Today’s NewsStand — Sept. 21, 2020

Today’s NewsStand — Sept. 21, 2020

By Iowa Hospital Association|
|September 21, 2020

Iowa news

State says it doesn’t have resources to provide more testing for long-term care facilities

More than half of Iowa’s COVID-19 deaths are connected with long-term care facilities. Recent federal guidelines are calling for more routine staff testing to be done. But the state said they don’t have the resources to help with that need. The state says routine staff testing would have to happen once or even twice a week under these requirements. How often the testing would occur depends on a county’s positivity rate. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services laid out the guidelines: In any county with a positivity rate less than 5%, a facility is asked to test staff once a month. (KCCI)

MercyOne Dubuque goes back to restricting visits

Dubuque County saw a record high of 113 new COVID-19 cases Friday. The previous record was 72 in early July. That increase led MercyOne Dubuque to go move back into Phase 1 of its reopening process, which means no visitors will be allowed inside the hospital except for some specific circumstances. Those exceptions include hospitalized children, maternity unit, and end-of-life care. They are also making case-by-case exceptions for some extensive lifesaving surgeries. Staff at MercyOne made the decision as the infection rate in the community has gotten more than 100 people per 100,000 residents. (KCRG)

University of Iowa study finds psychological child abuse has long-term effects

A new study lead by a University of Iowa researcher found psychological child abuse is associated with the greatest amount of negative long-term effects as compared to other forms of abuse. The study, which was published in the journal Pediatrics this month, used data collected by Australian researchers on 5,200 children over the first two decades of their lives. (Iowa Public Radio)

National news

CDC updates, again, guidelines on testing people without coronavirus symptoms

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website has updated, yet again, guidelines for testing people who do not have symptoms of coronavirus. The new language rolls back controversial changes made to the site last month. It once again stresses that anyone who has been in contact with an infected person should be tested for coronavirus. (CNN)

Why telemedicine’s rise must lead to a remote testing revolution

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven the case for telemedicine, but if we are to see a proactive healthcare revolution then we must put remote testing firmly in the picture. The pandemic has irreversibly transformed society as we know it – breaking down the very fabric of the way we live, work and engage with each other, catapulting us into a deep and potentially long lasting economic recession, disrupting education and dramatically changing our perceptions of healthcare and how it should be delivered. (Med-Tech Innovation)

Experts warn of ‘twindemic’ as COVID-19 cases rise and flu seasons looms

Covid-19 infections were trending upward again Monday in the US as thousands of students returned to New York City classrooms and public health experts warned that a “twindemic” could be on the horizon as we head into flu season. Two days after the US recorded its 200,000 COVID-19 fatality, the number of confirmed cases in the country was closing in on 7 million and accelerating. (NBC News)

Become a hospital advocate. Sign up for IHA Action Alerts.

Click here