Trump Tells Governors That Feds Will Back Them Up But They Need To Secure Respirators, Ventilators For Themselves
President Donald Trump surprised some governors who were looking to the federal government for help. Fears over a lack of ventilators, respirators and ICU beds has dominated the conversation about the outbreak and is what has public health experts most concerned. New York serves as a grim example: the state could be short by as many as 15,783 ventilators a week at the peak of the crisis. Meanwhile, hospitals rush to cancel elective surgeries to try to brace for the surge of patients likely headed their way.
The New York Times:
Trump To Governors On Ventilators: ‘Try Getting It Yourselves’
President Trump told a group of governors on Monday morning that they should not wait for the federal government to fill the growing demand for respirators needed to treat people with coronavirus. “Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves,” Mr. Trump told the governors during the conference call, a recording of which was shared with The New York Times. “We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself.” (Martin, 3/16)
Modern Healthcare:
Trump Encourages States To Get Own Medical Supplies For COVID-19
The Trump administration's coronavirus task force on Monday issued new guidelines aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19 and discussed ongoing efforts to increase the availability of testing and medical supplies. President Donald Trump told governors during a conference call earlier in the day that they shouldn't wait for the federal government to provide them with medical equipment like respirators if they can source them on their own, which surprised some governors, The New York Times reported. (Brady, 3/16)
The New York Times:
N.Y. May Need 18,000 Ventilators Very Soon. It Has Far Short Of That.
As the coronavirus has swept across New York, officials have become increasingly alarmed about a bleak reality: The state may not have enough ventilators for everybody who could need one. It is still possible that the state could slow down the spread of the virus enough to curb the demand for ventilators, the machines that help the sickest patients to breathe. But a panel convened a few years ago by the state found that in the worst-case scenario of a flulike pandemic, New York could be short by as many as 15,783 ventilators a week at the peak of the crisis. (Rosenthal and Goldstein, 3/17)
The Wall Street Journal:
Hospitals Push Off Surgeries To Make Room For Coronavirus Patients
Hospitals preparing for an influx of coronavirus patients are canceling some surgeries and moving routine care to virtual visits, an effort to make room for those critically ill and prevent infections as the global pandemic spreads nationwide. A growing number of hospitals, including Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian, the main facility of the University of California, San Francisco and some major systems in the hard-hit Seattle area, are starting to put off surgeries that aren’t urgent or emergencies. In addition to freeing up capacity, doctors say they don’t want to expose patients and workers to potential infection risk. (Evans and Wilde Mathews, 3/16)
Reuters:
U.S. Hospitals, Patients Cancel Elective Surgery As Coronavirus Spreads
U.S. hospitals, anticipating a need for beds as more people are diagnosed with coronavirus, are postponing elective surgeries, while some patients, leery of going to a hospital, are canceling appointments themselves. Several hospitals in the hard-hit Seattle area, including EvergreenHealth, have suspended elective procedures like knee replacements for the next 30 days. Emergency surgeries like appendectomies or a broken wrist that needs surgery will continue. (Beasley, 3/16)
Modern Healthcare:
Canceled Surgeries, COVID-19 Patients Could Be 'Double Whammy' For Hospitals
COVID-19 could be a double whammy for hospitals' finances in that they're putting off high-margin surgeries to treat expensive, complex coronavirus patients with no way to predict reimbursement. "It probably will be significant in most cases," Chip Kahn, CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals, said of the novel coronavirus' financial impact on hospitals. "In some situations, if we're taking about two or three months of this … you could see many hospitals with their backs to the wall." (Bannow, 3/16)
New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Area Hospitals Consider Restrictions On Planned Surgeries After Guidelines Ask To Limit Them
Some New Orleans-area hospitals are considering postponing planned elective, non-emergency surgeries as the region deals with a surge in the number of coronavirus cases, as guidelines have been released recommending a temporary halt to those procedures to stop the spread of the coronavirus. (Reimann, 3/16)
Modern Healthcare:
Hospitals Unsure When Or How Federal COVID-19 Aid Will Come
Hospital associations in states with the largest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases said the federal funding in the pipeline so far won't cover their needs, and they are unsure when or how more assistance will arrive. Hospitals have not yet borne the crush of COVID-19 patients that many experts fear could be coming, and that uptick will require more financial assistance. (Cors, 3/16)
New Orleans Times-Picayune:
As Coronavirus Spreads, Can Hospitals Handle It? New Orleans Officials Name Top Concerns, Shortage
As the novel coronavirus spreads across the region and hospitals shore up plans for an expected surge in severe cases, New Orleans city health officials have offered the most comprehensive view of preparedness yet. The No. 1 concern is a lack of testing kits and the long turnaround for results as demand rises, according to Sarah Babcock, Director of Policy and Emergency Preparedness for the New Orleans Health Department. Protective gear is also in short supply. (Woodruff, Williams and Myers, 3/16)
The Washington Post:
VA’s Mission To See Civilian Patients During Crisis Erased From Website Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
The Department of Veterans Affairs serves as a backup health system in times of crisis, but its mission statement for this crucial role was deleted from the agency’s website Friday as many in the country grew concerned that the coronavirus could overload civilian hospitals. VA’s three missions are to serve veterans through care, research and training in its behemoth health system. But in 1982, Congress mandated what has become known as VA’s “fourth mission”: to absorb non-veteran civilian patients in the event that hospitals overflow with patients in an emergency, such as a pandemic like the coronavirus. (Horton, 3/16)
CNN:
Health Officials Warn US Government Does Not Have Enough Stockpiled Medical Equipment To Deal With Coronavirus
Top health care officials said Monday that there is not enough stockpiled medical equipment like masks, gowns and gloves to fulfill the anticipated need of nation's health care system as it deals with the coronavirus. Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services told medical professionals on a conference call Monday that there was not enough personal protective equipment in the Strategic National Stockpile to fulfill anticipated gaps in state and local supplies, according to a source who was on the call. The call was confirmed to CNN by a Department of Health and Human Services official. (Holmes, 3/17)
ABC News:
1st Responders Brace For Coronavirus Spread Amid Equipment, Staffing Concerns
Emergency medical personnel and first responders across the country are in the midst of a major mobilization in preparation for the spread of the novel coronavirus, amid ongoing concerns over potential shortages in staff and protective equipment, officials told ABC News. "I think our biggest concern, of course, is that they have appropriate personal protective equipment and that they go into every emergency call prepared for this type of situation," said Leslee Stein-Spencer, a program manager for the National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO). (Barr and Mallin, 3/17)
Stateline:
Coronavirus Threatens Strained Rural Health Care System
If you’re exhibiting coronavirus symptoms and meet the criteria, you should get tested.But if you live in rural Presidio County, on the western end of the Texas-Mexico border, be prepared to travel. County residents who are severely ill are being told to go to Big Bend Regional Center in Alpine, Texas, which is nearly 90 miles away from the city of Presidio. The hospital will stabilize those patients before sending them nearly 200 miles to El Paso, according to a hospital spokeswoman. (Simpson, 3/17)
Boston Globe:
Medical Board Loosens Rules For Online Medicine And Physician Credentialing Because Of Coronavirus
In an urgent response to the coronavirus threat, the state medical board voted Monday to let doctors treat more patients online, made it easier for them to practice at multiple hospitals, and vowed to speed up the licensing of medical school graduates. The board voted 4-0 to approve the three measures in an emergency meeting held via conference call. The provisions are intended to boost the number of doctors available to treat patients for the coronavirus and other diseases, and to curb exposure of patients and health care workers to the virus. (Saltzman, 3/16)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
As Hospitals Fight To Keep Up, They Tell Mild Cases Not To Seek Tests
Underscoring the continued challenges of widespread coronavirus testing, three of Georgia’s largest hospital systems urged people on Monday not to come to hospitals to be tested if they have mild or moderate symptoms. “Inundating hospitals and doctors’ offices for testing by patients who can be managed at home, we believe, will worsen the impact of COVID-19,” read the statement from Emory Healthcare, Piedmont Healthcare and Wellstar Health System. (Trubey, 3/17)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Hospitals Rushed By People Seeking Testing
Some Georgia hospitals are already straining to cope as a surge of people concerned they may have the coronavirus swamp emergency rooms and more beds are filled with suspected cases. The state Department of Public Health on Monday increased Georgia’s count of confirmed cases to 121, but that number is expected to swell as testing, which is still very limited, becomes more widely available. Already, one Georgia hospital is awaiting on test results for more than 50 severely ill patients. (Hart and Teegardin, 3/16)
The Hill:
Maryland, NY Move To Boost Hospital Capacity Ahead Of Coronavirus Wave
The governors of Maryland and New York on Monday moved to dramatically increase the number of hospital beds in their states ahead of what they fear will be a wave of coronavirus victims that threatens to overwhelm the health care system. In separate announcements, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said they had ordered state health officials to reopen closed hospitals and to convert other facilities in order to accommodate patients. (Wilson, 3/16)
