Iowa news
New COVID-19 cases drop 60% since start of September
The COVID-19 pandemic continued to recede in Iowa over the past week. New reported COVID-19 cases dropped nearly 30% week over the week, the state health department said. There were 2,091 new cases reported this week, or an average of 299 per day — down from 415 per day last week. That’s the fewest cases reported in one week since April. The number of newly reported cases has dropped by nearly half in two weeks and by nearly 60% since the start of the month. (Des Moines Register)
Mobile program brings medical training to rural hospitals across Iowa
Rural health care providers have been facing a number of challenges in the past couple of years. The University of Iowa created Simulation in Motion-Iowa to help medical staff in rural health care facilities. This program travels across the state to bring medical training to rural hospitals’ doorsteps, instead of requiring its medical staff to travel long distances. The simulation program gives staffs a chance to use equipment they would not normally have access to, helping rural health care providers train their staffs without having to break their budgets. (KTVO)
Variety awards more than $144K to MercyOne for children’s care projects
MercyOne Central Iowa has been awarded more than $144,000 from Variety – the Children’s Charity to enhance the care and services to Iowa children at MercyOne Children’s Hospital and MercyOne House of Mercy. The largest part of that donation, a $129,000 grant, will be used to remodel the MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Pediatric Emergency Department to enhance care provided to children and families. The remainder of the donation, a $15,901 grant, was awarded to MercyOne House of Mercy to create a large family visitation room for the children and families of residential patients. Variety – the Children’s Charity is dedicated to improving the lives of children who are underprivileged, at risk, critically ill or living with special needs. (Business Record)
National news
Sanford, Epic, Oracle Cerner and more partner to share social determinants of health data in EHRs
Sanford Health, Geisinger, Rush University Medical Center, Tufts Medicine, The Joint Commission, Epic and Oracle Cerner are among the participants in a project to screen for and share patient data about social determinants of health in electronic health records. The program aims to standardize the way social determinants of health data, including food insecurity, is shared electronically, and pilot and evaluate new social screening tools in EHRs. Standards-setting organizations will then work to scale these techniques to lower the screening burden on clinicians. (Becker’s Health IT and CIO Report)
Study confirms mRNA vaccines protect against serious COVID-19 during pregnancy
The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are effective in protecting against serious disease in expectant mothers, whether the shots are administered before or during pregnancy. That’s according to one of the first studies on the effectiveness of mRNA vaccines during pregnancy. People who are pregnant were excluded from initial mRNA vaccine clinical trials. The study’s findings come alongside data that suggests pregnant women who catch COVID-19 and experience at least moderate symptoms are at greater risk for pregnancy complications than those not infected or with mild or no symptoms. (Regenstrief Institute)
Rising COVID-19 cases in the U.K. may be a warning for the U.S.
There are signs that the United Kingdom could be heading into a fall COVID-19 wave, and experts say the U.S. may not be far behind. A recent increase in COVID-19 cases in England doesn’t seem to be driven by a new coronavirus variant, at least for now, although several are gaining strength in the U.S. and across the pond. The Zoe Health Study uses an app to let people in the U.K. and U.S. report their daily symptoms. If they start to feel bad, they take a home COVID-19 test and record those results. About 500,000 people are logging their symptoms every day to help track trends in the pandemic. (CNN)