Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pennsylvania's New Home Care Program Criticized For Poor Quality
AP: Pennsylvania's Home Care Program Has Big Problems, Advocates Say
Advocates for people with disabilities gathered at the state Capitol on Tuesday to protest what they say is the eroding quality of home care services under Pennsylvania's new managed care system, problems being accelerated by the pandemic. Part of the problem, they say, is the increased difficulty in getting direct care workers and the need to pay them more through the state's Medicaid reimbursement system. (11/9)
11alive.com: ATL Airport EMS Response Times Drop After 11Alive Investigation
There’s a reason a 76-year-old woman with a broken femur had to wait 95 minutes for an ambulance at the main TSA checkpoint in the middle of the nation’s busiest airport over the summer. Half of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport's fleet of fully-staffed EMS ambulances were 500 miles away. 11Alive’s investigative team tracked the airport’s Medic 1 and Medic 2 ambulances to the back lot of a factory in Ohio, where Atlanta Fire & Rescue had sent them for extended rebuilds with no replacements ready. (Keefe, 11/10)
On covid news around the country —
AP: Colorado Addresses Hospital Staffing Crisis, COVID Boosters
Colorado has reactivated crisis guidelines for staffing at healthcare systems across the state as COVID-19 hospitalizations and infections continue to rise, and state health officials said Tuesday that anyone 18 and older qualifies for a booster shot. “Crisis standards of care” allow hospitals to maximize the care they can provide in their communities with the staff they have available. More than a third of hospitals reporting to the state said they expected a shortage of intensive care beds in the next week, and nearly two in five said they would be short-staffed, The Denver Post reported. On Tuesday afternoon, 1,426 people were hospitalized statewide with COVID-19. (11/10)
Los Angeles Times: 78% Of LAPD At Least Partially Vaccinated; Few Refuse To Sign Mandate Notice
About 78% of Los Angeles police personnel have now received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose, with 172 LAPD employees receiving their first dose just in the last week, officials said Tuesday. The increase came as police supervisors began hand-delivering notices to unvaccinated LAPD employees informing them that they must start paying for regular COVID-19 testing and be vaccinated by Dec. 18 unless they receive a medical or religious exemption. (Rector, 11/9)
AP: Phoenix Children's Sued After Revealing Unvaccinated Workers
Two Phoenix Children's Hospital workers are suing after employees with a vaccine-mandate exemption were able to see each other's email addresses. Hospital administrators sent an email last month with safety protocols to unvaccinated workers but did not put the 368 recipients in the blind carbon copy field. The workers allege the hospital was negligent with their private health information. Their lawyer, Alexander Kolodin, is seeking-class action status. (11/9)
