Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hospitals Prepared For An Onslaught The Likes Of NYC's Outbreak. For Some, That Surge Never Came.
The Wall Street Journal: Some Hospitals Prepared For Coronavirus Cases That Never Came
As the coronavirus pandemic swept from China into Europe last winter, the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center began preparing for the worst. A triage tent was brought in. An entire floor was cleared for Covid-19 cases. A satellite campus was converted to take the overflow. Health screenings started for everyone from doctors to cafeteria workers. But the onslaught that UCSF prepared for ended up arriving as a modest number of cases. The facility was one of dozens of health centers around the country that prepared for a surge in patients but have so far seen far fewer than expected. (Carlton, 5/19)
WBUR: Most Of The Space In Massachusetts Field Hospitals Went Unused. Now, Some Are Looking To Shut Down
Massachusetts put up five field hospitals as quickly as possible last month. Since then, they’ve treated hundreds of patients – but most of their roughly 1,500 total acute care beds sat empty through the pandemic’s peak in the state. Now, with new infections slowing, they're looking to wind down operations. (Chen, 5/18)
In other news —
Politico: ‘Hard Stop’: States Could Lose National Guard Virus Workers
More than 40,000 National Guard members currently helping states test residents for the coronavirus and trace the spread of infections will face a “hard stop” on their deployments on June 24 — just one day shy of many members becoming eligible for key federal benefits, according to a senior FEMA official. The official outlined the Trump administration’s plans on an interagency call on May 12, an audio version of which was obtained by POLITICO. (Ollstein, 5/19)
