Culpeper Medical Center Earns Multiple “Best of the Best” Honors
(UVA Health – April 23, 2026)

UVA Health Culpeper Medical Center and several of its physicians and services have been recognized in the Culpeper Times 2026 “Best of the Best” awards, reflecting strong community support and trust across a wide range of healthcare specialties.

How acceptance and care continue to improve for the growing number of kids diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders
(Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU – April 24, 2026)

April was previously known as Autism Awareness Month, but in 2021 the designation changed. Now recognized as Autism Acceptance Month, the shift is designed to improve inclusion, respect and support from the community for those living with autism. Dr. Ruby Tan, a developmental pediatrician at our Brook Road Pavilion answers these 6 questions about why this is important.

Is Robotic Gynecologic Surgery Right for You?
(Bon Secours – April 23, 2026)

Has your doctor said you might need surgery for a gynecologic condition? For many people, robotic gynecologic surgery is the answer. It uses high-tech tools to do the job through tiny cuts instead of one big one. That means less pain, a faster recovery and getting back to your life sooner. At Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News, our skilled surgeons use the latest robotic technology to offer this kind of care to our patients.

LewisGale Hospital Montgomery named to 2026 Modern Healthcare 100 Top Hospitals list
(HCA Virginia – April 24, 2026)

LewisGale Hospital Montgomery, part of HCA Healthcare, today announced that it has been recognized as a top performing hospital in the 2026 Modern Healthcare 100 Top Hospitals Powered by Premier. “Our hospital is committed to delivering high-quality, safe care to every patient we serve. That commitment extends beyond our walls and into the heart of our community,” said Rachael Stanton, interim chief executive officer for LewisGale Hospital Montgomery. “This recognition highlights our efforts to build trust, improve outcomes and ensure that every individual receives the compassionate, reliable care they deserve.”

New study shows AI alerts help more heart patients get life-saving valve disease care
(Inova Health – April 23, 2026)

A major new national study led by Inova cardiologist Wayne Batchelor, MD, MHS, MBA, shows that artificial intelligence (AI) can help doctors find and treat serious heart valve disease sooner – especially among patients who are often diagnosed too late. Dr. Batchelor, an interventional cardiologist and President of Inova’s Medicine Service Line, and Schar Chair of Inova Schar Heart and Vascular, served as Principal Investigator and Chair of the Steering Committee for the ALERT study. The findings were presented as a late-breaking clinical trial at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Sessions and simultaneously published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Southern Stafford County to get freestanding HCA emergency room
(Fredericksburg Free Press – April 25, 2026)

A freestanding emergency room is coming to U.S. 17 in Stafford. The Stafford County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously earlier this week on three measures that will allow the HCA Healthcare ER to be built on a parcel between Banks Ford Parkway and McWhirt Loop. Those decisions followed 6-0 votes by the planning commission in February. The ER will be run in conjunction with the Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center and will be similar to HCA’s stand-alone Fredericksburg ER on Route 3 in Spotsylvania County.

UVA nurse’s liver donation to stranger creates lifelong bond
(29 News – April 24, 2026)

A UVA Health nurse who volunteered to donate part of her liver to a friend’s child ended up saving a stranger’s life instead. Hannah Scheenstra is a registered nurse at UVA Health who works in the organ transplant unit. She initially wanted to help her close friend’s son, who was born with a liver disease and placed on the transplant list. She prayed about the decision and asked her parents for their support and prayers before moving forward with the evaluation process.

VHHA Patients Come First Podcast – Dr. Jane Russell
(Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association – April 26, 2026)

This episode of VHHA’s Patients Come First podcast features Dr. Jane Russell, PharmD, MBA, FACHE, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Bath Community Hospital in Hot Spring, VA. She joins for a conversation about her professional journey, the work of Bath Community Hospital as a rural, critical access provider, and more. Send questions, comments, feedback, or guest suggestions to pcfpodcast@vhha.com or contact on X (Twitter) or Instagram using the #PatientsComeFirst hashtag.

25 Percent of New York Hospitals at Risk of Closure
(Hudson Valley Post – April 24, 2026)

A new report warns that about 25 percent of New York hospitals could face closures or service cuts. The report is raising serious concerns about the future of hospitals across New York, with warnings that roughly a quarter of facilities could face closures, layoffs, or reduced services in the coming years. According to the consumer watchdog group Public Citizen, about 45 hospitals in New York are now considered “at risk.”

Colorado: Hospitals — and patients — brace for fallout from federal health funding cuts as new report paints a bleak outlook
(CPR News – April 24, 2026)

As hospitals in Colorado and around the country brace for impacts of federal funding cuts made last year by Republicans in Washington, D.C., patients are on edge as well. Veronica Montoya, a Medicaid patient who often gets care at Denver Health, says she worries major cuts could impact care. “I do think that waits will be longer, and you probably won’t get as much time with your doctor. They’re going to be inundated,” said Montoya, who suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis, a disease that attacks the spine, diabetes, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis and long COVID. “I hope that they will not have to lay off any employees.”

Exclusive: Insurers align pre-treatment review requirements
(Axios – April 24, 2026)

Major health insurers including UnitedHealthcare, Humana and CVS Health/Aetna will adopt a single standard for health providers to request pre-treatment reviews starting next year, the insurers tell Axios. Why it matters: Health plans often deny or delay coverage because of incomplete documentation. A standardized approach could reduce the back-and-forth between plans and providers — and improve the odds of delivering timely care.

Healthcare finance leaders cite federal funding uncertainty, Medicaid cuts as top concerns
(Fierce Healthcare – April 23, 2026)

Government funding uncertainty and Medicaid cuts are the biggest concerns for the majority of healthcare finance leaders in 2026, according to a new report from Strata Decision Technology. The cloud-based financial analytics platform surveyed healthcare financial professionals nationwide for its annual financial outlook report. Eighty-two percent of respondents were leaders at healthcare systems, while others included medical groups (25%), single hospitals (15%), affiliated provider practices (13%) and more.

Medicare AI prior authorization pilot delaying care in Washington: report
(Healthcare Dive – April 24, 2026)

A pilot program that adds artificial intelligence-backed prior authorization for some services in Medicare is delaying care for seniors in Washington, according to a report released Wednesday by one of the state’s Democrat senators. Under the WISeR program, procedures that were previously approved within about two weeks now take four to eight weeks to be authorized, according to survey data from the Washington State Hospital Association.

Health plans adopt standardized approach to prior authorization
(Healthcare Finance News – April 24, 2026)

Health plans have announced a new initiative to adopt a standardized approach for electronic prior authorization requests, according to AHIP. The standardized approach will be used for medical services that are commonly subject to prior authorization, such as orthopedic surgeries and imaging services, including CT scans and MRIs. Insurers signing on include UnitedHealthcare Cigna, CVS Health Aetna, Elevance Health, Humana, Centene and numerous Blue Cross plans nationwide. Geisinger Health Plan and Kaiser Permanente are also part of the initiative that begins on Jan. 1, 2027.

UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna tout progress to standardize prior authorization as part of industry-wide commitment
(Fierce Healthcare – April 24, 2026)

Major health insurers are advancing efforts to standardize prior authorization requirements as part of an effort to simplify paperwork for providers and reduce delays in medical care. Two of the industry’s leading organizations, AHIP and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, said Friday that leading health plans are making significant progress in their efforts to adopt a standardized approach for providers submitting electronic prior authorization requests for the majority of medical services.

A ‘Barbaric’ Problem in American Hospitals Is Only Getting Bigger
(KFF Health News – April 24, 2026)

In the last months, weeks, and days of his life, “I will not go to the emergency room” became my husband’s mantra. Andrej had esophageal cancer that had spread throughout his body (but not to his ever-willful brain), and, having trained as a doctor, I had jury-rigged a hospital at home, aided by specialists who got me pills to boost blood pressure; to dampen the effects of liver failure; to stem his cough; to help him swallow, wake up, fall asleep. “I will not go to the emergency room” — emphasis on not — were his first words after passing out, having a seizure, or regurgitating the protein smoothies I made to pass his narrowed esophagus. He said it again and again, even as fluid built up in his lungs, rendering him short of breath and prone to agonizing coughing spells. He had been a big, athletic guy, but now, in the ugly process of dying, he was looking gaunt. Ours was a precarious existence, but I understood his adamant rejection of the emergency department. Most prior visits had morphed into extended trips into a terrifying medical underworld — to a purgatory known as emergency department boarding.

CDC: 6 more US children die of flu as season winds down
(CIDRAP – April 24, 2026)

Six more US children died of influenza last week as seasonal respiratory virus activity continues slowing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today in its weekly FluView report. Pediatric flu deaths so far this season now total 149. About 85% of the children who died and had a known vaccination status were unvaccinated.

Flexibility is key to future-ready hospital design
(Healthcare Finance News – April 24, 2026)

Rather than focusing on placing fixed assets in rooms, hospital leaders must create modular spaces that can adapt and change over time as new technologies are developed, says Sarah Hatchett, Cleveland Clinic CIO.

How to help nurses avoid technology over-reliance
(Healthcare Finance News – April 24, 2026)

According to MaryAnn Connor, NYU adjunct informatics professor, and Olga Kagan, FANA CEO, healthcare leaders must reinforce core clinical skills alongside digital fluency to ensure nurses don’t become dependent on AI tools.

The quiet gaps in ED performance data — and what execs can do about them
(Becker’s Hospital Review – April 24, 2026)

Hospital and health system leaders have more emergency department data in front of them than ever. However, without adjusting for patient acuity and comparing against a cohort of similar departments, much of that data can be more misleading than useful, according to two emergency department physicians with decades of combined experience studying ED performance data. James Augustine, MD, vice president of the Emergency Department Benchmarking Alliance, and Matt Ledges, MD, vice president of clinical analytics at TeamHealth, spoke with Becker’s separately about the current state of ED performance measurement and shared the metrics, peer comparisons and tactical steps hospital leaders should prioritize to get a more accurate read on how their EDs are actually performing.

To deliver hospital-level care at home, practice makes perfect
(HealthLeaders Media – April 24, 2026)

Years of planning come to fruition as Hospital at Home teams test run a new era of patient care devoted to better outcomes and fewer readmissions.

What a ‘post-antibiotic era’ could mean for modern medicine
(HealthLeaders Media – April 24, 2026)

The World Health Organization has warned that we may be moving towards a “post-antibiotic era” in which common infections once again become dangerous, and even routine injuries or procedures carry serious risk.

What to know about New World screwworm as cases detected near the US
(ABC News – April 22, 2026)

Federal health officials reported on Monday that cases of a flesh-eating parasitic infection continue to be detected near the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said a New World screwworm case was confirmed in the Mexican state of Nuevo León, approximately 62 miles from the Texas border. This marks the northernmost active case in Mexico. USDA said the current risk to livestock, other animals and people in the U.S. remains very low and there is currently no evidence of NWS among animals in the U.S.

CMS and FDA announce RAPID Medicare coverage for breakthrough medical devices
(Healthcare Finance News – April 24, 2026)

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has introduced a new coverage pathway for Medicare beneficiaries to get expedited coverage for breakthrough medical devices. On Thursday, CMS and the Food and Drug Administration released the Regulatory Alignment for Predictable and Immediate Device (RAPID) coverage pathway to accelerate patient access to what the agencies called life-changing medical devices. The RAPID coverage pathway allows CMS and the FDA to work together, with innovators, early during technology development so that evidence generated for FDA review can also support Medicare coverage decisions.

RFK Jr. draws backlash for ripping Medicaid programs that pay people to care for relatives
(NBC News – April 23, 2026)

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sparked outrage among disability rights advocates with recent comments alleging widespread fraud in Medicaid programs that pay people to care for elderly or disabled family members — a system millions of Americans rely on to survive. During testimony before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee last week, Kennedy criticized Medicaid-funded programs that pay relatives to serve as caregivers, alleging they compensate people for tasks they “used to do as family members for free.” That includes paying them “for balancing the checkbook, for picking up the groceries, for driving somebody to a doctor’s appointment,” he said.

Trump cuts drug price deal with Regeneron
(Axios – April 23, 2026)

President Trump on Thursday announced a drug pricing deal with Regeneron — the last of 17 manufacturers the administration pressured last year to commit to his “most favored nation” policy. Why it matters: The deals with the other companies to lower certain drug prices are being touted as one of the administration’s signature health accomplishments, though Democrats question whether the confidential arrangements are really helping consumers. Driving the news: Like other deals, the agreement calls for lower prices for certain drugs offered to Medicaid, as well as to patients paying cash through the TrumpRx website.