Mary Mayhew

On "Florida Matters: Live & Local," Mayhew discussed the plight of DeSoto Memorial, the challenges and benefits remote hospitals present and how mergers with larger systems can be a lifeline.

Guests include the Florida Hospital Association's Mary Mayhew and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor. The topics: saving small-town hospitals, real impacts of government gridlock and Clearwater’s inclusive mission.

Mary Mayhew, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association, said the group has over 100 hospitals that directly contract with Change Healthcare, the target of the cyberattack.

The cyberattack on a unit of UnitedHealth Group’s Optum division is the worst on the health care industry in U.S. history, hospitals say. Providers struggling to get paid for care say the response by the insurer and the Biden administration has been inadequate.

Florida Hospital Association president Mary Mayhew says staff having to isolate due to the virus and workers taking lucrative travel jobs are posing challenges for hospitals amid the omicron surge.

In advance of the 2022 legislative session, lawmakers eye ways to bolster education and training programs for nurses and other health professionals to help alleviate industry-wide staffing woes.

Hospitals are using three to four times as much oxygen as they were before the pandemic. Also, a lack of delivery drivers is adding to the problem.

Florida has added about 17,000 cases a day for the last three days. Hospitalizations now greatly exceed last year's peak.

COVID-19 infections are rising fast in Florida with the first day of school just a few weeks away. Gov. DeSantis does not want to mandate masks in classrooms.

With its choice of a new leader, the Florida Hospital Association has signaled that seeking legislative approval to expand Medicaid won’t be among its top priorities.

Mayhew will become president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association, an organization whose members rely heavily on state funding overseen by the Agency for Health Care Administration.

Medicaid enrollment will balloon by more than 14 percent during the state’s current fiscal year, with economists predicting an average monthly enrollment…