The tragic effects of our battle with the novel coronavirus are seemingly endless. But arguably the most mind-blowing is this: the very pandemic that threatens to infect and kill millions is simultaneously causing many to also lose their health coverage at their gravest time of need.

Heres how: the virus has caused a public health crisis so severe that people have been forced to stay home, causing businesses to shutter and lay off workers. And with roughly half of Americans getting their health insurance from their employer, these layoffs mean not only losing their income but also their medical coverage. In other words, just as our need for medical care skyrockets in the face of a global pandemic, fewer will have health insurance or be able to afford it. According to one recent report, the cost of treatment for Covid-19 can run around $35,000. As the patient in the report exclaimed: I was pretty sticker-shocked. I personally dont know anybody who has that kind of money.

So, how did we get to such a dire place? Many will sadly lose their jobs over the coming weeks with one estimate projecting as many as 30%. And as they do, Americans are about to learn something horrifying: how irrational and irresponsible it is for so many to be dependent on employers for health insurance. Take it from me. Im a former health insurance executive who once profited from this system. Its time for it to stop.

America needs to finally get out of the business of linking health coverage to job status. Even in better times, this arrangement was a bad idea from a health perspective. Most Americans whose families depend on their employers for coverage are just a layoff away from being uninsured. And now, when many businesses are shutting down and considering layoffs, its a public health disaster. Across the country were seeing reports of layoffs in almost all industries. As we approach a global recession, some analysts suggest that a million or more US workers will lose their jobs in April alone. Consider what this means for health care in this country.

Weve seen this before. During the last big recession, researchers at Cornell University found that 9.3 million Americans lost their health insurance between 2007 and 2009. Why? As people lost work, their employer-provided insurance went away. During this time, roughly six in 10 Americans who lost their jobs became uninsured. And this problem compounds itself. If the reason you lost your health insurance is that you no longer have steady employment, how are you now going to be able to afford monthly premiums for some other private health care plan? This problem becomes particularly acute when you consider that premiums for health plans sold on exchanges are projected to soar, as well, due to unexpected Covid-19 costs.

Its worth noting that even in good times, the employer-based model fails to cover enough of us, with the number of Americans covered through an employer steadily dropping in general. Since 1999, the percentage of those with job-based coverage has declined by nine points. And it most certainly will drop like a rock in the coming weeks and months.

Its now clear that this system cannot handle our current reality. With so many Americans sadly on the verge of unemployment, the number that will lose health coverage will be crushing. As we rebuild our countrys economic base and reimagine the roles various industries play in our new future, we must also begin a difficult conversation about health care. If were dependent on jobs in order to have it, a lot of us will be left out in the cold. And at a time in our nations history where more will need quality care than ever before, the human cost will simply be too much to bear.

Wendell Potter, a former vice-president for corporate communications at Cigna, is president of Business for Medicare for All

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Millions of Americans are about to lose their health insurance in a pandemic - The Guardian

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The stimulus bill meant to help mitigate the damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic includes billions of dollars for the health-care industry, which will need to treat an expected deluge of critically ill patients.

Senators released the text of the bill late Wednesday night, after a day in which some details of the plan emerged while others remained sketchy.

The full bill, which will allocate roughly $2 trillion in total, is more than 800 pages long, and will be poured over extensively in the coming days. The House is expected to vote on the bill on Friday.

Here are some highlights from the Senate text of how the bill will affect the health-care industry.

Despite the bill nearing the finish line, S&P 500 futures were down 0.9% Thursday morning.

Write to Josh Nathan-Kazis at josh.nathan-kazis@barrons.com

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Heres What the Stimulus Bill Would Mean to the Health-Care Industry - Barron's

The $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act has more than $100 billion in aid for healthcare organizations, but in some cases, leaders had better act fast to get it.

While previous versions of the legislation contained less assistance for providers large or small, recent versions recognized the existential financial threat many healthcare organizations are under as they fight the COVID-19 outbreak.

"The intent of the CARES Act is to deliver relief to providers who face the double whammy of the loss of elective procedure revenue and the costs of preparation for the pandemic," says Martie Ross, managing principal, Kansas City Office of Knoxville, Tennesseebased PYA, P.C.

The bill contains provisions that range from payroll-based loans under a Small Business Administration (SBA) Act provision, as well as Medicare payment acceleration for providers already losing elective volume revenue. In certain cases, the funding remains unallocated, so finance teams may need to act fast to get first in line.

According to Ross and David McMillan, CFO and managing principal of PYAs consulting practice, there are three provisions of the CARES Act that healthcare providers should analyze immediately for their direct financial impact:

The SBA has underwritten loans for years to provide relief for companies to meet working capital obligations after a natural disaster. The "Paycheck Protection Program" is an expansion of the SBA Act that may provide up to $10 million in loans at 4% interest for business (including 501(c)(3)s) with fewer than 500 employees. The largest benefit, however, may be the provision that allows borrowers to apply to have all or a portion of the loan forgiven.

"Its a way to protect and help businesses continue to employ their workforce," McMillan says.

The loan amount is based on a formula that takes the average monthly payroll expenditure for the previous 12 months and multiplies that by a factor of 2.5. Businesses receive loan amounts equal to the lesser of that amount or the $10 million limit, McMillan says.

The unforgiven portions of the loan are repayable over 10 years. While repayment deferrals ranging from six to 12 months are also available, the unique aspect of the program is its forgiveness provision. For businesses that maintain their workforce for an eight-week period after the funds are received, a portion or all the loan may be forgiven. And whatever portion is forgiven is tax free, McMillan says.

The CARES Act adds $100 billion to the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund to reimburse providers for expenses and lost revenue attributable to COVID-19. Presently, this fund is administered by the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In a single act, this agency goes from administering an annual budget of $2.6 billion to a $100 billion program.

Guidance is still pending, much of it may be on whether parts of the fund are allocated for rural hospitals, or cancer hospitals, or other specific providers, or whether the program is "first-come, first-served," Ross says.

"At this point, my advice would be first to file, until they say something differently," Ross says. "The language in the statute is that there's just no categorization. It's just a hundred billion dollars." The provisions cover not only lost revenue, but also certain capital expenditures that may result from COVID preparedness, Ross says.

As it stands, the program is not rolled out under the usual regulatory review and time frame, but guidance is soon expected from HHS on how the program is to be administered, Ross says. But dont wait. Get your numbers ready, Ross says.

"The sooner your team can come up with a reliable calculation of the loss you are experiencing because of declining electives or lower ER volume, the better. Also be prepared to quantify any additional expenses incurred due to the pandemic. You will want to have these numbers ready to plug into whatever formula they provide," Ross says.

There are three key provisions of the act that relate to Medicare, Ross and McMillan say:

"The first two are really game changers," Ross says. "Advance payments will allow providers that are losing revenue to apply to CMS to accelerate Medicare payments, essentially as an advance payment on future Medicare billing," Ross says. A more direct boost will be a temporary elimination of the 2% sequestration cut that will go into effect in May and continue for the rest of the year.

Both Ross and McMillan will be featured in a webinar, "The CARES Act: Your Piece of the $2 Trillion Pie" Monday, March 30 at 1 p.m. (ET). For more information, go to https://www.pyapc.com/insights/cares-act-webinar/

Jim Molpus is an editor for HealthLeaders.

Originally posted here:

$100 Billion-Plus in CARES Act for Healthcare: 3 Ways to Get It - HealthLeaders Media

If someone is going to risk their life, then they deserve the best possible care to save them. We understood this during Ebolathe first treatment center built by the U.S. government in Liberia was the Monrovia Medical Unit, specifically for Ebola-infected health-care staff. Providers need the reassurance that they will get preferential access to care and medications in exchange for their sacrifice. This is not just fair, but practicalkeeping clinicians alive means that they will be able to continue to provide care. Just knowing that the MMU was opening made recruiting providers easier.

Providers who become infected also deserve fair compensationfull pay while they are sick or if they are forced to quarantine to protect their patients. They should all have disability and life insurance. The families of those who sacrifice their life deserve great compensation.

Read: Grocery stores are the coronavirus tipping point

I have seen little evidence of this. Emergency-physician message boards are full of concern about the lack of preparation by their hospitals. Few of these financial arrangements exist. I havent received any special training, mostly just a few emails about the situation. That doesnt protect me. PPE is already being rationed, and there are dire predictions that it will run out long before this pandemic is over. Should I still have to go to work knowing I will get infected and have a 5 percent chance of dying? Why do my colleagues have to pay for a separate apartment when forced to self-quarantine away from their families?

Thus far, the attitude has been: Whats the big deal? Its just COVID-19, with a mortality of less than 1 percent. But tell that to the two emergency physicians in critical care right now, or the infected health-care providers in Arkansas, Washington, New York, and other states. Tell that to their families.

Six months into the 15-month Ebola epidemic, health-care providers stopped coming to work. They had little PPE. They saw their friends die without any special care. Their colleagues began abandoning their jobs, one by one, until there was no one left. There was nowhere for people to obtain treatment for stomach pain, childbirth, heart attacks, car crashes, or any other routine or unpredictable health event. As a result, experts estimate that more people died from illnesses like malaria and diarrhea than Ebola.

When health-care providers get sick, become disabled, or die, they can no longer provide care for anyone, not just infected patients.

In Italy, at least 2,000 health-care workers have been infected and are not providing care. Some have died. Some hospitals cohort, or group, providers so that they care for only infected patients, leaving others to care for the uninfected. Others providers cant work, because they are quarantined after possible exposures or because of known infections. But that is the way it has to be. The core ethics principle for physicians and nurses is primum non nocereFirst, do no harmand the last thing we want to do is spread the infection to our patients or other health-care staff.

Read more:

What Happens If Health-Care Workers Stop Showing Up? - The Atlantic

FOX Business' Lauren Simonetti breaks down how businesses are stepping up to build ventilators and making supplies more available to the public in order to combat the coronavirus.

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From distilleries to makeup manufacturers, companies across the nation have shifted operations to support health care workers in the fight against thecoronavirus pandemic.

As the world faces a shortage in critical medical supplies created by the rapidly spreading virus, businesses have launched efforts to donate supplies from ventilators, respirators, masks to hand sanitizer. Other companies have taken the initiative to manufacture their own products.

Here are some of thecompanies that have pledged support to those on the front lines of this fight.

A health care worker with the UNLV School of Medicine tests a patient for the coronavirus at a drive-thru testing site Tuesday in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Airbnb

Airbnb launched a global initiative to provide health care professionals, relief workers and first responders free or subsidized housing. The company hopes to help house about 100,000 workers on the front lines of the fight against the virus.Airbnb will waive all fees for stays arranged through this initiative, the company announced Thursday.

Medical workers and first responders are providing lifesaving support during the coronavirus outbreak and we want to help, Airbnbs co-founder Joe Gebbia said. Weve heard from countless hosts around the world who want to provide a comforting home to heroic first responders. We are connecting our nonprofit partners, government agencies and others with our incredible host community to work together in these extraordinary times.

Hosts who provide homes will be asked to follow strict cleanliness protocols based on recommendations from medical experts.

The company is also partnering with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Rescue Committee, International Medical Corps and other nonprofit organizations to help support their workers.

Apple

Apple has sourced and is donating 10 million masks to the medical community across the United States and the hardest-hit areas in Europe, AppleCEO Tim Cook announced on Twitter.

"These people deserve our debt of gratitude for all of the work they are doing on the front lines," he said. Its in these toughest times that we show our greatest strength and I know that we will rise to the occasion."

The company also raised $15 million worldwide "to help treat those who are sick and to help lessen the economic and community impacts of the pandemic," Apple said.

The company is also matching employee donations two-to-one to support the company's COVID-19 response efforts.

Armani

The Armani Group halted operations at its production plants tomanufacturing single-use overalls for health care workers on the front lines. This comes after Giorgio Armani allocated $2.2 million to hospitals in Italy as well as the Italian civil protection agency, Forbes reported.

Barco

The health care apparel company is donating10,000 scrubs each month for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic to professionals on the front lines.

"We are launching our scrub donation program to show our sincere thanks and demonstrate our immense gratitude to Healthcare professionals all over the country, all of whom have been so heroic in the fight against this pandemic, Barco's CEO David Murphy said.We are here to support the Healthcare workers as they take care of all of us.

Canada Goose

The winter clothing manufacturer is producing gear for frontline workers and patients in Canada. The company will be making suddenly hard-to-find medical supplies such as gowns and scrubs at manufacturing facilities across the country. Production and distribution will begin in Toronto and Winnipeg facilities next week, the company said.

"On behalf of our 5,000+ employees around the world, I want to express our deep gratitude to everyone who is working tirelessly on the frontlines, and our hearts go out to everyone who has been affected," Canada Goose said in a statement.

Crocs

The company is working to donate 10,000 pairs of shoes a day tothose on the front lines of the battle against the pandemic.The company already hasmore than 40,000 people in line for a pair.

In addition,Crocs is also donating up to 100,000 pairs of shoes to be distributed across select health care facilities and organizations.

Like everyone, weve been closely monitoring the news and working hard to map out a way to most effectively help where we can," CrocsCEO Andrew Rees said. "Over the past week, we have spoken to healthcare workers, their facilities and even their family and friends, and they have specifically asked for our shoes in an effort to provide ease on their feet, as well as ease of mind as they need the ability to easily clean up before they go home to their families."

Delta Air Lines

Delta said it would fly eligible medical volunteers round-trip for free to Georgia, Louisiana and Michigan, and look at expanding free flights to California, New York and Washington.

"We are witnessingthe heroic efforts of ourmedical professionals around the worldas theycombat COVID-19, and we have deep gratitude for their selfless sacrifice," saidBillLentsch,Delta's ChiefCustomer ExperienceOfficer. "Air travel plays a significant role in making connections in both good and challenging times, and our hope is that offering free travel gives more of these professionals the ability to help in critical areas of the U.S."

Eight Oaks Farm Distillery

The family-owned distillery plans converted their operation into a production line for the hand sanitizer. At this time, the Pennsylvania-based distillery is focused on making as much hand sanitizer to support organizations and nonprofits locally.

"The need for sanitizer is critical and even worse than we thought, and while we want to help everyone, supplies are limited and right now our commitment is to our local community and those mission-critical organizations," the company wrote.

ESTE LAUDER TO PRODUCE CORONAVIRUS-FIGHTING HAND SANITIZER

Este Lauder

Este Lauder committed to donating 10,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to every week to New York state for the coming weeks, New York Gov.Andrew Cuomo tweeted.

Additionally, the company has also recently pledged to donate $2 million to Doctors Without Borders/Mdecins Sans Frontires as a way to support coronavirus treatment in countries that have been severely affected or lack health care resources, according to a companypress release.

"The Este Lauder Companies is proud to contribute to the broader COVID-19 relief efforts by reopening our Melville manufacturing facility this week to produce hand-sanitizer for high-need groups and populations, including front-line medical staff,"a spokesperson for The Este Lauder Companies told FOX Business. "We are grateful to our employees who have worked tirelessly to make this possible. Compensated, employee volunteers will support this vital, meaningful effort."

Fanatics

The company has shifted from manufacturing uniforms for Major League Baseball to supporting health care workers fighting the pandemic. The company is utilizing its plant in Pennsylvania to produce masks and gowns out of the same jersey fabric that is used to make the uniforms worn by professional baseball players.

The company plans to make 1 million masks and gowns for hospitals and emergency management personnel across Pennsylvania with the goal of extending to New Jersey and New York, Fanaticsfounder and Executive Chairman Micheal Rubin said on Twitter.

"We have approx 100 associates working (extra distanced and in a very clean and safe environment of course)," he wrote in a tweet.

Ford Motor Company

The company is working with 3M andGE Healthcareand the United Auto Workers union to expand the production of critical medical equipment and supplies for health care workers, first respondersand patients fighting the virus.

Using a combination of parts with 3M, Ford is helping to scale production of powered-air purifying respirators. The company is also working with GE to expand the production of ventilators for patients.

Additionally, the company, with the help of the UAW, aims to produce roughly 75,000 face shields this week with plans to ramp up production to 100,000 face shields per week by April.

GE Appliances

The company is donating essential appliances to first responders and health care workers on the front lines in partnership with United Way as part of itsGEA4Heroes program.

GE announced Monday asignificant portion of the companys products made over the next two weeks will be donated to health care workers on the front lines who are fighting the rapidly spreading virus.

These appliances will be donated to individual health care workers, firefighters, paramedics and police officers. Firehouses, police stations and hospitals may also receive donations.

These men and women are working around the clock to keep us safe. Were relying on them, and they are relying on us and the products we make to keep their families safe and fed, GE AppliancesCEO Kevin Nolan said. Appliances are essential right now to help keep food and medicine safe, laundry and dishes sanitized, and food prepared forfamilies.Our country needs us now more than ever before and its essential that we take care of our fellow Americans, especially those who are taking care of us.

Google

Google announced a more than $800 million commitment to support businesses, health organizations, governmentsand health workers on the front lines.

Among its extensive list of relief efforts, the company is offering financial support to increase theproduction capacity for personal protective equipment and medical devices,Google CEOSundar Pichai announced Friday.

In working with Magid Glove & Safety, Google's longtime supplier and partner, the company is ramping up production of 2 million to 3 million face masks in the coming weeks. The masks will be distributed to the CDC Foundation, Pichai said.

Alphabetemployees, including those with Google, Verily and X, are also helping to facilitate increased production of ventilators, he added. Alphabet is the parent company of all three firms.

Hertz

The car rental company is offering free vehicle rentals through April 30 for health care workers. Workers can book as little as a week or up to a month with the company at no cost to them. To take advantage of the offer, employees must have a valid medical ID, emailwith a healthcare domain, and driver's license.

JetBlue

The airlineis working with nonprofit partners and government agencies to help get medical professionals and much-needed supplies where they are needed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The company is also assisting students who need help traveling to family and friends or a permanent housing situation, the company said.

"Air travel is an essential global service and we are committed to meeting travel needs, some of which are critical," JetBlue said in a statement. "During this time of uncertainty, we remain committed to our mission of Inspiring Humanity and our social impact pillars community and youth/education. This includes our main resources flights and assets from our network of partners."

CORONAVIRUS LEADS SERTA TO DONATE 10,000 MATTRESSES TO NYC HOSPITALS

Krispy Kreme

The company is donating sweet treats to health care workers every Monday through National Nurses Week, which concludes on May 12.

Anyone who works at a hospital, as well as physicians, nurses, surgeons, psychologists, dentists, optometrists, pharmacists and their staff will be given free dozens of the original glazed doughnuts.

"Taking care of ourselves and each other never has been more important. Getting through this together by staying apart seems unnatural. But even now there can be joy. It can bring and keep us 'together'in this challenging, disruptive time," the company said. "AtKrispy Kreme, we love bringing smiles to others, especially those who need them the most."

Workers will need to show their ID at the drive-through in order to redeem the offer. There is a limit of up to five dozen per worker "due to varying production capabilities by location."

L'Oral

The company launched a multi-faceted initiative to support Americans during the pandemic.

The company's manufacturing facilitates in North America are producing alcohol-based hand sanitizers. The hard-to-find substance will be sent to company employees, partnersand health care professionals working on the frontlines. The company is also donating surgical and N95 respirator masks made in facilities in North Little Rock, Arkansas, and Franklin, New Jersey, to local hospitals.

We stand in solidarity with the brave people who are tirelessly and selflessly working to end this pandemic, and it is our hope that, through these actions, we are able to provide some relief during this challenging time," StphaneRinderknech, president and CEO of L'Oral USA, said.

The company is also donating money and resources to non-profits such as Feeding America and providing relief for small businesses.

Lowe's

Lowe's is donating$10 million in essential products for medical professionals. The donation is part of a$25 million commitment to help communities hit hardest by COVID-19 within the U.S. and Canada.

The home improvement company is working with national health care supply distributors to deliver essential items, such as respirators and other protective gear, to hospitals most in need across the country.

"Were proud of our teams who deployed N95 masks from Lowes distribution centers yesterday to support medical professionals across the country," the company wrote on Facebook."Were committed to serving our communities; and as an essential retailer, were open and ready to help."

The company is allocating $500,000 of the overall donation for the American Red Cross to help the organizationmaintain a sufficient supply of blood to help patients in need.

"The organization faces a blood shortage as blood drives are canceled, and it needs additional donors now more than ever," the company wrote.

Merck

Merck is donating masks forhealth care workers and other front-line responders battling thepandemic in New Jersey. The company announced this week it was donating 300,000 masks to New Jerseys Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.

We extend our deepest appreciation to the many healthcare providers and volunteers here and around the world who are doing so much to help affected patients and communities, and to our own employees who are focused on delivering our critically important medicines and vaccines to the patients who need them," said Merck CEOKenneth Frazier.

Merck also said it's assuring that its "supply of medicines and vaccines reach our patients, contributing our scientific expertise to the development of antiviral approaches, and supporting our healthcare providers and the communities in which they serve."

Prudential Financial

The New Jersey-based insurance company donated 153,000 face masks and approximately 75,000 respirators to health care workers across the state.

"While the pandemic has become a global crisis, the fight against it is taking place locally and will be won at the community level,"Prudential's CEO Charles F. Lowrey said. "Our cities, towns and neighborhoods have always been there for us, in good times and bad. Their health, well-being and prosperity are vital to our future. We will not let them down in this hour of need."

The company also donated 300 bottles of hand sanitizer andcommitted $1.5 million in funding for local businesses, families in need and the nonprofit sector both in the U.S. and internationally.

Ralph Lauren

TheRalph Lauren Corporate Foundationis earmarking$10 million toward COVID-19 relief.

In part, the funds will go towardtheWorld Health Organizations COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, which was created to help countries prevent, detectand respond to theglobal crisis, the company said. The funds will also go towardthe fashion community, employees and international cancer institutions, which are caring for people who are especially vulnerable during this time.

With help from its U.S. manufacturingpartners, the company is also working to produce 250,000 masks and 25,000 isolation gowns to help those in need.

"Our hearts and thoughts are with the global community," the company said.Our hope is to be a beacon of optimism and unity as we navigate this unprecedented time.It is in the spirit of togetherness that we willrise."

Serta Simmons Bedding

The company is donating10,000 mattresses to New York City hospitals and medical facilities fighting the coronavirus.

The donation, which will bein partnership withRelief Bed International, is meant to address the significant shortage of hospital beds cited byCuomo Tuesday.

"As the largest American producer of mattresses, Serta Simmons Bedding is committed to ensuring those who are hospitalized have a bed available where they can receive care and heal,"SSB Chairman and CEO David Swift said Wednesday. "We're calling on our peers in the bedding industry to join us in addressing this need."

The company also said it is capable ofproducing up to 20,000 additional beds per day "at the lowest possible cost if needed"to help in the fight against the coronavirus.

SmileDirectClub

Earlier this month SmileDirectClub began to utilize its 3D printing manufacturing facility in Tenessee to increase the production of medical supplies needed to combat the pandemic. The company announced it has the capacity to print up to 7,500 medical-grade face shields for health care workers. St. Luke's Boise Medical CenterinIdaho is slated to receive the first shipment of 1,000 shields.

The company is actively accepting orders from U.S. and Canadian health care organizations and governmental bodies.

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Companies join coronavirus fight by helping health care workers - Fox Business

NEWNAN, Ga. - Hundreds of of Georgians displayed an incredible show of support for local health care workers on the front lines of the battle against the coronavirus.

Georgians gathered around the state to pray for the people on the front lines of battling the coronavirus.

Nearly every spot in Piedmont Newnan Hospital's parking lot was filled. In each car there were people to pray for the employees and patients inside.

In video shared by FOX 5 viewers, residents drove by honking their horns, flashing lights and singing "Amazing Grace."

Learn more about the coronavirus outbreak in Georgia

One nurse inside Piedmont Newnan told FOX 5 that working on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19 is hard and draining, but he said seeing the support left him feeling blessed.

We all felt touched by this. Everyone's eyes were wet," Nurse Naman Patel said."We all left our family home to take care of patients. It's hard and draining. And to see this gives goosebumps. I feel blessed."

MORE:Hundreds gather to circle the Cartersville Medical Center in prayer

Piedmont Newnan wasn't the only hospital in Georgia where this show of support has happened recently. Another prayer gathering also happened Saturday at WellStar West Georgia Medical Center.

Georgians also gathered atNortheast Georgia Medical Center Braselton, playing music and holding their hands up in prayer.

Who is most susceptible to coronavirus? COVID-19 not just affecting older people

See the original post here:

Georgians gather to pray for health care workers battling coronavirus - FOX 5 Atlanta

MADRID Across Western Europe, health care professionals have used the language of war to describe the struggle against the coronavirus, which has left some hospitals on the brink of collapse.

And health care workers are the soldiers on the front lines.

Out of Spains 40,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, 5,400 nearly 14 percent are medical professionals, the health ministry said on Tuesday. No other country has reported health care staff accounting for a double-digit percentage of total infections.

But the problem is widespread throughout Europe. In Italy, France and Spain, more than 30 health care professionals have died of the coronavirus, and thousands of others have had to self-isolate.

In Brescia province, the center of Italys outbreak, 10 to 15 percent of doctors and nurses have been infected and put out of commission, according to a doctor there.

In France, the public hospital system in Paris has tallied 490 infected staff members, a small but growing proportion of the systems 100,000 or so employees.

The same dynamics are starting to take hold in Britain and the United States, where the contagion is bearing down but has yet to fully bite.

At the La Paz hospital in Madrid, one of the largest in Spains capital, 426 employees 6 percent of the medical staff are isolated at home, after testing positive or showing possible symptoms of the coronavirus, according to internal numbers provided by a labor union that represents doctors in Madrid.

At the smaller Igualada hospital in Catalonia, a third of the 1,000 hospital staff has been sent home.

The virus was already among us when we were really only testing those who came from Wuhan and then from Italy, said ngela Hernndez Puente, a doctor who is the deputy secretary general of the doctors union. Some of our doctors unfortunately worked without adequate protection and acted as vectors.

As doctors, nurses and other practitioners fall sick, the burdens increase on health care systems already groaning under the strain of an expanding epidemic. And infected workers and their hospitals are increasingly being recognized as vectors for the spread of the virus.

The number of cases in Spain has been doubling every four days, and the country is fast shaping up as Europes next epicenter of the contagion. On Tuesday, Spains coronavirus toll reached 2,700 dead, the second-highest in Europe after Italy.

In Madrid, the focus of Spains outbreak, so many are dying that bodies are being placed in an Olympic-sized ice skating rink that has been converted into an emergency morgue.

In some retirement homes, soldiers deployed to disinfect the premises found elderly people abandoned, or dead in their beds, prompting Spains public prosecutors to open an investigation.

It has not helped that Spains population, on average, is among the worlds oldest. But the government was also late to impose restrictions on the movement of people.

Even as a tragedy unfolded in northern Italy, mass events went ahead earlier this month in Madrid, and the government waited until March 14 to declare a state of emergency that has since forced people to stay indoors, barring exceptional circumstances.

Spain also did not shore up its stock of medical equipment early on. Doctors and nurses have had to work with a dangerous shortage of masks, gloves and other essential gear that has proved disastrous for them.

The grim situation has left many of Spains health care professionals overwhelmed and pleading for more equipment, doctors, nurses and ambulance crews have told The New York Times. For those who have been infected, a feeling of powerlessness has sunk in.

You are used to taking care of others and now youre being asked to stay home and take care of yourself, said Marc Arnaiz, a doctor in the internal medicine unit of the Igualada hospital, who tested positive earlier this month.

For most of us this job is a vocation, so its shocking and frustrating, he said.

Mr. Arnaiz, 31, said he had likely been infected by a patient. He noticed the first symptoms on March 9, the day his patient was confirmed positive, among the first in the hospital, which has since become one of the worst infection clusters in northeastern Spain.

While its impossible to know how many patients infected doctors and vice versa, the alarming spread within hospitals has forced the government to struggle with a shortage of both professionals and equipment.

Last week, the government launched an emergency recruitment plan to add 50,000 health care workers, ranging from medical students to retired doctors.

After employees began complaining openly about the stresses on the system, some Madrid hospitals told their staff not to speak out. Many of those interviewed by The New York Times were not authorized to comment publicly and asked that their full names not be used for fear of retribution.

One, Yolanda, has been a nurse for 30 years, working in a public hospital in Madrid. But earlier this month, as the outbreak worsened in Spain, she said she was moved instead to a makeshift emergency ward, where she had to learn new skills on the job while working without decent protective gear.

Weve been put on the front line not only without enough protection, but also sometimes with the stress of a very different work environment, she said, noting that she had never before handled intubated patients. The nurses in her unit wore face masks and gowns, but they had to reuse them because of a shortage.

Putting on a face mask again and again is as useless as sticking a piece of paper on your face, she said.

Last Thursday, Yolanda went home feeling feverish. On Sunday, she tested positive for coronavirus, along with about 30 colleagues. We have done our best, but some of us sadly became part of the contamination chain, she said.

Hospital workers unions were less hesitant to point fingers.

When we already knew that the virus was circulating in hospitals, we were still being told that the usage of protective gear should be limited to specific circumstances, said Juanjo Menndez, the communications director of SATSE Madrid, a nurses union. Its the kind of basic error that a student learns to avoid in the first year of medical school.

In Spain, France and Italy, officials and health care professionals said they were shocked by equipment shortages.

Giorgio Gori, the mayor of Bergamo, one of the hardest hit towns in Italy, said the doctors werent protected, and lacked the sufficient defenses, adding that he was still receiving requests for masks and gloves from doctors making home visits.

Jean-Paul Hamon, the president of one of Frances biggest doctor unions, told the LCI television broadcaster on Tuesday that he was particularly worried about workers who are not in hospitals but are still in close contact with patients, like general practitioners or retirement home employees.

Three of the five doctors who have died of Covid-19 so far in France were general practitioners, and one was a gynecologist. The state is absolutely unprepared, said Mr. Hamon, who is himself infected. The state is going to owe an explanation.

In Spain, doctors warned that hospitals were now paying the price of the loose measures announced in the early days of the outbreak.

The lack of protection is everywhere, the improvisation seems to be widespread, said Antonio Antela, a doctor who coordinates the infectious disease unit at the university hospital of Santiago de Compostela, in northwestern Spain. He has been hospitalized for a week after developing pneumonia and testing positive.

The lesson is: take care of your public health care system, because there will be other epidemics and we ought to be better prepared, he added in a telephone interview from his hospital bed.

At a medical center in the heart of Madrid, Mara, another nurse who is now isolated at home with coronavirus, said that she spent several days working without a face mask and gloves, handing out masks only to visitors who reported breathing problems or had recently been in Italy.

On March 11, the day she first felt fever, her medical center finally ordered all staff to wear masks. We probably didnt have enough face masks, but we also acted for far too long as if this was a limited problem, mostly imported from Italy, she said.

The Spanish government is now stepping up efforts to buy medical equipment, as well as distributing about 650,000 new test kits across the country. Two Chinese cargo planes filled with face masks and other gear landed in Madrid and Zaragoza on Tuesday.

We are a target like everybody else, but we are also a threat to other co-workers, said Juan, a 37-year-old doctor in a Madrid public hospital. Also, if you test everyone and theres no health care workers left in the hospitals, what can you do?

Raphael Minder reported from Madrid and Elian Peltier from Barcelona. Reporting was contributed by Jason Horowitz in Rome and Aurelien Breeden in Paris.

Read the original:

Coronavirus in Europe: Thousands of Health Workers Out of Action - The New York Times

CLEVELAND, Ohio In a few short months, the novel coronavirus has swept across the world and landed at Northeast Ohios front door.

Now, Ohio has 50 confirmed cases, and local hospitals are testing hundreds of patients per day. The state is effectively shutting down: schools, universities, restaurants, bars and theaters are closing; employees who can are being told to work remotely; and any sizable gatherings are banned. Health officials tout social isolation as a way to stop the spread of the disease and prevent our health care system from getting overwhelmed.

As everyone from teachers to accountants to servers retreats to their homes, health care professionals head in the opposite direction: to confront COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, head on.

Health care providers, what is it like on the front lines? Are your workplaces prepared? Do you feel safe? Have you been given instructions on how to care for people who may be infected with the virus? Do you have personal protective equipment?

I want to write about what its like for you to go to work every day as this pandemic rages on. Share your concerns and experiences with me.

Feel free to contact me directly. I can be reached on Twitter and Facebook, by email or by phone at 216-870-0280.

Read more coronavirus coverage:

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View post:

Calling all readers: Health care workers, whats it like handling coronavirus cases? - cleveland.com

Editor's Note: Sojourners is committed to keeping you up to date with the resources, factual information, and spiritual sustenance you need to weather this health crisis. Even as our operations have moved virtual, we are increasing our work to offer news, commentary, practical advice, and theological reflections to our community. Stay updated at sojo.net, and please consider supporting this work.

Things are changing so fast. Its enough to make us dizzy and scare our hearts. And Im writing to remind you to be gentle with yourself and generous with others were in this together.

When I wrote my first column on the coronavirus, just 12 days ago, I urged folks to stay home if they felt sick and to consult their doctors. Today, I write in the context of the president of the United States, in consultation with the country's top public health experts, asking every American to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people, to avoid resturants and bars, and for students and parents to work from home if at all possible. It very much feels like the country is on lockdown. What is now recommended could become mandated in order to save countless lives, and the economic consequences for families, and especially the most vulnerable people, are now incalculable.

As a result, all of us are living into new daily rhythms. While that alone is disorienting, we are already moving from a life of daily inconvenience to one of fear. Institutions from sports to conferences to schools have transformed overnight. Many of our children both school-age and young adults are now home with us, which requires its own adjustments. And many, many people are finding themselves abruptly and unceremoniously out of work, with uncertain prospects for future paychecks as social distancing measures continue for an unknown length of time.

Amid this, we must not let fear become a way of life. We remember the words of Jesus:Love can cast out fear. Leaning into love and learning what it really means to love our neighbors in this crisis will be crucial to our collective health and survival.

I, like so many of you, think of how this has affected and will continue to affect my children. Luke, who has been playing baseball since he was five and is as a senior in college, was getting ready to play what could very well be his final season of organized baseball. In the face of the pandemic, his baseball career is suddenly over. And my younger son, Jack, also just had his high-school baseball season canceled. At least they are now home together, assuch lossesare indeed life altering. While this was devastating for the boys,as Joy and I were with Luke in Florida last week for his spring training, I got to watch as the teamdrew even closer together both intheir shared loss but also in greater solidarity and love for one another. The crisis bound them as a team, even as they were learning that they cannot continue to physically play together. This gave me perspective as I tried to deal with all the changing events of the week. So, as I write this reflection, I wonder how we can learn to stand apart for our physical health but stay together for our mental, emotional, and spiritual health. How do we stay connected and even get closer?

Our physical health rightly requires social distancing in a pandemic, but maintaining ourspiritual health means we cant let that lead to social isolation. We need physical distance but not human isolation, especially for the most vulnerable. Public health now requires social separation to prevent the community spread of the coronavirus, but personal and communal health means increasing and not decreasing social solidarity. Even living more alone, we must find new ways to be together, as community building is essential for communal health and the common good. Turning from physical contact with others must not cause us to turn away from each other, but rather turning to each other in better, deeper, and healthier ways.

So how do we build community that doesnt depend upon physical proximity? How do we keep together while keeping apart? The answers must stem from active, creative, and innovated faith that leads to action. Our response to the coronavirus pandemic must be both effectively practical and deeply theological at the same time. And it is the vocation of the faith community to help us do that.

Sojourners has turned our attention to this crisis so that our platform can be a place where we learn how to answer these questions together. We are telling stories and offering examples of how churches can be a community even as they cant commune. We are sharing how congregations continue to serve the vulnerable in their communities even as they suspend weekend services. We are investing in ways to increase our resources that inspire and sustain each other while deepening our sense of community. We will share practical and creative ways to connect with and serve the elderly, who are most at risk for this virus, even if we cant visit them in person. We will find and share the plans of local programs that successfully and safely feed people, especially children who will lose meals as schools close. Sojourners is a place where you can find the stories and connections to help you do all the above.

We also will continue our advocacy, demanding that federal, state, and local governments take responsibility to serve the common good by caring for people in need. We are following all the critical legislative votes closely and carefully, selecting and suggesting where your contacts with elected officials can do the most good and we will call on you to act!

Families must be fed: We must extend SNAP benefits nutrition aid to those who need help as they lose income and food security. Low-income people who have lost their jobs must be sustained, so we must extend unemployment benefits. We must ensure sick leave is available to all to prevent people who are infected from having to work. We must ensure caregivers for children or older parents can access family leave time. Ultimately, an economic stimulus will be necessary to restore an economy broken by a pandemic not one aimed at those at the top of the economic order, but those who need help the most. I promise that Sojourners will focus on the most critical legislative decisions and call for your action when it is most needed. Stay connected to our advocacy strategy and ready to act when most necessary.

Stay with us and learn how we can get through this together. Even in small groups and family circles, we will become an even stronger Sojourners community.

Fortunately, we aren't starting from scratch: In the last couple of weeks, we've covered many different aspects of life, faith, and social justice in a time of coronavirus. We have focused not just on how to think about what's going on but more importantly what to do in this fearful time. Some of the things we've already covered include how to continue having church when you can't gather together in person, how to anticipate and respond to the specific mental health needs and challenges of social distancing, why social distancing is so important with respect to worship, and much more. We have a number of additional pieces on the way to provide you with the resources, factual information, and spiritual sustenance to you need to weather this health crisis, and we'll continue to be a key place for that until this crisis has passed.

One of the most important reflections I can leave you with is this: Loving your neighbor has never been more important than it is right now, even if we have to find new and creative ways to do so. We are in this together.

See the rest here:

Spiritual Health Care: Social Distancing Without Social Isolation - Sojourners

As the novel coronavirus continues to spread in Montana, State Auditor Matt Rosendale reminds everyone to ensure that they are covered by health care plans. Rosendale spoke to KGVO News about the options that are currently available to uninsured or underinsured Montanans.

Open enrollment for Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance through the federal website ran from November 1 to December 15 and is now closed. However, there are health care options that are currently open for enrollment.

There are several options that we want to make sure folks are aware of, Rosendale told KGVO. Thats direct primary care membership, short-term limited duration health insurance, and also the special enrollment period for ACA.

Rosendale says that direct primary care memberships are an affordable option for those seeking basic treatment and routine testing. Direct primary care memberships are not insurance plans; they are instead arrangements between patients and their doctors. They are open to anyone and usually offer an online application.

Short-term limited duration plans are for those seeking temporary health care plans and are open for enrollment year-round.

Several major companies offering short-term plans in Montana have already announced that they will waive deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance, and prior authorization requirements for COVID-19 testing, Rosendale stated. The company notices can be found on my website. Consumers are advised that not all short-term plans may cover testing for COVID-19.

The special ACA enrollment period is open for those who have recently experienced a significant life event, including losing health insurance, getting married, moving, or having a baby.

Rosendale reminds those seeking health care plans to consult with their insurance agent and to be aware of the fine print before purchasing a health care plan.

The most important thing is, dont go uncovered, Rosendale said.

Read more:

Rosendale on Health Care Options: "Don't Go Uncovered" - Newstalkkgvo

IOWA CITY The day after state officials reported evidence of community spread of COVID-19 in Iowa, the University of Iowa Health Care implemented new adjustments to clinical services that include reducing the number of surgical cases and suspending certain clinics.

In an email to faculty and staff on Monday, UI Health Care officials said the Iowa City-based health system would adjust clinical services, effective immediately, through at least April 3. That follows a mutually agreed-upon decision among UI Health Care leaders and clinical department chairs and administrators.

Given this and other external factors, we must move forward on activating the clinical contingency plans as we face potential challenges with staffing and in conservation efforts of our medical supplies such as personal protective equipment, said an email from University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Chief Executive Officer Suresh Gunasekaran and Dr. Doug Van Daele, executive director of the University of Iowa Physicians.

Starting Monday, the number of surgical cases in the operating rooms will be reduced.

According to the email, critical and emergency surgeries will take priority, but elective and non-urgent surgeries will be postponed.

In addition, UIHC has suspended a number of other clinics including its outreach clinics, the Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Center and its cardiac and pulmonary clinics for the next three weeks.

According to the systemwide email, the cardiac and pulmonary clinics temporarily have been halted due to the risk the clinics patients have to an infection such as COVID-19, the novel coronavirus that has infected more than 20 Iowans so far.

The College of Dentistry also is closing all faculty, student and resident clinics until April 3. Dental emergencies will be handed by the college, but all elective patient care including outreach clinics and activities during the three week period will cease, according to the universitys website.

Patients will be notified of appointment changes, according to the email.

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Other hospitals in the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids area are not following suit at this time, but officials at all facilities noted that could change quickly.

In Cedar Rapids, UnityPoint Health-St. Lukes has developed mitigation plans that include trigger points when the hospital will need to limit elective surgeries and other services. But as of Monday afternoon, as no cases of community spread in Linn County have been reported, St. Lukes is not activating these plans, spokeswoman Sarah Corizzo said.

Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids also has not canceled elective surgeries or curtailed medical services, but spokeswoman Karen Vander Sanden noted that could change as the situation evolves.

Mercy Iowa City is not taking similar measures at this time, spokeswoman Margaret Reese said in an email Monday.

Comments: (319) 368-8536; michaela.ramm@thegazette.com

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University of Iowa Health Care reduces 'non-urgent' surgeries, certain clinics - The Gazette

To the Editor:

Re Doctors May Face Impossible Decisions, by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, James Phillips and Govind Persad (Op-Ed, March 16):

Even in a crisis, self-designated experts are trying to marginalize people with disabilities and seniors. Instead, lets develop policies that flatten the curve and prepare to treat all those who may find themselves vulnerable to Covid-19.

People susceptible to infection have preached good hygiene and social distancing when sick long before this crisis. Now the world finally gets it. The response? Lets ration care to the most vulnerable and at-risk patients.

I did not fight for the Americans With Disabilities Act to let this country count people with disabilities as having less value than others. Those with underlying conditions should not allow self-appointed experts to instill fear.

If addressed appropriately, this crisis should lead to long-term policies that support people with pre-existing conditions and enhance our health care infrastructure to manage a crisis.

Tony CoelhoDoylestown, Pa.The writer is a former member of the House of Representatives from California.

See the original post here:

Lets Not Ration Health Care - The New York Times

MARLTON, N.J. (CBS) Health care providers in New Jersey are concerned about supplies and the pace of COVID-19 testing. Hospitals have a responsibility to help sick people and government officials have a responsibility to help health care systems.

To take a swab and take a test but not get results doesnt do anybody any good, New Jersey Congressman Donald Norcross said.

Norcross heard the concerns of health care providers Tuesday as he met with officials of Virtua Health.

Among their main concerns was the slow turnaround for getting COVID-19 test results. So far, theyve done more than 200 tests across their system and only received about 5% of the results.

Were still nowhere close to where we need to be to make sure that every person that needs a test can get one. Were ramping it up very quickly but were still not there, Norcross said.

Virtua says right now it takes a minimum of four days and sometimes more than a week to get coronavirus test results, which leads to the next problem personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff.

Treating every sick person as a possible COVID-19 case is causing hospitals to unnecessarily burn through PPEs.

That includes a gown, a mask, a face shield, gloves and as long was dont know that person has COVD-19 or not, we have to assume the patient does and so it makes us burn through a lot of the PPE, said Reg Blaber, chief clinical officer and vice president at Virtua Health.

And a shortage of protective equipment could lead to slower and possibly less effective care for sick people if there is a surge in COVID-19 cases.

We have a national strategic supply but the fact of the matter is, its not being distributed yet and we need to make sure that its there as this ramps up, Norcross said.

Norcross has also spoken with officials at senior living facilities, who are taking care of some of those most vulnerable to coronavirus.

Originally posted here:

Coronavirus In New Jersey: Health Care Providers Concerned About Supplies, Pace Of COVID-19 Testing - CBS Philly

As the need and desire for COVID-19 testing grows, area health care systems are opening drive-through testing sites to meet the demand.

From Lynnwood to Puyallup people are driving through makeshift testing locations and having nurses swab the inside of their noses.

To build capacity for COVID-19 screening, UW has added a drive-up appointment-only clinic at their Northwest Outpatient Medical Center open to UW Medicine patients, employees and first responders. (Ramon Dompor / The Seattle Times)

On Monday, UW Medicine began testing the publicfor COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, at a drive-through testing location in Northgate, where 15 people were tested. The testing is being done in the parking lot of the University of Washington Medicines Northwest Outpatient Medical Center.

The location is designated only for UW Medicine patients who schedule an appointment after their doctor sends them for testing. The tests are being processed at a UW lab, and it is expected to be a least a couple of days before results are available.

On Tuesday morning, the first patient of the day rolled up to the site tucked just west of Interstate 5 in the parking lots southeast corner.

The man in a gold Chevrolet SUV halted at a makeshift stop sign and was greeted by a nurse wearing protective gear. He held his drivers license to the window, which he had cracked an inch.

The nurse had him pull forward alongside two white tents where three other nurses, all in protective gear, were waiting. The man rolled his window all the way down as a nurse swabbed the inside of his nose, then he pulled away. The entire process took no more than three minutes.

Additional drive-through sites for UW Medicine patients could be announced next week, said Dr. Thomas Hei, the medical director for UW Medicines outpatient clinics.

The nurses working the testing site can do about 50 patients a day with appointments staggered every 15 minutes, said Susan Gregg, a UW Medicine spokeswoman.

UW Medicine began testing employees, UW students, health care workers and first responders on March 6. The decision to broaden testing to those who use UW Medicine was due to high demand, Hei said as traffic rumbled by on I-5.

We are responding to the broad need for public testing, he said.

On March 11, Kaiser Permanente Washington set up drive-through testing sites at its medical centers in Lynnwood and Puyallup, and at its administrative campus in Renton. A couple of days later, another testing site opened at Kaisers Factoria location in Bellevue.By March 19, Kaiser will add locations in Capitol Hill, Olympia and Burien, which will replace the Renton site.

Kaisers testing is for patients in its system who are referred by their doctor, said Linnae Riesen, a Kaiser spokeswoman.

Since starting the testing last week, about 850 people have been tested. Their samples are being sent to labs certified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and are generally taking about 48 hours for results to come back, Riesen said.

The people being sent to the drive-through at UW Medicine in Northgate are not the sickest and should still be able to drive and are encouraged to do so alone, Hei said.

The second scheduled appointment Tuesday was a woman who showed up wearing a mask in the back of a small, pink Mitsubishi, sitting next to an infant baby seat.

The nurses quickly swabbed her nose, and about two minutes later the car pulled away.

How is this outbreak affecting you, if at all?Are you changing your routine or going about your business as usual? Have you canceled or postponed any plans? What kinds of discussions are you having with family members and friends? Are you a healthcare worker who's on the front lines of the response? Whoever you are, we want to hear from you so our news coverage is as complete, accurate and useful as possible.If you're using a mobile device and can't see the form on this page, click here.

Do you have questions about the novel coronavirus?Ask your question in the form below and we'll dig for answers. If you're using a mobile device and can't see the form on this page, ask your question here.You can see questions we've already answered on this FAQ.If you have specific medical questions, please contact your doctor.

Here is the original post:

Seattle-area health care systems begin drive-through coronavirus testing for patients - Seattle Times

London-area cases of COVID-19 are expected to grow after a health-care worker at University Hospital was among two new cases Tuesday, public health officials say.

Middlesex-London Health Unit officials say they are following up with patients and staff at University Hospital who were seen by, or worked closely with the unnamed staff member, who went to work while showing symptoms.

The woman in her 20s recently had travelled to Las Vegas, the health unit said Tuesday. She is self-isolating in her home.

The other new London-area case is an assistant Crown attorney in her 40s who recently travelled to Sint Maarten. She was assessed at London Health Sciences Centre and also is in self-isolation in her home.

What the public should take from this is were going to see the number of cases in our region grow, said associate medical officer of health Alex Summers. The people with whom the infected women have come into contact have been notified, he said.

An internal memo sent to London courthouse staff early Tuesday said the building would be closed temporarily for a thorough cleaning after a worker tested positive for the virus.

The new cases bring the London and Middlesex County total to four and seven in the region since the global pandemic began.

We continue to hear from a number of people across the region who have concerns about COVID-19 and (we) are communicating with those who require follow-up and testing, said Summers.

At this time, the best thing to do is follow the standard public health advice that can help keep ourselves and our community healthy.

A police officer walks past vehicles carrying people waiting to be seen by health-care professionals at the drive-through coronavirus assessment centre at Londons Oakridge arena Tuesday. (Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press)

Both of the recent cases are in people who would have contracted the illness while travelling, Summers said in an interview.

They are not connected to any of the other cases in the region, Summers said, nor are they connected to each other.

The two new cases are the latest in Ontario, which has seen 185 reported cases of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, late last year. One Ontario resident has died.

The first London case was a Western University student in her 20s who returned to London from Wuhan in January. She has recovered.

On Saturday, public health officials in London announced a second case of the virus in a Strathroy health-care worker. That person remains in self-isolation.

In the wider region, one case has been reported in St. Marys and two in Grey-Bruce.

COVID-19 cases in Canada have surpassed 440 as cases worldwide top 184,000.

With files from Free Press reporter Dan Brown

Continued here:

COVID-19: London cases expected to grow after health-care worker one of two new cases - The London Free Press

An Uber banner on the New York Stock Exchange on the day of Uber's IPO, May 10, 2019.

Source: NYSE

Uberis giving away free meals to health-care workers and first responders who are helping combat the coronavirus pandemic, Nelson Chai, the company's chief financial officer, told CNBC on Monday.

"We're going to deliver over 300,000 meals for health officials and first responders who are on the front line," Chai said in a "Squawk Box" interview. "We're doing what we can."

The company's Uber Eats segment is also waiving delivery fees for small businesses in some of its markets.

"As more customers are choosing to stay indoors, we've waived the Delivery Fee for the more than 100,000 independent restaurants across US & Canada on Uber Eats," the company said."We will also launch daily dedicated, targeted marketing campaignsboth in-app and via emailto promote delivery from local restaurants, especially those that are new to the app."

The move comes as government officials in major cities such as New York and Los Angelesorder restaurants, bars and cafes to close to the public, limiting customers to pick up or delivery.

The free meals will help health-care workers and first responders in the United States and Canada, according to apress release.

"We know that the work of medical and crisis response teams can be tireless, and the hours long; we hope we can help in a small way,"Janelle Sallenave, head of Uber Eats, said in a statement.

There are at least 3,774 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S. and at least 69 people have died as of Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Several companies have shut down or limited operations in an effort to slow the virus. Uber, joining many of its peers, has asked employees to work from home, if it is possible for them to do so.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

Read more from the original source:

Uber is delivering free meals to health-care workers and first responders amid coronavirus crisis - CNBC

Healthcare facilities in Washington state continue to worry if theyll have enough masks and other equipment to protect their employees.

KUOWs Anna Boiko-Weyrauch joined Morning Edition host Angela King to talk about these concerns and whats being done to get more equipment.

RELATED: Several Seattle-area hospital workers infected with COVID-19

King: How low are supplies running for protective equipment?

Boiko-Weyrauch: It varies from place-to-place. Ive been reaching out to people in healthcare, hospitals and long-term care organizations. The biggest needs Im hearing come from the long-term care and assisted living facilities. Those are communities caring for older adults, and the outbreak has really hit those kinds of facilities hard.

I talked to Robin Dale, he leads the Washington Health Care Association, which represent long-term care and assisted living facilities. He told me his group is getting constant requests for supplies for personal protective equipment, also known as PPE. In particular masks especially N95 masks protective gowns and face shields. This equipment is to protect workers in long-term care and assisted living facilities.

Dale said that They have a COVID-19 patient in their facility and theyre asking for PPE so that they can protect their workers and other residents and its frustrating that theres such a short supply."

Boiko-Weyrauch: On top of that, getting more supplies is not straightforward.

King: How are requests for supplies being handled?

Boiko-Weyrauch: Well, they go through quite a few hands. I asked that question to Public Health Seattle & King County. They said that when a healthcare provider submits a request it passes through four or five different organizations before get to the feds. That includes different state and local health and emergency operations organizations.

Then the federal government takes a few days to approve the order and load up supplies on to a plane. Then the supplies go back to the Washington State Department of Health to inventory, store, and fulfill orders. The State Department of Health puts the equipment on trucks to specific locations. That can take several more days, according to Public Health Seattle & King County.

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities dont have big stockpiles of this gear like hospitals do to cushion them in between shipments. But Dale said so far the most urgent requests have been met.

According to Dale: Once we get through, or get people to understand the need, it has come relatively quickly, but sometimes its almost a last minute situation where theyre a day away of running out of PPE.

Boiko-Weyrauch: In other places, hospitals are rationing the supply of masks and are not getting the amount of supplies they requested. Theyre also now allowing healthcare workers to use plain surgical masks under some circumstances instead of the heavy-duty N95 masks.

Theyre also re-using masks. For example, using one N95 mask per day, sticking it a Ziploc or Tupperware in between patients, and then throwing it away at the end of the day.

King: Anna, whats being done to address these shortages?

Boiko-Weyrauch: In the past few weeks the state has received shipments of supplies from the national stockpile. So far two shipments with tens of thousands of gowns and gloves, and hundreds of thousands of masks. But the state says thats not enough.

Governor Jay Inslee has been asking the vice president to allocate more of the stockpile to Washington State because our need is so great. Members of congress from both sides of the aisle representing Washington are also pushing for more supplies.

This week they sent a letter urging the secretary of health and human services to fully respond to the states requests for equipment.

Also, a few departments at the state level are also looking for other sources of the equipment. We may get more information on that later on today.

Here is the original post:

'It's almost a last-minute situation.' Healthcare facilities frustrated by lack of supplies - KUOW News and Information

SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Headspace, a global leader in mindfulness and meditation, announced that it will be providing free Headspace Plus subscriptions to healthcare professionals working in public health settings in the US through 2020 to address rising levels of stress and burnout. Headspace will also be unlocking the free, specially-curated "Weathering the storm" collection of meditation and mindfulness content for consumers in English, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.

"Against the current public health and geopolitical backdrop with social distancing, travel restrictions, 24/7 news alerts, and financial stressors this shifting landscape is affecting everyone," said Rich Pierson, co-founder and CEO of Headspace. "To help people around the world deal with these unprecedented levels of stress, we are working hard to expand access to our meditation content to help folks manage anxious thoughts, build mental resilience and navigate through this uncertainty."

Beginning today, any US-based healthcare professional working in a public health setting can get a free subscription to Headspace Plus by visiting https://www.headspace.com/health-covid-19 and enroll using their National Provider Identifier (NPI). All subscribers will get free access to all 1200+ hours of meditation and mindfulness content through December 31, 2020. While currently only accessible to US-based healthcare providers, Headspace is actively working with global NGOs, health systems and government officials to quickly establish ways to uniquely identify healthcare providers in countries around the world.

"Healthcare providers are on the front lines of this public health crisis, making sure our communities receive necessary and critical care," said Dr. Megan Jones Bell, Chief Science Officer for Headspace. "That's why it's crucial for us to find ways to support their mental health and provide them with tools for managing the very real personal toll this crisis takes on them in particular."

Physician burnout has been identified as a public health crisis for its adverse impacts for both doctors and patients. Research shows mindfulness meditation can positively impact many of the factors related to burnout, including stress and depression. Headspace research specifically shows 14% reduction in burnout after only four sessions among health care professionals and 12% reduction in stress for medical students after 30 days.

In addition to its efforts to help healthcare workers, Headspace has also unlocked a free "Weathering the storm" collection in-app, a free selection of meditation, sleep and other experiences designed to support consumers around the world during the COVID-19 outbreak. The collection is available in the "Explore" tab starting today worldwide.

If you are a healthcare professional outside of the US and would like access to Headspace Plus, please reach out to [emailprotected]. For more information on Headspace, please visit http://www.headspace.com.

About Headspace Headspace was created with one mission in mind: to improve the health and happiness of the world. Reaching more than 62 million users in 190 countries, Headspace was one of the first meditation apps in the world and remains a leader in mindfulness and mental training. Headspace is committed to advancing the field of mindfulness through clinically-validated research, having one of the largest research pipelines of any digital health and wellness company. Headspace operates a B2B business (Headspace for Work) to offer its mindfulness products and services to more than 600 companies, such as Starbucks, Adobe, GE, Hyatt and Unilever, to help them build healthier, more productive cultures and higher performing organizations. Headspace partners with many of the world's most-recognizable brands, including Apple, Amazon and more. Headspace also partners with brands like Nike, NBA and the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team to offer sport and movement content.In 2018, Headspace launched Headspace Health, a digital health subsidiary pioneering new ways to incorporate the Headspace mindfulness experience into digital medicine. Headspace has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the World's Most Innovative Companies, Apple's Best of 2018, Samsung's Best of 2019 and one of CB Insights' top digital health companies, along with being selected for five Webby Awards in health and fitness between 2018 and 2019. For more information please visit us at http://www.headspace.com, or follow us on Facebook, Twitterand Instagram.

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https://www.headspace.com

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Headspace Announces New Efforts To Help Consumers, Healthcare Providers Curb Rising Stress And Anxiety - PRNewswire

As new coronavirus infections accumulate across America, hospitals want to make sure they have everything they need to keep staff safe.

In China, where the virus was first discovered, protecting health care workers was a serious challenge. More than 3,300 nurses, doctors and other hospital staff members across the country were infected, many because of insufficient protective equipment.

In the United States, some hospitals are already struggling with limited supplies, as health officials figure out the best way to protect workers. More than 1,000 cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, have been reported across America so far, with the largest outbreak in Washington State.

We need to think about what the right thing is for patients, but also for our caregivers to make sure theyre not exposed, said Amy Compton-Phillips, chief clinical officer at the Providence St. Joseph Health, a hospital network that has treated more than a dozen patients in Washington State.

That means making sure theres an adequate supply of protective equipment for staff members and enough space to isolate patients, while also navigating a flurry of regulations and recommendations that could change at any moment.

Current C.D.C. recommendations for health care workers

Eye protection

Goggles or face shield

Respirator or medical mask

N95 respirator, if available

Gown

Closed securely

at the back

Gloves

Pulled up over

gown sleeves

Current C.D.C. recommendations for health care workers

Eye protection

Goggles or face shield

Respirator or medical mask

N95 respirator, if available

Gloves

Pulled up over

gown sleeves

Gown

Closed securely

at the back

Current C.D.C. recommendations for health care workers

Eye protection

Goggles or face shield

Respirator or medical mask

N95 respirator, if available

Gloves

Pulled up over

gown sleeves

Gown

Closed securely

at the back

There is still some uncertainty about how the new coronavirus spreads, but experts agree it is most likely passed through close contact with people who are infected, and specifically the viral droplets they expel when they cough or sneeze.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised health care workers to treat potential and confirmed cases of Covid-19 with the level of precaution usually reserved for high-risk illnesses that spread easily through the air, like tuberculosis or measles.

Workers are required to wear gowns, gloves, goggles and special masks, like N95 respirators, that fit tightly over the nose and mouth to filter out virus particles before they are inhaled. (They can also wear devices known as PAPRs, or powered air-purifying respirators, which cover the entire head.)

With respirator masks in short supply across the country, the C.D.C. recently updated its recommendations for health care workers. If respirators are not available, the agency says standard medical masks can be used instead for most coronavirus patient care. These looser-fitting masks protect against droplet transmission from coughs and sneezes, but do not filter out airborne pathogens.

The change puts the C.D.C. in closer alignment with World Health Organization guidelines, which only require respirator masks during special procedures that may result in the spray of tiny viral particles. Health departments in two of the hardest hit states, Washington and Oregon, have already adopted standards in line with W.H.O.

As the coronavirus continues to spread across the country and more is learned about the disease, these safety guidelines could evolve.

Tight fit; must be specially fitted. Filters out 95% of small particles.

Loose fit around edges. Provides protection from large droplets.

Loose fit around edges. Provides protection from large droplets.

Tight fit; must be specially fitted. Filters out 95% of small particles.

Tight fit; must be specially fitted. Filters out 95% of small particles.

Loose fit around edges. Provides protection from large droplets.

Hospitals across the country are currently facing protective equipment shortages because of increased global demand, as well as supply chain disruptions.

At the moment, we have significant limitations on our high-level N95 masks, and even surgical masks are in short supply, said Dr. Compton-Phillips of Providence St. Joseph Health.

Experts say surgical masks and respirators are not effective for protecting the general public from Covid-19 but are crucial for health care workers who are in close contact with infected patients.

And because respirators and other medical supplies are single-use, hospitals need a large stock for doctors, nurses and other staff members. Representatives from hospitals across the country said they were taking steps to preserve the supply of protective equipment, including limiting the number of people who enter a patients room to essential personnel only.

Some larger hospitals and hospital networks maintain their own stockpiles of respirator masks and other equipment. The Department of Health and Human Services also maintains the Strategic National Stockpile of emergency preparedness supplies, which currently contains 13 million N95 respirator masks and 30 million surgical masks, according to a spokeswoman for the agency.

But Alex Azar, the secretary of Health and Human Services, told Congress that as many as 300 million N95 respirator masks could be needed by United States health care workers to fight the spread of the virus. The agency has said it will buy millions more masks over the coming months.

Under new protocols, the C.D.C. recommends coronavirus patients be isolated in single rooms, behind closed doors, away from other patients. But more severe cases may require the use of a special room with negative pressure, which allows air to move inward but not escape back into general circulation.

Area of lower air pressure

Negative pressure allows air to flow inwards, but not out of the room.

Area of lower air pressure

Negative pressure allows air to flow inwards, but not out of the room.

Area of lower air pressure

Negative pressure allows air to flow inwards, but not out of the room.

Area of lower air pressure

Negative pressure allows air to flow inwards, but not out of the room.

Area of lower air pressure

Negative pressure allows air to flow inwards, but not out of the room.

Area of lower air pressure

Negative pressure allows air to flow inwards, but not out of the room.

Note: This is one possible layout for a negative pressure isolation room; an anteroom is optional, and air flow systems may vary.

Negative pressure isolation rooms are recommended for special procedures that may result in the spray of tiny viral particles, like intubation for patients who need help breathing, or bronchoscopy, a procedure that allows doctors to examine a patients lungs. Respirator masks are required during these procedures, too.

But most coronavirus cases will quite likely not require hospitalization, said Dr. Compton-Phillips of Providence St. Joseph Health.

If you are healthy even if you have Covid but are not ill enough to be in a hospital we dont want to treat you in the hospital, she said. Instead, patients with mild coronavirus infections and no underlying medical conditions may be asked to quarantine at home.

According to the W.H.O., 80 percent of Covid-19 patients in China experienced a mild form of the illness, 14 percent had a severe form, and 5 percent became critically ill. Older people and those with prior health conditions were at the highest risk.

We dont know how big this epidemic will be, said Dr. Gabor D. Kelen, the director of the Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response and the emergency medicine department. Hopefully most of the people who are sick can be cared for at home and only those with serious respiratory conditions and the elderly who need I.C.U. care are the ones who get admitted to a hospital.

The gear health care workers need to protect themselves and how they isolate patients depends largely on how an illness is transmitted.

Airborne spread up to 100 ft

Smaller, lighter aerosol droplets can linger in the air.

Influenza, whooping cough, and most likely Covid-19, per W.H.O.

Larger, heavier viral droplets fall to the ground after being expelled.

DROPLET SPREAD

Up to 6 feet

Influenza, whooping cough, and most likely Covid-19, per W.H.O.

Larger, heavier viral droplets fall to the ground after being expelled.

AIRBORNE SPREAD

Up to 100 feet

Smaller, lighter aerosol droplets can linger in the air.

Airborne spread up to 100 ft

Smaller, lighter aerosol droplets can linger in the air.

Influenza, whooping cough, and most likely Covid-19, per W.H.O.

Larger, heavier viral droplets fall to the ground after being expelled.

DROPLET SPREAD

Up to 6 feet

Influenza, whooping cough, and most likely Covid-19, per W.H.O.

Larger, heavier viral droplets fall to the ground after being expelled.

AIRBORNE SPREAD

Up to 100 feet

Smaller, lighter aerosol droplets can linger in the air.

Some illnesses, like measles and tuberculosis, can spread far and wide through the air. Their ability to linger in the air for hours and travel long distances after a sneeze or cough makes them highly contagious.

But experts think that other respiratory illnesses, like the flu, do not stay airborne for long. Instead, the viral droplets that leave a persons mouth or nose end up falling to the ground within six feet or less. Think of it more like a sprinkle of rain than a cloud of mist.

Excerpt from:

What U.S. Health Care Workers Need to Fight Coronavirus - The New York Times

KFF is tracking the role health care is playing in voters decisions throughout the 2020 primary and general elections. The latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds health care among the top issues for all voters as well as the crucial group of voters who have not yet made up their minds about who to vote for in 2020. Throughout the Democratic primary, KFF is also analyzing state-level data from AP VoteCast, a survey of primary voters and caucus-goers in the Democratic primary contests conducted for seven days, concluding as the polls closed in each state.

As of March 11, 2020, health care was either the top issue, or among the top issues, for Democratic primary voters and caucus-goers in 14 states that have held their primary contests where there is AP VoteCast data available. Using the interactive below, you can find out which candidate won the most delegates in each state, the share of voters who said health care is the most important issue facing the country, as well as the share of Democratic voters who favor a single-payer health plan, similar to the one being proposed by front-runner Sen. Sanders, or a proposal, similar to the one being proposed by former Vice President Biden, in which all Americans would have the option of having a government health insurance plan.

.

Methodology of AP VoteCast

AP VoteCast is a survey of American voters conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago. Interviews begin six days before the day of the primary election or caucus in each state, and are conducted until polls close in the state. Interviews are conducted both online and by telephone (landline and cell) in English and Spanish. All states include a probability-based sample of voters drawn from Catalist LLCs registered voter database and matched to a registered voter database maintained by L2, which provides additional phone numbers for voter records. For some states, the probability sample is supplemented with online interviews with self-identified registered voters selected from non-probability online panels managed by Lucid or Dynata

Weighting involved multiple stages and are done separately for the probability sample and the nonprobability sample (when applicable). First, the probability-base sample is weighted to adjust for disproportional nonresponse. Then these weights are adjusted to population totals of registered voters in each state using a combination of the 2018 CPS Voter Supplement, the 2018 Census Bureaus ACS, and the Catalist voter file. For the nonprobability sample, the respondents receive a calibration weight to ensure the nonprobability sample is similar to the probability-based sample on key demographic variables such as ideology. All respondents are then weighted to improve estimates for sub-state geographic regions using a small area model. Finally, the survey results are weighted to the actual vote count following the completion of the election.

Numbers of interviews in each state and margins of sampling error (adjusted for design effects) are shown in the table below. For subgroups, the margin of sampling is higher.

More details about the AP VoteCast methodology can be found here.

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The Role Of Health Care In The 2020 Election - Kaiser Family Foundation