programs dropped 3 percentage points last year, hitting its lowest level since 2019. Why it matters: Having doctors who resemble the patients they're serving can improve health outcomes and enable patients to feel more comfortable voicing health concerns, multiple studies suggest. Black patients being treated by Black doctors may experience less medical racism, whether that means better treatment in the emergency room or not having pain dismissed.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3EOABq8
RURAL: From Jeremy Olson via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Dr. Alison Raffman had only arrived in Bemidji two days earlier, with three boxes of stuff and two cats, and already she was hustling around the emergency department at Sanford Bemidji Medical Center . . . Raffman rotated to Sanford Bemidji for one month as part of a new effort by Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis to broaden the training of its residents — doctors fresh out of medical school who practice under supervision for three to four years before they can treat patients independently. The approach could be catching on nationally as hospitals try to solve the looming shortage of rural physicians.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4k5QiJI
BORDERS: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “At the nation’s borders, federal workers keep the country safe in many ways: Some investigate sick passengers. Some examine animals for dangerous pathogens. And some inspect plants for infestations that could spread in this country. Late last week, the Trump administration dispatched hundreds of those federal employees with the same message that colleagues at other agencies received: Their services were no longer needed. The absence of these federal officers at the borders leaves Americans vulnerable to pathogens carried by plants, animals and people, experts warned.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4k9QbNm
FDA: Via NBC News, VERBATIM: “Jim Jones, head of the food division at the Food and Drug Administration, has resigned, according to a source familiar with the matter. The division is tasked with ensuring that the country's food supply is safe, overseeing inspections and recalls. Jones' resignation comes after the Trump administration last week cut thousands of federal workers, including some who worked at the FDA. The source didn’t provide a reason for Jones' resignation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gQVu1j
MEDICAID: Via Politico, VERBATIM: “President Donald Trump surprised some of his own staff Wednesday when he endorsed a House budget that would gut Medicaid, hours after pledging that the safety net program ‘isn’t going to be touched.’ The comments sent aides scrambling to figure out what Trump meant and which Medicaid cuts he would be willing to accept, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss the action happening behind closed doors. The potential Medicaid reductions — an option to help pay for Trump’s wide-ranging tax, energy and border agenda — are triggering a backlash from Republican lawmakers whose constituents rely on the program.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/41o2qye
CMS: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “Former Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said she is concerned about the speed at which Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is scrapping federal programs to cut costs.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3XbJwZ5
WEIGHT LOSS: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Health plans are lobbying the Trump administration to scrap a proposal dating from the final days of the Biden administration that would require Medicare and Medicaid to cover anti-obesity drugs, including GLP-1s, for weight loss. Why it matters: The final decision, expected in April, is an important barometer of which health care interests have President Trump's ear, since many providers, patients and drugmakers want Medicare to cover the products.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4i5spA1
ESSENTIA HEALTH NURSES ARE A VALUED PART OF OUR PATIENT CARE: Acute care nurses in the Duluth area earn $100,000 on average, working just four days a week. In fact, 94% of these nurses choose to work part-time because Essentia Health offers full benefits starting at 24 hours a week. Our nurses overwhelmingly choose to remain at Essentia Health, bucking national turnover trends. To join our team at Essentia Health, search for openings HERE: https://fluence-media.co/3D5rO2s (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
HOSPITALS: Via KFF, VERBATIM: “Hospitals account for nearly one third (31%) of total health care spending—$1.5 trillion in 2023—with expenditures projected to rise rapidly through 2032, contributing to higher costs for families, employers, Medicare, Medicaid, and other public payers. In the past, policymakers have looked to reduce spending on hospital care as part of broader efforts to make health care more affordable and reduce the federal deficit and national debt. For example, Republican lawmakers recently floated a number of proposals that could directly or indirectly affect the more than 6,000 hospitals across the country, including major reductions in Medicaid spending, reductions in Medicare spending for uncompensated care and bad debt, establishing site-neutral payments that would achieve Medicare savings by aligning payment rates for a given service across different sites of care, and eliminating federal tax-exempt status for nonprofit hospitals.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4i4ecU4
WARNING: Via Newsweek, VERBATIM: “U.S. hospitals are on track for a crisis come 2032 that may lead to hundreds of thousands of additional deaths each year. This is the warning of a study by researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), who found that hospitals are not only fuller now than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic—but are on track to exceed the critical threshold of 85 percent hospital occupancy within just seven years.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bch6DS
CO DETECTORS: From Tim Blotz via KMSP-TV, VERBATIM: “Carbon monoxide detectors are not just a good idea, they’re the law in the State of Minnesota. But awareness of the law is not necessarily universal, and families who are struggling with finances may not be able to afford a CO detector for their home. It’s why William Sherk, the owner of Neighborhood Plumbing Heating Cooling and Electrical, has made it his mission to distribute free CO detectors after the death of his son 21 years ago.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3X9XISv
FRESH15: The latest season of Fresh15 includes interviews with new Minnesota House members. So far, five new members have shared their goals, background and fun facts before they take office in a historic session this January.
Rep.-Elect Kari Rehauer
Rep.-Elect Wayne Johnson
Rep. Elect Julie Greene
Rep. Elect Keith Allen
Rep. Elect Peter Johnson
Follow on your favorite podcast platform, or at www.TheDailyAgenda.com/Podcasts. (SPONSORED: Minnesota Telecom Alliance)
UNITEDHEALTH: From Christopher Snowbeck via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “UnitedHealth Group has started offering buyouts to a number of workers and layoffs might eventually be coming, depending on how many people opt for voluntary separations. The Eden Prairie-based health care giant did not say how many buyouts it’s targeting as part of what the company is calling a ‘voluntary resignation separation program,’ a source tells the Minnesota Star Tribune.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4b8sOzo
TIMBERWOLVES: From Aires Tech via PRNewswire, VERBATIM: “NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves have teamed up with Aires Tech to unveil an unprecedented electromagnetic fields (EMF)-friendly arena for fans, players and employees at Target Center, in addition to integration at the team's practice facility at Mayo Clinic Square. This first-of-its-kind sports experience innovation aims to optimize the EMFs emitted by electronics and wireless technology, creating a healthier, more beneficial experience for all those that work, compete, and cheer at the arena.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4k5BPxr
GENDER: Via CNN, VERBATIM: “In one of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s first moves as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, the agency released guidance Wednesday for the US government, external partners and the public that offers a narrower definition of sex than the ones used by many scientists and that aligns with a January executive order signed by President Donald Trump. The department also launched a website promoting these definitions and created a video defending a ban on transgender women participating in women’s sports.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kafizG
VACCINE: Via NPR, VERBATIM: “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is stopping a successful flu vaccination campaign that juxtaposed images of wild animals, such as a lion, with cute counterparts, like a kitten, as an analogy for how immunization can help tame the flu. The news was shared with staff during a meeting on Wednesday, according to two CDC staffers who spoke with NPR on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, and a recording reviewed by NPR.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kaYZSY
From morning take…
LONG-TERM CARE: via a joint press release, VERBATIM: “On Thursday, attorneys representing Care Providers of Minnesota and LeadingAge Minnesota will present their case in federal court seeking an injunction against the State of Minnesota and the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board. … The lawsuit includes affidavits from financially struggling long-term care providers across Minnesota that the actions of the board have…interfered with existing labor agreements, dictated wages without a collective bargaining process, [and] created implementation challenges due to unclear definitions of terms.” STATEMENT: “This unfunded mandate by unelected political appointees creates added financial stress [in] an industry that is near the breaking point. Combined with the proposed cuts from Governor Tim Walz’s budget, it is hard to see how this rule ‘reflects Minnesota values’ of taking care of the most vulnerable.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gSgqVw
(DISCLOSURE: LeadingAge Minnesota and Care Providers Minnesota are clients of Fluence)
TREATMENT: via KARE 11, VERBATIM: “A hearing scheduled in federal court Thursday could determine the fate of Minnesota’s largest addiction treatment provider – and impact more than a thousand clients statewide…NUWAY Alliance is asking a judge John Tunheim to issue a federal injunction to prevent Minnesota officials from cutting off its Medicaid funding… Citing credible allegations of fraud – and ongoing state and federal investigations – the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) plans to suspend NUWAY’s Medicaid funding for outpatient treatment effective this Friday.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/40ZEsYU
Sign up for morning take…
MENTAL HEALTH: From Rachel Hoppe via Minnesota Daily, VERBATIM: “The University of Minnesota’s Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB) is strategizing ways to address the shortage of mental health workers in Greater Minnesota and the growing need for pediatric mental health care, according to a press release from MIDB. Twenty-eight percent of 8th to 11th grade students reported experiencing emotional, behavioral or mental health issues lasting longer than six months, according to the Minnesota Department of Health’s 2022 Student Reports.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4k9MJ57
PARTNERSHIP: From GREATER MSP via Globe Newswire, VERBATIM: “Minnesota MedTech 3.0, the U.S. Tech Hub for medical technology, has formed a strategic partnership with NLC Health Ventures, a world-leading venture builder in health and medtech, based in the Netherlands. Minnesota MedTech 3.0 (MMT3.0) is a collaboration of more than 20 entities, organized through the GREATER MSP Partnership, to implement a shared strategy that will advance the country’s global leadership in medical device technology.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/433xwfW
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
STUDY: From Colette Gallagher via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “In a study published in Science Advances, Mayo Clinic researchers found a new immunotherapy target called a cryptic antigen that may be key in helping the immune system fight tumors in ovarian cancer. Cryptic antigens are part of a protein — known as epitopes — that are usually hidden or inaccessible to the immune system and may be present in tumor cells.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gWrAsq
FRAGILE X: From MIT via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “Building on more than two decades of research, a study by MIT neuroscientists at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory reports a new way to treat pathology and symptoms of fragile X syndrome, the most common genetically-caused autism spectrum disorder. The team showed that augmenting a novel type of neurotransmitter signaling reduced hallmarks of fragile X in mouse models of the disorder.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4iaWQVP
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