Category: COVID-19

Seattle Nurses Scrounge For Masks To Stay Safe On Pandemic’s Front Lines

As illness from the new coronavirus stresses the health care system, nurses said they are being forced to make do with less and learning to be good stewards of available equipment and protective gear.

Coronavirus Threatens The Lives Of Rural Hospitals Already Stretched To Breaking Point

Almost half of the nation’s rural hospitals operate in the red on a good day. But amid the coronavirus pandemic, rural hospital CEOs warn that soon some may be unable to pay their workers. And their doors may close when the community most needs them.

Some Hospitals Continue With Elective Surgeries Despite COVID-19 Crisis

Even as many states put a moratorium on elective surgeries in a desperate effort to preserve dwindling stocks of protective gear, hospitals in other pockets of the country continue to perform a range of elective procedures. Some staff members and ethicists are voicing concerns.

Hoping That Insurance Expansion Will Help Tamp Outbreak, 9 States Reopen Marketplaces

The states are allowing new enrollments this month to help ease consumers’ concerns about the cost of health care so that the sick will not be deterred from seeking medical attention and inadvertently spread the virus.

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.

Now On The Menu At Closed Schools: Drive-Thru Lunches

As schools shutter to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, many districts are still offering free meals to their most vulnerable students. In two Southern California districts, families roll through school lunch drive-thrus to grab hot meals.

Gig Economy Workers Hurt By Coronavirus Eye New Federal Funds For Relief

A law signed by Trump on Wednesday will provide financial help for self-employed workers, who generally don’t have paid leave. Some states also have family and medical leave programs that can be helpful.

Was The Novel Coronavirus Really Sneaky In Its Spread To The U.S.? Experts Say No.

Public health professionals dismissed the president’s claims that the spread of the coronavirus, in particular, and the threat of a pandemic, in general, snuck up on us as being “simply astonishing” and “simply untrue.”

As Coronavirus Surges, Programs Struggle To Reach Vulnerable Seniors Living At Home

Older adults are at serious risk during this pandemic and have been advised to avoid contact with others. Yet many still need essential services, and programs are scrambling to adapt.

Funeral Homes, Families Ponder Deaths In The Age Of COVID-19

As the novel coronavirus marches across the country, it is upending how families and funeral homes honor the dead — and, ultimately, put them to rest.