Latest KFF Health News Stories
The state launched a new hotline, but families are still unable to obtain information about how many cases exist in individual nursing homes. And in many cases, they can’t get updates on parents. News on nursing homes is reported from California, Pennsylvania and Ohio, as well.
Chicago Hospital Built After 9/11 To Handle Mass Casualties Faces First Big Test
The Washington Post takes a look inside Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, which was designed to handle just such an event as the coronavirus outbreak. For example, instead of patients being held in a crowded waiting room, the ambulance bay has been transformed into a triage area that keeps potential patients separated. Other hospitals news focuses on the financial burden as well as the preparedness of the facilities.
Media outlets report on news from Ohio, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, California, Louisiana, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Georgia.
In January, after its first patient tested positive, the government set up a crisis team and tracked down those who had contact with the patient. They even identified a salt shaker she touched that others handled. Germany’s coronavirus death rate is among the lowest. Global news reports are from Iceland, England, China and other nations.
Some of the nation’s food banks and soup kitchens are having to suspend operations and find novel ways to get food to people where they need it. More food-supply news reports on infections spreading among poultry workers and grocery story workers.
‘Jails In This Country Are Petri Dishes’: Infections And Unrest Both Spread Fast In Crowded Prisons
News on how prisons in Washington state, Illinois, New York, Louisiana and Massachusetts.
Most Of Country Has Been Put On Hold, But Culture Wars March On
The fight over abortion has been exacerbated as some conservative state governments use the opportunity to limit the medical procedure as if it were elective. Meanwhile, a federal judge in Texas temporarily halts the state’s ban on abortions.
Humans Aren’t Built To Make Good Decisions During A Pandemic
When there is a lack of information, emotions can fill in the gaps. And when those emotions are miscalibrated, they can lead to bad judgment — or dangerous behavior. It doesn’t help that the virus is an invisible threat and has also become politicized. In other public health news: air pollution, religious celebrations, hand-shaking, racial disparities, how the virus spread, the millennial zeitgeist, comic relief, and more.
By Taking An Experimental Drug, Patients Are ‘Treating The Emotion’ Rather Than The Disease
“Many drugs we believed were fantastic ended up killing people,” said Dr. Andre Kalil, a principal investigator in the federal government’s clinical trial of drugs that may treat the coronavirus. “It is so hard to keep explaining that.” In recent days, as President Donald Trump touts an unproven treatment for coronavirus, Kalil has been haunted by outbreaks from the past when patients were given untested drugs and then died from them. The New York Times takes a look at the team’s efforts to find a scientifically sound treatment. Meanwhile, others scramble for a cure, as well.
It’s Not Just Providers’ Health Impacted By Rationed Gear: Patients Get Less Care When PPE Runs Low
Health workers are reporting that they’re going into their patients rooms less because they can’t take the usual safety precautions of swapping into new protective gear. “People haven’t been seen in several hours overnight,” a medical provider at Long Island Jewish said. “And when the morning team comes on, the person is sicker, or dead.” In other health health worker news: hospitals threaten workers against speaking out, faulty N95 masks hamper care, vulnerable pharmacists are getting sick, some hospitals lay off employees during crisis, recovering doctors head back to work, and more.
Fact Checkers: Mail-In Voting Doesn’t Benefit Democrats Over Republicans Nor Does It Increase Fraud
President Donald Trump continues to push back against growing calls for vote-by-mail for November, with false claims about the process. But those who study mail-in voting say that it doesn’t benefit either party over the other. Meanwhile, presumptive-Democratic nominee Joe Biden pivots on health care to woo progressives after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) ends his campaign.
There’s a growing agreement between economists that the government’s actions were too small and came too late to help in a significant way. The Federal Reserve announced that it is rolling out a $2.3 trillion “Main Street” program to bolster local governments and small- and mid-sized businesses, but experts say that still might not even be enough. The full impact of the virus may take years to grasp, but economists agree that its legacy is likely to be economic devastation and mountains of debt.
A showdown on Thursday between Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill previewed a tough fight to come over future coronavirus stimulus legislation. Senate Democrats blocked Republicans’ attempts to pass a $250 billion bill that exclusively helped small businesses, wanting additional aid for health providers and hospitals too. Republican senators balked at adding more money.
Under the community-based coronavirus testing site program, the federal government supplies expertise, testing materials, protective equipment and lab contracts to local authorities in 41 sites. The federal government had wanted states to take over the programs. More regional testing news is reported out of California, Georgia and Colorado, as well.
The stimulus bill includes $100 billion for the health care system to use to treat coronavirus patients, and the White House said hospitals that accept the grants will have to certify that they won’t try to collect more money than the patient would have otherwise owed if the medical attention had been provided in network. Meanwhile, lawmakers may use the next stimulus package to help address the broader issue of surprise medical bills. News outlets report on other insurance coverage and Medicaid developments, as well.
The lawmakers rush to add in a provision that the other members couldn’t be removed like the panel’s head, Glenn Fine. President Donald Trump gave no reason as to why he ousted Fine. Meanwhile, the White House prepares for an onslaught of congressional reviews into its response to the pandemic. And Trump’s allies and other Republicans are worry that his daily briefings are doing more political harm than good.
President Donald Trump is pushing to reopen the country earlier than public health experts might recommend. Meanwhile, Trump shrugged off the idea that widespread testing is needed before the country can get back to work. But many health officials agree that testing and contact tracing are key to any plans to end physical distancing.
The national stockpile has depleted 90 percent of its protective gear, and has been erratic in sending other equipment to the states. Governors are starting to turn to private companies–and each other–to get what they need.
U.S. Death Total Climbs Past 16,000 With Number Of Confirmed Cases Surging Toward 500,000
Experts expect that United States is nearing the peak of this wave of the outbreak, but warn Americans to stay vigilant even as they see glimmers of encouragement in some of the data. “That is so shocking and painful and breathtaking, I can’t — I don’t even have the words for it. 9/11 was so devastating, so tragic, and then in many ways we lost so many more New Yorkers to this silent killer,” said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose state has been hit the hardest. “There was no explosion, but it was a silent explosion that just ripped through society with the same randomness, the same evil that we saw on 9/11.”
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
