KUER
A new report published by the Economic Roundtable, an urban research nonprofit, found pandemic related job loss will cause twice as much chronic-homelessness than the 2008 Great Recession and Latinos and African Americans are especially vulnerable. This story and more in Tuesday evening s news brief.
Tuesday evening, January 12, 2021
Northern Utah
University Of Utah President Ruth Watkins Stepping Down In April
University of Utah President Ruth Watkins announced Tuesday she will be stepping down in April. In a statement, she said she is leaving to head up a national education organization. University officials said Watkins helped the U increase graduation rates and bring in more donor contributions and research funding. But her legacy will be marked by the on-campus murder of student-athlete Lauren McCluskey. As part of a settlement with her family in October, Watkins admitted the university mishandled her case. Read the full story.
Utah health care leaders declare systemic racism a public health crisis
The Beehive State’s hospital systems announced a collaboration Tuesday to address health inequities, disparities exposed by COVID-19.
(Screenshot from Zoom) Dr. Marc Harrison, CEO and president of Intermountain Healthcare, speaks during a virtual news conference Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, with Utah s other health care leaders to declare systemic racism a public health crisis. | Updated: 1:32 a.m.
Systemic racism is a public health crisis, according to Utah’s health care leaders, and they say they are working together to eliminate disparities that patients face.
“If we had any doubt whatsoever about whether race affected the health of communities and individuals, the pandemic has absolutely clarified that,” said Dr. Marc Harrison, CEO and president of Intermountain Healthcare, in a virtual news conference Tuesday. He was joined by the heads of University of Utah Health, the Utah Hospital Association, Mo
Study reveals rising risk of mental health problems among COVID-19 health care professionals
The daily toll of COVID-19, as measured by new cases and the growing number of deaths, overlooks a shadowy set of casualties: the rising risk of mental health problems among health care professionals working on the frontlines of the pandemic.
A new study, led by University of Utah Health scientists, suggests more than half of doctors, nurses, and emergency responders involved in COVID-19 care could be at risk for one or more mental health problems, including acute traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, problematic alcohol use, and insomnia. The researchers found that the risk of these mental health conditions was comparable to rates observed during natural disasters, such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.
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To fight systemic racism in health care, Utah’s largest hospital systems and the state hospital association say they will add more people of color to their staff and their boards, as well as expand implicit bias training for existing employees.
Leaders of Utah’s largest hospital systems released a joint statement Tuesday speaking out against systemic racism and vowing to do more to fight it.
Two things led Utah’s hospital systems to examine their role in systemic racism, according to Mikelle Moore, senior vice president of Intermountain Healthcare: The summer of Black Lives Matter protests and the unequal impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on people of color.