On October 20, 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published an early release of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. As of October 15, 216,025 deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been reported in the United States; however, this might underestimate the total impact of the pandemic on mortality. Overall, an estimated 299,028 excess deaths* occurred …
Since December 2019, an increasing number of pneumonia cases caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) have been identified in Wuhan, China. This new pathogen has exhibited high human-to-human transmissibility with approximately 16,819,944 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 662,000 deaths reported globally as of July 29, 2020. In addition to population mobility and human-to-human contact, environmental factors such as absolute humidity …
A CNBC article announced that AstraZeneca is developing its potential COVID-19 vaccine in collaboration with the University of Oxford and that the vaccine has produced a similar immune response in older and younger adults. The World Health Organization has said that older people, in addition to people of all ages with pre-existing medical conditions, appear to develop serious illness on …
On October 19, 2020, the CDC updated guidelines on COVID-19 and said that public transportation operators “should refuse boarding” to passengers who don’t wear a face mask to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The CDC reemphasized current guidelines for wearing masks on planes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis and ride-shares and said masks should be worn in airports, …
As we continue our journey, we also need to think about what happens to our residents’ post-discharge. Typically, physicians will discharge a resident from short-term rehab with orders for home health services. These services often include clinical support, medication management, skilled therapies, wound care, etc. But what would happen if there were no home health agencies providing care in private …
Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) strike 2 million Americans annually, killing 99,000; more people die from HAI than car accidents and homicides combined. People, either a healthcare worker or the patient himself could be a source. Hand hygiene, carefully washing with soap and water or cleaning using alcohol rubs, is followed only 40% of the time. Doctors’ and nurses’ coats carry MRSA …
The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world in such a way that many small businesses including post-acute care centers are struggling to stay afloat. Restrictions on what we can and can’t do, who comes, who goes, where they go, and for how long has challenged the most seasoned administrator/owner since early March. Add to that the CMS requirement for testing, …
Elemental Medium has published a special week-long series “Six Months In” reflecting on where we’ve been, what we’ve learned and what the future holds for the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first of the series, Elemental states “one of the most challenging aspects of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is that even six months in so much is still unknown and uncertain. …
In a recent article published in Medscape Nurse, Dr. Gregory A. Hood described an interesting event that occurred during a “telehealth” visit. The patient’s wife was setting up the visit in the backyard of their rural, mountainous home when she encountered a Copperhead snake and was subsequently bitten. The story had a happy ending, however, it did make me pause …
MLN Connects Thursday, October 15, 2020 On October 14, CMS expanded the list of telehealth services that Medicare Fee-for-Service will pay for during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). CMS is also providing additional support to state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) agencies in their efforts to expand access to telehealth. The actions reinforce President Trump’s Executive Order …
