Featuring hospital and health care headlines from the media and the web.
Iowa news
University of Iowa Health Care workers join HERO Registry
Hospital workers on the front line of the nation’s coronavirus battle are risking their own health to save the lives of a seemingly endless stream of COVID-19 patients. And the doctors, nurses, therapists, food service providers, interpreters and janitorial staff face mental health threats, too, like stress and burnout. In hopes of assessing those threats, cataloging worker experiences and answering “crucial questions about the impact of novel coronavirus on health care workers’ lives,” a national research collaborative has launched a HERO Registry, and the University of Iowa Health Care is participating. The HERO Registry — short for Health Care Worker Exposure Response & Outcomes — had more than 10,000 participants from across the country as of Tuesday. (The Gazette)
MercyOne North Iowa works to find balance of essential and non-essential procedures
MercyOne North Iowa is preparing for how they’ll resume elective surgeries after Governor Reynolds lifted her restrictions last week. President of MercyOne North Iowa Rod Schlader was taken aback when he heard the governor had given the OK for elective surgeries to resume. He said non-essential procedures might put the hospital’s supply of PPE at risk. In a 24-hour period, it takes about 35 changes of PPE to care for a single COVID-19 patient at MercyOne North Iowa. That presented a challenge for the inventory of the hospital’s reusable isolation gowns. (KAAL)
Iowa Department of Public Health reporting largest number of deaths in a single day from COVID-19
The Iowa Department of Public Health Tuesday reported 408 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 10,111. The agency also reported 19 additional deaths. That’s the highest number of deaths reported so far in a single day. Officials say most of those were from long-term care facilities in the state. (Explore Okoboji)
National news
Even as the coronavirus pandemic draws attention and resources to the nation’s doctors and hospitals, the health-care industry is suffering a historic collapse in business that is emerging as one of the most powerful forces hurting the U.S. economy and a threat to a potential recovery. The widespread economic shutdown deployed to reduce transmission of the novel coronavirus hit hospitals and health-care providers with particular force as they prepared to face the pandemic. (The Washington Post)
Rural hospitals were already hanging on by a thread — then came COVID-19
When the virus that causes COVID-19 began to spread in the Western US in March, medical centers started preparing. Hospitals cleared elective surgery schedules, stocked up on supplies and retrofitted facilities to care for patients with the novel coronavirus. But in preparing for the immediate crisis, rural hospitals worsened an ongoing one: They were running out of money, fast. Soon, they started cutting pay and laying off workers. (Mother Jones)
Hospital, nursing groups join forces to lobby Congress for more COVID-19 funding
The American Hospital Association and The American Nurses Association sent a joint letter Friday to Congressional leaders asking for more funding for both inpatient facilities and front-line health care workers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are asking for additional money from the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. (Healthcare Dive)