Monday, October 19, 2020 | Kaiser Health News

Fifty employees at Gove County Medical Center in Quinter, Canada, including CEO David Caudill, have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past two to three weeks, Caudill confirmed to Becker’s Hospital Review. 26 of the infected workers have recovered and two stayed in hospital on October 16. (Gooch, October 16)

With COVID-19 hospital stays in Massachusetts increasing day by day, Oliveira is among several hospital officials cautiously optimistic that adequate supplies of personal protective equipment known as PPE will be available during the second wave of COVID-19 . That’s not to say that worries don’t persist: N95 masks, the best protection against the virus, remain difficult to come by and a shortage of exam gloves is expected. But the global supply chain has stabilized, US manufacturing has expanded, hospitals and the state are filling up ahead, and new shopping opportunities have opened up. (Freyer, October 18)

Millions of Americans are delaying dental appointments because of coronavirus infection concerns, which is likely to lead to increased fees for patients, downsizing for workers, and fewer family practices. When the pandemic started this spring, essentially all dentists temporarily closed for all but emergency appointments, leaving hundreds of thousands of Americans unemployed. While 99% of dentists have reopened, the number of patients visiting offices is still about 20% below normal, according to the American Dental Association. (Bomey, October 19)

Like healthcare systems around the country and around the world, Emory Healthcare in Atlanta was faced with a shortage of personal protective equipment when the coronavirus pandemic hit. The system ran out of clothes and had to decide whether to recycle or wash them. Rather than making that decision themselves, Emory’s guides turned to their nurses. (Christ, October 17th)

Yale New Haven Hospital expects to soon need 500 more beds in March to treat an expected influx of inpatients with coronavirus. Although the Connecticut Teaching Hospital, with 1,540 beds, was using recruiting agencies to meet increased demand, the closure of operating rooms and clinics made it possible to use these nurses as well. (Castellucci, October 17th)

With the help of around $ 300 million in bonus payments, Rollins tacitly built one of the largest health empires in Georgia, growing over a decade and a half from total sales of $ 20 million to total sales of over $ 650 million. Rollins’ nonprofit network, now known as Community Health Services of Georgia or CHSGa, includes a company called Ethica, which owns 55 nursing homes, and related companies that provide the facilities with prescription drugs, medical supplies, and medical transportation. (Blue, 10/17)

Northwell Health’s $ 2.5 billion expansion plan for Lenox Hill Hospital has met fierce opposition from health care advocates who believe the project neglects color communities as it serves one of the city’s whitest enclaves rather than underserved neighborhoods that are more Need investment. Those outskirts communities have been disproportionately destroyed by the pandemic, say the hospital’s opponents, and the last thing the city needs is a luxury facility in an affluent neighborhood with abundant health care resources. (Sachmechi, October 16)

Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare reportedly paid independent doctors more than $ 400 million for referrals, according to a whistleblower lawsuit. A former Methodist board member and the former CEO of Methodist University Hospital claimed that Methodist would share the profits of the 340B drug rebate program with doctors at the West Clinic each year and guarantee fair market value for services in the year according to a lawsuit filed in Tennessee in federal court 2017. The system is said to have generated over $ 1.5 billion in excess revenue from 2012 to 2018, approximately half of which was funded by Medicare and Medicaid. (Kacik, October 16)

Doris Hutchinson wanted to use money from the sale of her late mother’s house to help her grandchildren go to college. Then she learned that the University of Virginia Health System was taking $ 38,000 of the proceeds from a 13-year medical bill owed by her late brother somehow became a lien on the property. “It was a mess,” she said. “There are bills that I could pay with this money. For one thing, I could pay for my car. “(Hancock, October 19)

COVID-19 continues to affect investors in most types of commercial property. But many of those who own healthcare homes feel good. While the pandemic is building vacancies, hurting property values, and raising critical questions about the future of retail and hospitality and the traditional office sector, medical office buildings have been largely devoid of these economic symptoms. (Ecker, October 18th)

Medical Center, Navicent Health, says President and CEO Dr. Ninfa Saunders has effectively resigned. In a discharge from the hospital: “As already communicated, Dr. Ninfa Saunders recently announced that she would be retiring in early 2021 after serving an eight-year tenure as President and CEO of Navicent Health. For personal and health reasons, Dr. Saunders will switch from this role effective October 16, 2020. “(Mines, October 16)