Philadelphia hospital reaches out to homeless

The program helps reinforce the importance of health care for shelter residents and their children.

USA Today: Children's Hospital Reaches Out To Parents, Too
Amber Bailey used to travel up to an hour to see her baby's pediatrician. That was when things were looking brighter and she was living in a house with her child's father. She's homeless now with two small children, but their doctor is only five minutes away, and medical care even comes to her shelter [in Philadelphia]. Health care may dominate the news these days, but it's typically not on the minds of the homeless. But one children's hospital and a generous donor here are making sure the most vulnerable members of this city's struggling population remember the importance of their children's and their own health care and coverage. And the thanks they receive from the families adds to the satisfaction they get from meeting some of the goals of the health care overhaul (O'Donnell, 11/26).

Meanwhile, in other issues affecting medical providers --

Reuters: Easing Nurse Practitioner Laws May Save Money At Clinics
Relaxing restrictions on what services nurse practitioners can and can't provide may lead to cost savings at retail health clinics, suggests a new study. Researchers found care related to retail health clinic visits cost $34 less in states that allowed nurse practitioners to prescribe and practice independently than in states that required them to be supervised by a doctor (Seaman, 11/26).

The New York Times: Gynecologists May Treat Men, Board Says In Switch
A professional group that certifies obstetrician-gynecologists reversed an earlier directive and said on Tuesday that its members were permitted to treat male patients for sexually transmitted infections and to screen men for anal cancer. The statement from the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology eased restrictions announced in September, which said that gynecologists could lose their board certification if they treated men (Grady, 11/26).