Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hospitals Set Sights On Covid Shots And Coping With A 'New Normal'
Modern Healthcare: Wyo. Hospital Offers Bonus To Healthcare Workers Willing To Get Vaccinated Before Summer
In a meeting on Friday afternoon the board of trustees at the hospital passed the "COVID safety" bonus program with unanimous support. Over $500,000 was allotted toward the program. The impending wave of tourism is one of the reasons hospital employees are being encouraged to get fully vaccinated by May 31. Workers to able to get fully vaccinated will receive a one time bonus of $600 prorated, based on hours worked, by June. Currently 74% of staff are vaccinated, twice the rate of the surrounding area of Teton County. (Gellman, 4/20)
Modern Healthcare: Hospitals Nationwide Push For COVID-19 Vaccination
Led by Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic, a coalition of 60 healthcare systems launched a nationwide campaign Tuesday to promote COVID-19 vaccination. The "Get the Vaccine to Save Lives" campaign is designed to reassure people that vaccines are safe and effective, according to a news release. "We're asking people to talk to their healthcare providers if they have questions and then get vaccinated," Mayo Clinic President and CEO Dr. Gianrico Farrugia said in a statement. "The vaccine is our strongest asset to end the pandemic, and I urge everyone who is eligible to get whichever vaccine you're first offered to save lives." (Christ, 4/20)
The Boston Globe: A Year Into COVID, Hospitals Find A New Normal
After battling COVID for more than a year and weathering two surges of sick patients, Massachusetts hospitals are settling in to a new normal. They’ve shifted from managing a raging crisis to incorporating COVID into their daily work. For the foreseeable future, hospitals expect to continue treating COVID patients — though the number could rise as variants spread or fall as more people get vaccinated. Hospitals across the state are treating about 700 COVID patients, 23 percent in intensive care, even as the economy reopens and more than 2 million people in Massachusetts are fully vaccinated. (Dayal McCluskey, 4/20)
KHN: Listen: A Rookie Doctor Starts Her Career, Forged By The Pandemic
On this week’s episode of “America Dissected,” host Dr. Abdul El-Sayed spoke with Dr. Paloma Marin-Nevarez, an emergency medicine resident at UCSF Fresno, and KHN senior correspondent Jenny Gold about the challenges Marin-Nevarez faced as a new doctor learning the ropes during a devastating pandemic. Each July, thousands of new physicians begin their on-the-job training at hospitals across the U.S. Marin-Nevarez began caring for severely ill covid patients just a few months after the beginning of the pandemic. (4/21)
In other health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare: Additional Downstream Care Mutes Telehealth Cost Gains, Study Finds
Patients who used telehealth for upper respiratory infections were more likely to receive more follow-up care than those who sought in-person care, a new study found. More than 10% of the telehealth users had an in-person visit the next week, compared with 5.9% of patients who went to a clinic, according to an analysis of around 86,000 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan claims from 2016 to 2019. While the study didn't quantify the value of the follow-up care, University of Michigan researchers found that the telemedicine cohort had fewer (0.5% versus 0.6%) emergency department visits but more subsequent office, urgent care and telemedicine visits. (Kacik, 4/20)
Concord (N.H.) Monitor: Attorney General Gives Green Light To Concord Hospital Acquisition Of LRGH
The N.H. Attorney’s General Office has approved Concord Hospital’s bid to purchase Lakes Region General Healthcare while stipulating certain protections for patients and medical staff. The parent company of hospitals in Laconia and Franklin declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year due largely to the costs associated with some $128 million in debt. After searching for a potential buyer for years, only Concord Hospital emerged with a bid to purchase LRGH for $30 million. (Rosenbluth, 4/20)
