Latest KFF Health News Stories
When the Pandemic Closes Your Gym, ‘Come for the Party, Stay for the Workout’
As gyms throughout New York City had to close because of the coronavirus pandemic, some trainers just moved outdoors to the parks.
They Cared for Some of New York’s Most Vulnerable Communities. Then 12 Died.
Immigrant health workers help keep the U.S. health system afloat — and they’re dying of COVID-19 at high rates.
Is Cuomo Directive to Blame for Nursing Home COVID Deaths, as US Official Claims?
New York’s governor directed nursing homes to take COVID patients. But is it fair to say he “forced” them to do so, or that his directive led to the deaths of thousands of elderly residents? Most public health experts say no.
‘Is This When I Drop Dead?’ Two Doctors Report From the COVID Front Lines
Two emergency room doctors, one in New York and the other in Houston, discuss their cities’ coronavirus outbreaks — and responses.
Public Health Officials Are Quitting or Getting Fired in Throes of Pandemic
A review by KHN and the Associated Press finds at least 49 state and local public health leaders have resigned, retired or been fired since April across 23 states. One of the latest departures came Sunday, when California’s public health director was ousted.
Last Thing Patients Need During Pandemic: Being Last to Know a Doctor Left Network
Health plan network changes occur all the time as doctors retire, relocate or leave networks. Unfortunately, patients may be the last to find out about such changes because there are often few requirements that either providers or insurers inform them.
Why Doctors Keep Monitoring Kids Who Recover From Mysterious COVID-Linked Illness
About 1,000 children worldwide have had the condition known as MIS-C — Multisymptom Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. Children’s hospitals around the U.S. are trying to keep tabs on young people after they recover from the ailment, to gauge any long-term effects.
Cities Brace For ‘Collision Course’ Of Heat Waves And COVID-19
Rochester, New York, and other cities have already weathered the first blasts of excessive heat, and they have done it while cooling centers and spray parks have been closed due to the pandemic.
Las muertes ocultas de la pandemia de COVID
Mientras funcionarios tratan de sumar cuántas personas dan positivo para el coronavirus y cuántas mueren por COVID, la pandemia ha dejado un número incalculable de muertes en las sombras.
The Hidden Deaths Of The COVID Pandemic
Counting deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic is easier said than done. Without widespread testing, officials must sort through presumed COVID deaths and those who died with infections rather than from them. Then there are the indirect deaths of people who died from circumstances created by the pandemic.
My Mother Died Of The Coronavirus. It’s Time She Was Counted.
Not having an accurate, honest, nationwide way to tally COVID-19 cases will only add to the current tragedy.
As COVID-19 Lurks, Families Are Locked Out Of Nursing Homes. Is It Safe Inside?
“The awful truth is families have no control over what’s happening,” one advocate says.
Consumer Beware: Coronavirus Antibody Tests Are Still A Work In Progress
Public officials are putting high hopes on new blood tests as a means of determining who has developed antibodies to COVID-19, and with those antibodies, presumed immunity. But experts caution the tests are largely unreliable and the science is still catching up.
Alerta al consumidor: pruebas de anticuerpos para COVID-19 todavía se están desarrollando
Funcionarios de la Organización Mundial de la Salud se manifestaron en contra de los planes de algunos países de tener “pasaportes de inmunidad”, que habilitarían a salir y trabajar.
Telehealth Will Be Free, No Copays, They Said. But Angry Patients Are Getting Billed.
Politicians pledged to stop providers from charging for video appointments or telephone calls, but some patients are being charged $70 or $80 per virtual visit.
NYC Nurse Says He’s Not Scared: ‘I Am Only Doing My Job’ For COVID-19 Patients
Francisco Díaz ordinarily works educating seniors about their diabetes, but he has moved to the emergency room, on the front line in the battle against coronavirus. He said his Latino background helps him communicate with the many Spanish-speaking patients and understand their culture.
En NYC, enfermero de ER dice: “no tengo miedo. Solo ayudo a pacientes con COVID-19”
En la Ciudad de Nueva York, ha habido más muertes de latinos por el virus que de otras razas o etnias, según revelan datos preliminares del departamento de salud local.
N.Y. Leads The Nation In COVID-19 Tests, But Testing Still Doesn’t Meet Demand
New York City and hospital officials recommend testing only the sickest people and encouraging others to stay home to get well. But other officials say wider tests are needed to ensure that essential workers don’t spread the disease.
Dr. J. Ronald Verrier Was Busy Saving Lives Before The Pandemic
Dr. J. Ronald Verrier, a surgeon at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, spent the final weeks of his audacious, unfinished life tending to a torrent of patients inflicted with COVID-19. He died April 8 at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital in Oceanside, New York, at age 59, after falling ill from the novel coronavirus.
‘It’s Like Walking Into Chernobyl,’ One Doctor Says Of Her Emergency Room
Lack of protective gear and fears about all the unknown aspects of COVID-19 are parts of the mosaic of stress facing doctors and nurses on the front lines of the pandemic.
