CMS will likely implement a “glide path” when removing temporary
waivers put into effect during the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than
a hard stop, according to a principal deputy administrator at the
agency.
The health care sector is in recession. Hospitals, physician and
dental practices and clinical laboratories are hemorrhaging money
and furloughing staff. Some are on the brink of bankruptcy.
Los Angeles County officials said Friday, June 5, that they are
closely watching numbers that could signal an increase in
hospitalizations due to the coronavirus over the next two-to-four
weeks — spurred, possibly, by the slow reopening of businesses
and the protests against police brutality that have occurred
daily for more than a week.
Greg Adams, CEO of Kaiser Permanente, predicts the current
widespread protests over social injustice will lead to a Covid
surge that will hit multigenerational families hardest.
Federal employment data show the healthcare industry is entering
a promising recovery. While hospitals still lost jobs in May,
they did so at about one-fifth the level of the prior month
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has designed a new
assay that can simultaneously detect the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus
and the influenza virus, and is seeking emergency use
authorization for it from the Food and Drug Administration, CDC
Director Robert Redfield told a congressional subcommittee on
Thursday.
Even as most California hospitals have avoided an incapacitating
surge in coronavirus patients, some facilities near the Mexican
border have been overwhelmed.
The U.S. has not only experienced an astonishing number of
confirmed cases and deaths related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but
also a record number of nurses have also lost their jobs when
hospital revenue from elective surgeries and routine procedures
suddenly stopped.
COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on this country. Our nation
has now surpassed the grim total of 100,000 deaths from the
pandemic. The economy continues to suffer, and healthcare
workers and hospitals have endured once-unimaginable stress.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that some
people may be putting off getting emergency care for serious
health conditions during the coronavirus pandemic — and fewer
visits for critical conditions could result in complications or
even death.
A bipartisan group of four prominent congressional leaders asked
HHS Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday to quickly send more
provider relief grant money to providers that serve large shares
of Medicaid patients
Brad Gilbert, Director of the California Department of Health
Care Services, is resigning. Gov. Newsom announced the
appointment of Gilbert as the new head of the Department at the
end of January. He has served in the position for less than four
months.
City of Hope has purchased a 190,000-square-foot building and 11
acres of land as part of a $1 billion investment in a new
hospital and cancer research center in Irvine, Calif.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is seeking authority
to slow healthcare mergers, arguing that consolidation typically
accelerates amid crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, according to
The Los Angeles Times.
Riverside County hospitals are receiving coronavirus patients
from Imperial County because its two hospitals have reached
capacity, according to officials.
Quest Diagnostics said on Thursday that it has received Food and
Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization for its
self-collection kit for COVID-19.
Individuals served include seniors and individuals with existing
medical conditions, who do not have a place to self-isolate and
are at higher risk of hospitalization if they become infected.
The hotel is not a walk-up site; participants are referred to the
program by homeless service providers.
The first 100,000 of 24,000 N95 medical-grade masks ordered by
the city of Los Angeles arrived today and will be disseminated to
health care providers and first responders.
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed legislation that
would allow healthcare providers that received forgivable small
business loans more flexibility on how they can spend the money.
As the novel coronavirus tore through Italy and then New York in
March, California, anticipating a deadly surge in cases, ordered
hospitals to shut down routine procedures and called in thousands
of health care workers to help patients.
As the coronavirus threat ramped up in March, hospitals, health
systems and private practices dramatically reduced inpatient,
nonemergency services to prepare for an influx of COVID-19
patients. A poll released Wednesday reveals that the emptiness of
medical care centers may also reflect the choices patients made
to delay care.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted
Tuesday, May 26, to appoint an inspector general to oversee
skilled nursing facilities, as nursing homes continue to suffer a
huge toll from the coronavirus.
One of the more predictable consequences of the current COVID-19
pandemic has been its disproportionate impact on a traditionally
marginalized group, the homeless.
The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly accelerated the adoption of
telehealth, with emergency physicians delivering care whenever
patients need it, and wherever they are located.
Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the California Hospital
Association, joins to discuss the financial hit hospitals are
taking during the coronavirus pandemic, the outlook for support
in the state budget, how hospitals are preparing for a future
surge of patients and how the crisis could change the ways
hospitals operate for years to come.
With Americans under stay-at-home orders, blood donations have
plummeted — and now as elective surgeries are returning in many
parts of the country, concerns about a national blood shortage
are emerging.
U.S. officials are invoking a rarely used provision of American
law that would shield companies from antitrust regulations to
help the country from again running out of medical supplies in a
pandemic.
The state-funded Los Angeles Surge Hospital, which has seen
relatively few patients since it opened five weeks ago to treat
an anticipated overflow of COVID-19 cases, will close at the end
of June, a source in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration said
Tuesday.
The White House says coronavirus indicators are trending down
across most of the U.S., but are a concern in Washington, D.C.,
Chicago and Los Angeles. City health officials say progress is
being made.
Last week, a family won their battle to visit their father who
was dying of COVID-19 at a North Dakota hospital, sparking
questions about whether hospitals should start opening their
doors to visitors once again.
The first coronavirus vaccine tested on humans has yielded
positive results, with a small number of people who were tested
showing an immunity against the virus, drugmaker Moderna said
Monday in a news release.
Hospitalists could also use several strategies proven to improve
staff morale and resilience. For instance, take this time to
connect with friends and family virtually, unplug when off from
work, explore one’s spiritual self through meditation and
prayers, spend time with nature, exercise daily, seek humor, and
develop or work on one’s hobby.
They are the ones who fight for our freedom. And now, some of our
nation’s greatest heroes are saying “thank you” to the heroes on
the front-line in the battle with COVID-19.
The US Navy hospital ship Mercy departed the Port of Los Angeles
Friday after helping the region during the coronavirus crisis.
Mercy is returning to its home port in San Diego. (May 15)
Some safety-net hospitals are concerned that delays of non-urgent
procedures due to the COVID-19 pandemic could make some them
ineligible for the 340B drug discount program.
President Donald Trump on Thursday said his administration will
improve the Strategic National Stockpile of drugs and medical
supplies to ensure the U.S. is prepared to respond to viruses
like COVID-19 in the future.
Southern California got the chance to see three different
flyovers Thursday as part of a nationwide effort from different
sectors of the U.S. military honoring front line workers battling
COVID-19.Thr
While health systems across the nation struggle to meet patient
surges in the wake of the novel coronavirus, many CEOs agree it’s
had an unexpected outcome: bringing a wave of innovation.
Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) and L.A. Care Health Plan, two
of California’s largest publicly-operated Medi-Cal managed health
plans, recently announced efforts to provide financial support to
hospitals and health systems during the COVID-19 pandemic
California workers battling on the front lines in the fight
against the coronavirus will be honored from the sky during two
military salutes this week.
House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled their opening bid for
Congress’ fifth round of COVID-19 relief legislation, including
$100 billion for healthcare providers with new strings attached.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, hospitals in California have
postponed scheduled surgeries, like tumor removals and heart
valve replacements, to keep beds and staff available.
Manufacturers will begin producing COVID-19 vaccine doses in
anticipation of approval so that if a product gets the okay for
usage, distribution can begin quickly, according to Anthony S.
Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his counterparts in four Western
states on Monday asked Congress for $1 trillion in COVID-19
pandemic relief for all states and local governments.
If there is anything that the coronavirus pandemic has taught us,
it is that it’s impossible to predict when a crisis will strike
but it is possible to prepare. And preparation is key to dealing
with such a crisis.
UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of the nation’s largest
insurer, said Thursday it will spend $1.5 billion to discount
some customers’ premiums, waive copayments for doctor visits, and
offer other assistance to members amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
California’s essential workers will get new workers’ compensation
protections under an executive order signed Wednesday by Gov.
Gavin Newsom — a move that could cost the state billions of
dollars in claims from COVID-19-infected workers.
Health Net announced today it has awarded 138 grants, totaling
$13.4 million, to support the establishment and expansion of
telehealth and telephonic services for California providers
serving Medi-Cal members. This is the largest grant of cash
dedicated to this cause by a health plan in California. The
company had announced $5.9 million in available grants in a
Request for Support (RFS) on April 2, 2020. However, based on the
overwhelming response to the RFS, Health Net has awarded grants
totaling $13.4 million.
COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 2,500 Californians, a
tragic toll that could have been far greater if not for the
hundreds of thousands of women and men who put their own safety,
and the safety of their families, on the line to care for those
afflicted with this new virus.
Hospital groups are asking Congress to forgive more than $100
billion in loans the Trump administration has handed out to help
providers maintain cash flow during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dwight Armentrout was among about 4 million Californians who lost
their jobs about the time the state began locking things down in
response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Government officials from President Trump to New York Gov. Andrew
Cuomo have often referred to the coronavirus pandemic as a “war,”
and some people who survive war, particularly combat veterans or
those who are displaced by the conflict, struggle with a
psychiatric condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD).
The Trump administration is collecting information that could be
used to distribute COVID-19 provider relief grant funds to
providers that serve Medicaid enrollees.
An action plan published Tuesday by researchers at Johns Hopkins
University offers wide-ranging solutions for both the private
healthcare sector and the federal government in response to the
shortcomings that have come to light in the wake of the COVID-19
pandemic.
In the first clear signal that a drug can effectively treat those
sickened by the coronavirus, government researchers reported
Wednesday that the antiviral medication remdesivir helped
patients with advanced COVID-19 recover more quickly than a
placebo treatment.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday that all city and
county residents who want a coronavirus test can now get one for
the first time since COVID-19 cases began appearing there in
January. .
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday that all city and
county residents who want a coronavirus test can now get one for
the first time since COVID-19 cases began appearing there in
January.
Community Memorial Health System is grateful to everyone in the
community for doing their part to stop the spread of the
Coronavirus by staying home during this time, but now more than
ever, CMHS wants people to know that it’s SAFE to seek
care at Community Memorial Hospital and Ojai Valley Community
Hospital. If you need care, DON’T WAIT until your
condition worsens.
Health systems are reassessing their real estate portfolios as
they prepare for a post-COVID-19 environment that will likely
feature more home-based care and remote working arrangements.
Dr. Clayton Chau, who previously spent more than a decade in the
Orange County Health Care Agency’s behavioral health division,
has been named the agency’s new director.
At a time when early projections suggested Ventura County could
be swamped by COVID-19 patients, a surplus of available beds and
operating rooms mean area hospitals could soon resume some
surgeries that had been placed on hold.
The judge overseeing Verity Health’s bankruptcy case has approved
the sale of Seton Medical Center in Daly City, Calif., and a
nearby skilled-nursing facility to AHMC Healthcare.
California doctors are diagnosing anything from appendicitis to
strep throat with only a phone during the coronavirus
pandemic. Video visits and conversations are the closest doctors
can get to patients who are sheltering in place and avoiding
potential exposure from doctor visits.
Telemedicine has been around for more than two decades, but its
adoption among Americans has been relatively low. The coronavirus
pandemic is quickly changing that.
Today, Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), a member of the Ways and
Means Health Subcommittee, and Congresswoman Robin Kelly (IL-02),
a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee Health
Subcommittee, introduced H.R. 6584, legislation to increase
funding for Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH) –
hospitals that serve a significantly disproportionate number of
low-income patients – for the duration of the COVID-19 public
health emergency.
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic swept into the Pacific states,
the ports on the West Coast were facing serious challenges that
could frame the region’s outlook for decades to come. Some issues
like “climate change” or the ongoing tariff wars and the economic
downturn impact the entire region and indeed the world.
On Saturday, the Camarillo Rebels, a team of five pilots flying
T-34 military trainer airplanes, flew over Santa Barbara Cottage
Hospital and Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital to pay tribute to
hospital staff.
The federal government will start distributing more than $40
billion from the COVID-19-related $100 billion Provider Relief
Fund beginning as soon as April 24, and it will also soon
initiate a process for hospitals and clinicians to be reimbursed
for testing and treating uninsured patients, officials said on
Wednesday.
The coronavirus outbreak has thrown hospital systems throughout
the U.S. into crisis — both medical and financial. The cost of
treating coronavirus patients, combined with the loss of revenue
from canceling elective procedures, has left many hospitals in
desperate financial straits.
California hospitals are ready to allow elective surgeries again,
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday, in his first move to slowly
loosen statewide restrictions addressing the coronavirus
pandemic.
On March 17, Medicare chief Seema Verma stepped to the podium at
a White House coronavirus briefing and unveiled a “historic
action†to promote virtual medical care, or telehealth.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Tuesday approved a new test
for COVID-19 that allows users to collect their own samples for
evaluation, from the comfort of own homes.
Doctors at some Los Angeles County hospitals say people are
waiting too long to seek medical treatment — including those
infected with the coronavirus — over fears of catching Covid-19,
potentially leading to more detrimental effects to their health.
Health care workers are facing threats to their jobs — pay cuts,
furloughs and even layoffs — amid the worst disease outbreak in a
century that has already infected more than 770,000 people in the
U.S.
In a decade at the Sacramento-based Center for Connected Health
Policy, Mei Wa Kwong has had to answer a basic question more
times than she can count: “What, exactly, is telehealth?” And
until recently, she doesn’t recall the word being used so
frequently by a president of the United States.
Healthcare facilities should be able to begin performing elective
procedures again if they follow certain protocols, according to
guidelines released Sunday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS).
Four healthcare groups have developed a roadmap to guide
physicians, nurses and facilities in their resumption of elective
surgeries when the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
Abbott Laboratories Inc said on Wednesday it launched a
coronavirus blood test that could show whether a person has been
infected and plans to ramp up manufacturing to produce 20 million
tests per month by June.
Medicare loaned the US healthcare sector about $81 billion in
advanced accelerated payments as of Tuesday, in addition to $50
billion quickly moving through a separate stream of aid, a top
federal official said Wednesday.
Seventy-three hospital and health system leaders with
organizations in the 10 states hardest hit by COVID-19 shared the
most critical actions for their colleagues across the U.S. to
take in the next week as the virus continues its geographic
spread.
L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest publicly-operated
health plan, announced today that it is moving to accelerate
claims payments and provide other financial support to many in
its provider network to help address the financial pressure
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. L.A. Care’s provider network
includes in part the safety net providers, clinics and hospitals
that serve the most vulnerable in Los Angeles County.
While health care providers have a heightened focus on screening,
testing, and treating people infected with COVID-19, there are
people who doctors and nurses are treating for reasons not
related to the virus.
Police and fire agencies from across Orange County held a special
drive-by parade at UCI Medical Center on Tuesday to show unity
and support for the medical staff. Even though the salute was
from a distance, they were able to touch hearts and lift spirits
for those who are working long hours to get patients healthy.
In the weeks following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s March 19 stay-at-home
order to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Dr. Brian Anderson
noticed an unusual phenomenon at the eight emergency rooms he
manages — a sharp decline in patient visits.
Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Tuesday that, thanks to increased
testing capacity, anyone with coronavirus symptoms can now book a
same or next-day appointment.
Architecture design firm HOK and general contractor Bernards,
based in Los Angeles, have been jointly tapped for a design-build
renovation project of the Martin Luther King Jr. Behavioral
Health Center, which is located in the South Los Angeles
community of Willowbrook. The new facility will replace the
former Martin Luther King, Jr./Drew Medical Center,
located on the campus of the Martin Luther King Jr. Medical
CampusLuther King Jr./Drew Medical Center. In addition to the MLK
Community Hospital, the site also entails an outpatient center
and a recuperative care center.
Last month, facing the prospect of overwhelmed hospitals and
unchecked spread of the novel coronavirus, seven Bay Area county
and city health departments joined forces to become the first
region in the nation to pass sweeping regulations ordering
millions of people indoors and shuttering the local economy.
With the coronavirus pandemic causing unprecedented levels of
stress and grief, companies offering virtual mental health care
say they’re seeing a massive surge in interest — and are
scrambling to meet that demand by introducing new services,
accelerating launch timelines, and bringing more staff on board.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and his counterparts in Washington and Oregon
announced “a regional pact to recovery” from the coronavirus
crisis on Monday and agreed to work together to develop a plan to
lift restrictions on daily life and reopen economies along the
West Coast.
CommonSpirit Health, the alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives
and Dignity Health, is one of the nation’s largest healthcare
systems with over 700 care centers and hospitals across 21 states
including California and Washington state, and as far east as
Pennsylvania.
Local telehealth companies, experiencing a big boost in both
hospital clients and patients, are rapidly adjusting their
business models to seize the opportunity as the impact of
Covid-19 and social distancing reverberates across the region.
In an effort to collect and donate much-needed personal
protective equipment for frontline workers, the BizFed Institute
has forged a partnership with state senators and assemblymembers
representing Los Angeles County, Southern California hospitals,
union workers and businesses.
The coronavirus pandemic, which has fueled widespread speculation
about potential long-term changes to American life, is already
causing one important shift: It has accelerated moves to
restructure how basic medical care is provided and paid for in
the U.S.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday offered assurances that the state
will have enough ventilators to “meet the needs” of Californians
stricken by the novel coronavirus based on the state’s
projections of the outbreak.
A Southern California hospital with one of the busiest trauma
centers in Los Angeles will hit the bankruptcy auction block
again after a proposed buyer failed to close on its previous
sale.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced government agencies and
healthcare providers to move together at a pace they have rarely
experienced before, whether it’s sourcing more face masks and
ventilators, and especially when it comes to hospital capacity.
In a matter of weeks, hospitals and public health departments
have gone from organizations that rarely make the news to ones
that are providing it. On top of that shift, the health care
industry must also grapple with disseminating this information in
a way that complies with social distancing, avoids inciting mass
panic, and protects patient privacy. And of course, this all must
find its place next to the unequivocal top priority: Keeping
people alive.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced
Tuesday that it will raise per-capita payments to Medicare
Advantage (MA) plans by 1.66% in 2021. That’s a slight bump up
from the 0.93% that CMS proposed in February, but a decline from
the 2.53% increase that MA plans received this year.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that California has secured a
monthly supply of 200 million N95 respiratory and surgical masks
to help protect healthcare workers and other essential personnel
at the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
Faced with dwindling supplies and urgent need, Los Angeles is
moving to create its own real-time clearinghouse of medical goods
to help hospitals buy critical gear as the coronavirus crisis
intensifies.
In normal times, Mammoth Lakes relies on tourists — skiers who
fly into the 8,000-person California mountain town in the winter,
and hikers and fishermen who flock there in the summer — for its
livelihood.
Every American diagnosed with coronavirus could be eligible for
Medicaid, so that the subsidized healthcare plan would pay for
all related testing and treatment, under a bill proposed Tuesday
by Rep. Gil Cisneros, D-Yorba Linda.
As many cities and regions of the country brace for a surge of
coronavirus patients over the next few weeks, hospitals are
scrambling to get ready. The increase in costs to convert beds,
buy equipment and increase staffing time in order to care for
critically ill COVID-19 patients is adding up at a time when
revenues are down.
Any Los Angeles County resident, not just people at greatest risk
from COVID-19, can now apply for a test through the city of Los
Angeles, it was announced Monday.
“We are grateful that Blue Shield of California has stepped up to
offer up to $200 million in short-term loans to help offset some
of the heavy losses hospitals and doctors are enduring as they
suspend normal operations before the expected surge of COVID-19
patients,” said Carmela Coyle, President & CEO of the California
Hospital Association.
Thousands of California nursing students will be able to join the
state’s battle against the coronavirus pandemic in the coming
months after regulators loosened training requirements that would
have otherwise kept them from graduating.
HHS Secretary Alex Azar Friday said that the Trump administration
will use a $100 billion hospital and provider relief fund to
reimburse hospitals at Medicare rates for uncompensated COVID-19
care for the uninsured.
Dr. John Fankhauser has stared down this barrel before: Fighting
an outbreak that could drain resources, spread from one
family to the next and kill far too many.
As the U.S. works to stem the tide of COVID-19 infections,
calls echo across the country from hospitals and
service workers in desperate need of protective masks.
The Trump administration will use a federal stimulus package to
pay hospitals that treat uninsured people with the new
coronavirus as long as they agree not to bill the patients or
issue unexpected charges.
The work is exhausting and dangerous, the situation bleak. But an
army of health care workers heeded New York’s call for help
reinforcing hospitals overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic.
El Segundo, Calif.-based Verity Health has agreed to sell two
California hospitals to AHMC Healthcare and is seeking an
expedited review of the transaction, according to Bloomberg Law.
Expecting a spike in cases of COVID-19 within two to four weeks,
Orange County healthcare officials said they are marshaling
available resources now to ensure hospitals have enough beds for
ill people and healthcare workers have vital equipment and
supplies.
With tens of thousands of people across the world dying from the
novel coronavirus, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has become the
latest hospital to take part in a clinical trial to test whether
the antiviral drug remdesivir can be used as a treatment.
New information from the US State Department indicates that it is
lifting the suspension on visas for foreign-trained medical
professionals, a move that has promise for boosting the US
physician workforce battling COVID-19.
California is casting a wide net for health care professionals
who can increase the state’s capacity to fight the coronavirus,
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday.
Ford Motor and GE Healthcare plan to produce 50,000 ventilators
within the next 100 days at a facility in Michigan to assist with
the coronavirus pandemic.
California is recruiting thousands of retired healthcare workers
along with medical and nursing students to help staff emergency
hospitals at sites that could include the Los Angeles Coliseum
and other sports arenas to handle the anticipated flood of
coronavirus patients, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday.
As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, a group of
anesthesiologists wants to convert America’s surgery centers into
critical care units for infected patients.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday sent a massive
COVID-19 economic relief package with billions of dollars for
providers to the president’s desk.
The Trump administration on Sunday sent a letter to hospitals
Sunday “requesting” that they report their COVID-19 testing data
to HHS on a daily basis.
Hospitals in the New York City area are turning to a private
distributor to airlift millions of protective masks out of China.
The U.S. military is flying specialized swabs out of Italy. And a
Chicago-area medical supply firm is taking to the skies as well —
because a weekslong boat trip across the ocean just won’t do.
The hospital ship Mercy arrived at the Port of Los Angeles on
Friday to offer assistance during the coronavirus crisis, which
is expected to tax local hospitals.
Two San Gabriel Valley biomed companies have announced
developments in their technologies that can be used in the fight
against Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Rural hospitals across the Pacific Northwest that were already
struggling financially have seen steep declines in business this
month, shunned by patients who fear exposure to the coronavirus
as it spreads from urban areas.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first
rapid coronavirus diagnostic test, with a detection time of about
45 minutes, as the United States struggles to meet the demand for
coronavirus testing.
Senate leadership and Trump administration officials announced
early Wednesday morning that they reached an agreement on a $2
trillion COVID-19 economic stimulus deal that includes billions
of dollars to bolster the healthcare system.
Hours after the World Health Organization announced on Monday
that the deadly Coronavirus spread is accelerating, an official
at Huntington Hospital told Pasadena Now that the hospital is
exploring its options in case of a surge in Coronavirus
patients.
Furiously gearing up for an unknown multitude of COVID-19
patients, California has not only secured a 1,000-bed Navy
medical ship for the Los Angeles port but is preparing to lease
at least two shuttered hospitals, host MASH-style popup care
units, secure hotel rooms, recruit health workers from retirement
and bring in more medical help from less-stricken states.
The CMS on Sunday said it is easing reporting requirements for
the 1.2 million clinicians in the Quality Payment Program and for
other reporting programs in light of the COVID-19 crisis.
“This is what I signed up for.” That’s what an employee
told Cottage Health President and CEO Ron Werft, which he
revealed in a lengthy note to the community on Monday morning.
As California braced for an onslaught of desperately ill
coronavirus patients, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans over the
weekend to open two new hospitals, and President Donald Trump
said the federal government will ship a number of mobile hospital
units to the state, pay for National Guard deployments and deploy
the San Diego-based naval hospital ship Mercy to Los Angeles.
At least nine states are offering their uninsured residents
another opportunity to sign up for a health plan this year as
they seek new ways to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic.
California still does not have enough capacity to test for
coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday, despite furious
efforts by private, university and government laboratories to
scale up to handle thousands of more patients.
Hospitals in the Valley region are preparing for an influx of
COVID-19 patients, with experts predicting many facilities in the
U.S. health care system will be overwhelmed with cases in the
coming months.
The U.S. military will make available up to 5 million respirator
masks and protective equipment, including 1 million immediately,
from its strategic reserves for U.S. government distribution,
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Tuesday.
The Trump administration is looking to telehealth services to
play a more prominent role in helping mitigate the spread of
COVID-19 by expanding existing benefits for Medicare
beneficiaries.
In a JAMA Live Stream interview, Anthony S. Fauci, MD,
a key member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, urged
resolve, rather than panic, as the coronavirus pandemic takes
hold in the United States.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted diagnostics
company Roche emergency approval to start selling a high-speed
coronavirus test. The green light from regulators comes amid
concerns that difficulty screening large segments of the U.S.
population has allowed the virus to spread.
Updated guidance builds off existing emergency plans and
incorporates latest science on how the virus is transmitted and
global experience fighting COVID-19. Governor Newsom: The state
of California is working around the clock to help shoulder the
burden that Californians are facing during this crisis. We really
are all in this.
The fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is once again in the
hands of the US Supreme Court. On March 2, the court announced
that it would hear a case challenging the health law, a
wide-ranging measure that “touches the lives of most Americans,
from nursing mothers to people eating at chain restaurants,”
wrote Reed Abelson, Abby Goodnough, and Robert Pear in
the New York Times. This will be the third time the court
will rule on the ACA since President Barack Obama signed it on
March 23, 2010.
When Gov. Gavin Newsom focused this year’s State of the State
address on California’s looming crisis of homelessness, he vowed
to improve the state’s mental health programs.
The organizations signed the agreement March 9 after a strategic
review by a special committee of Huntington Hospital’s board of
directors. The letter of intent calls for investments in 619-bed
Huntington Hospital’s information technology, ambulatory services
and physician development.
Faced with the first death of a California patient, and growing
concern the novel coronavirus is spreading in some communities,
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency today and said
testing and tracking of people potentially exposed to the virus
will be the top priority.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that the state is monitoring
8,400 people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus and has
only 200 kits for diagnosing it, even as California is addressing
the problem with urgency.
The U.S. infant mortality rate has fallen over the last two
decades, but major disparities remain – and carry serious
implications for overall health. In 2017, the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention reported that: More than
22,000 babies died before the age of one. That’s a rate of
5.8 infant deaths per 1,000 births for the general population.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that the state is monitoring
8,400 people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus and has
only 200 kits for diagnosing it, even as California is addressing
the problem with urgency.
The U.S. infant mortality rate has fallen over the last two
decades, but major disparities remain – and carry serious
implications for overall health. In 2017, the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention reported that: More than 22,000
babies died before the age of one. That’s a rate of 5.8
infant deaths per 1,000 births for the general population.
The four-day delay in testing a Northern California patient who
appears to be the first in the United States to contract the
coronavirus from community contact highlights growing questions
about the federal government’s testing policies and protocols as
the virus continues to spread.
Thirteen children died from influenza-related illness during the
week ending February 15, for a total of 105 this season. This is
the second highest number of flu deaths in children since the
inclusion of such deaths as a nationally notifiable
condition in 2004, according to a February
21 report from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).
Community Memorial Hospital continues to grow and enhance its
robotic surgery program with two da Vinci XI robots – the most
advanced medical robot in use today – and an increasing list of
surgeons trained to use da Vinci robots on more patients than
ever before.
The white van navigated streets lined by tents in downtown Los
Angeles. From the back seat, Brett Feldman peered at the
encampment’s residents scattered along the sidewalk.
Nurse practitioner Surani Hayre-Kwan sees long-time patients and
first-timers. She manages chronic illnesses, diagnoses kids with
colds and refers people to specialists.
A national shortage of psychiatric services means a growing
number of US emergency departments (ED) are turning to
telepsychiatry to fill a critical treatment gap, new national
data show.
Governor Gavin Newsom has appointed Bradley Gilbert, MD,
MPP, to be the next director of the state Department of Health
Care Services (DHCS), which delivers medical and behavioral care
to more than 13 million Californians in Medi-Cal, the nation’s
largest state Medicaid program.
U.S. hospitals are stocking up on gowns and goggles and holding
refresher courses in infection control amid a growing outbreak of
a novel strain of coronavirus that has already killed more than
1,360 people in China.
Five cases of measles were confirmed in Los Angeles County on
Wednesday, with the local Department of Public Health
warning that the local outbreak included four residents and an
“unimmunized, international visitor.”
Communities Lifting Communities (CLC), the Public Health Alliance
of Southern California, and the Hospital Association of Southern
California (HASC) announced on Jan. 24, the launch of Cherished
Futures for Black Moms & Babies, a collaborative effort to reduce
infant mortality and improve maternal patient experiences and
safety among Black moms and babies in South Los Angeles and the
Antelope Valley.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first
and only adjuvanted, cell-based pandemic vaccine to provide
active immunization against the influenza A virus H5N1
strain.
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