Out-Of-State Reinforcements: Health Care Workers Relocate To Pitch In During Louisiana’s Time Of Need
Doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists are leaving their states to help Tulane Medical Center and other Louisiana hospitals, but red tape is slowing the relief effort. “I literally could have arranged a trip to West Africa and been in a hospital over there in the time that it’s taken me to do this in the United States,” said Dr. James Pettey, an orthopedic surgeon from Kentucky. Media outlets report on news from California, Massachusetts, West Virginia, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Texas, Pennsylvania, Georgia and District of Columbia, as well.
New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Help On The Way: Out-Of-State Nurses, Docs Join Coronavirus Fight In Louisiana Hospitals
As hospitals in Louisiana bear the brunt of one of the nation’s swiftest and most deadly coronavirus outbreaks, health care workers from around the country are coming to the Pelican State to treat patients and to take some pressure off hospital staffers. (Gallo, 4/2)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Coronavirus: Bay Area Medical Practices Face Uncertain Future As Patients Disappear
As the coronavirus crisis surges, many private medical practices in the Bay Area have seen a steep drop in patients and revenue that could force them to go out of business, leaving their workers — physicians, nurses, assistants and staffers — unemployed and patients in the lurch. The term private practice may conjure images of the lone family doctor who runs his or her own office with a nurse and an assistant, but it covers everything from practices with a handful of physicians and staff to those with hundreds of doctors and staff members. They include specialists and surgeons as well as primary care doctors. The slowdown is also affecting dentists and optometrists and ophthalmologists. (Cabanatuan, 4/2)
WBUR:
Baker Upping Health Care Resources As COVID-19 Models Predict Up To 172,000 Total Mass. Cases
Gov. Charlie Baker announced additional efforts on Thursday to expand the state's health care resources, as he presented new projections of how the coronavirus outbreak in Massachusetts might pan out in the state.Baker said his administration consulted medical experts to come up with new models. His advisory panel estimates that between 47,000 and 172,000 residents will be infected, or 0.7% to 2.5% of the state's population. The new models also predict that the virus is likely to peak in Massachusetts between April 10 and 20. (Ruckstuhl, 4/2)
Boston Globe:
Near Tripling Of Employee Coronavirus Infections In Largest Massachusetts Hospitals In Past Week
Coronavirus infections among employees at major hospitals in Massachusetts nearly tripled over the past week, intensifying alarm about workers’ health, potential spread to others, and the withdrawal of staff at such a critical time in the pandemic. As of Wednesday, there were 509 infected workers at the hospitals, up from 177 the prior week, according to hospital data tracked by the Globe. (Dayal McCluskey and Andersen, 4/2)
WBUR:
'When He’s At Home, He Has Me': Students With Disabilities And Their Families Cope With Prolonged School Closures
Across Massachusetts, thousands of parents and guardians are working long hours — often with little help — to protect, advocate and care for children with disabilities during the coronavirus crisis. With the state’s public schools now closed for at least another month, the disruption is creating a new strain on busy caregivers, too. (Larkin, 4/2)
WBUR:
As Nurse Tests Positive, Judge Looks For Ways To Release Some ICE Detainees At Bristol County Jail
A U.S. District Court Judge for Massachusetts is weighing whether to release dozens of people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Bristol County House of Correction as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Judge William Young heard arguments in releasing a sub-class of 11 individuals who are detained by ICE with no criminal charges or convictions. (Dooling, 4/2)
Boston Globe:
Her Husband Is Hospitalized In A Coma With Coronavirus. She’s 7 1/2 Months’ Pregnant And Infected, Too
For new and expecting parents in the coronavirus age, there is almost no worse scenario than what Urszula Osborne now faces.Her 40-year-old husband, Ray Osborne, is intubated on a ventilator and in a medically induced coma at Massachusetts General Hospital after contracting the coronavirus a few weeks ago. His kidneys have failed, so he’s on intermittent dialysis, too. (Pan, 4/2)
West Virginia Gazette-Mail:
Reproductive Rights Advocates On Alert After AG Morrisey Comments On Abortion Facilities Amid COVID-19
Earlier this week, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice placed a moratorium on all “elective” procedures and surgeries in the state through an executive order, and at a Wednesday news conference, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said the order will apply to “abortion facilities, as well.” Morrisey’s office did not respond to multiple requests to clarify or elaborate on his statement, which — if it does apply to abortions — may contradict language in the governor’s executive order. (Coyne, 4/1)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Wisconsin State Fair Park Could Be Used As Coronavirus Care Facility
Milwaukee-area officials are asking that the Army Corps of Engineers build an "alternative care facility" on the Wisconsin State Fair Park grounds in case it's needed for coronavirus patients. "This is an attempt to prepare in the event that we need this," Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said during a call with media Thursday afternoon. (Dirr, 4/2)
The Hill:
NJ Governor Calls For Assessment Of Coronavirus Response After Crisis Abates
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) on Thursday called for a review of the federal government's response to the coronavirus pandemic. "On the one hand, I'll leave history to the historians in terms of how we got here," Murphy told CNN's Wolf Blitzer when asked about the Trump administration's response to the spreading pandemic. "But on the other hand, we've got — all of us have to do one of the biggest postmortems, when the dust settles on this, in the history of our country. We've got to figure out how the heck we got into this spot and make sure we never get in this spot ever again.” (Moreno, 4/2)
Houston Chronicle:
Handful Of Harris County Jail Inmates Set To Be Released
A handful of inmates appeared set to be released from jail Thursday night or Friday morning, following Judge Lina Hidalgo’s order to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office to free hundreds of low-risk inmates in an effort to reduce the jail population and prevent a widespread outbreak of coronavirus. On Wednesday, Hidalgo ordered Sheriff Ed Gonzalez to prepare a list of inmates accused of certain nonviolent offenses and who did not have previous convictions for violent crimes. That list was expected to include the names of some 1,000 inmates, which would be reviewed — and likely significantly pared down — by other county departments. (Barned-Smith, 4/2)
Houston Chronicle:
Houston Leaders Urgently Planning For Surge Of COVID-19 Patients To Avoid New York's Nightmare
Houston health care leaders are urgently putting together contingency plans — from repurposing hospital beds not currently in use to creating a makeshift facility at NRG Stadium — to prevent an expected surge of COVID-19 patients from overwhelming area hospitals. The plans, assembled by leaders from the Texas Medical Center, the city of Houston, Harris County and the region, stress fluidity and flexibility because the extent of the surge, projected to peak in the next two to four weeks, is so maddeningly unknowable. (Ackerman, 4/2)
Kaiser Health News:
Pandemic-Stricken Cities Have Empty Hospitals, But Reopening Them Is Difficult
As city leaders across the country scramble to find space for the expected surge of COVID-19 patients, some are looking at a seemingly obvious choice: former hospital buildings, sitting empty, right downtown. In Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, where hospitalizations from COVID-19 increase each day, shuttered hospitals that once served the city’s poor and uninsured sit at the center of a public health crisis that begs for exactly what they can offer: more space. But reopening closed hospitals, even in a public health emergency, is difficult. (Feldman, 4/2)
Stat:
A Nurse Records Videos She Hopes Her Family Won't Need To Watch
The words are familiar at first, a bedtime trope so dependable that it’s hard to imagine this ritual will ever change. Every evening, Elise Barrett helps her 2-year-old get ready for the night. Their apartment’s small, so he sleeps in the walk-in closet, and she climbs in with him, for a cuddle and a story before lights-out. (Boodman, 4/3)
The Washington Post:
Zaandam Cruise Ship Passengers Tell Their Story Of Being Quarantined At Sea
The cruise ship Zaandam is nine decks of escapism, stretching 781 feet bow to stern, with a casino and spa, a steakhouse and two swimming pools. Its walls are adorned with signed guitars from Iggy Pop and Eric Clapton. It was christened 20 years ago by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, who wore matching nautical suits. (Hesse and Zak, 4/2)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Crime Rates Drop Across Metro Atlanta As More People Stay Home
As more people stay at home amid the coronavirus pandemic, law enforcement agencies across metro Atlanta are reporting a sharp decrease in crime rates. Additionally, the majority of departments have instructed officers to issue nonviolent offenders written citations whenever possible in an effort to reduce inmate populations at local jails. (Abusaid, 4/2)
The Washington Post:
D.C.’s Coronavirus Lockdown Upends Life In Nation’s Capital
In a city defined by power, a virus has seized control. (4/2)
