COVID-19 and the Health Workforce 9/23-10/5

(09/30/21) Hundreds of Hospital Staffers Fired or Suspended for Refusing COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
Following a mandate announced by President Biden early in September, health care facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement are now required to let go of staff who refuse to vaccinate for COVID-19. This, paired with some state mandates for health care workers, is impacting a small number of health care workers in facilities throughout the United States, but with existing staffing shortages, this is a concerning development.

(09/28/21) New York’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers Leads to Suspension of Hundreds of Holdouts
Although vaccination rates have increased in the month since the announcement of a vaccination mandate for all health care workers in the state, a requirement by September 27, 2021. Hundreds of employees in hospitals and medical centers in New York have been suspended as a result of the policy, however the vast majority of health care workers have received at least one dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine.

(9/23/21) The COVID-19 Vaccine Health Care Worker Holdouts: for Them, It’s Personal. For Their Hospitals It’s Professional
While the Biden Administration believes that vaccine mandates are needed to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, controversies over whether vaccination against COVID-19 is a personal medical decision. Experts and health care workers say that more efforts to understand concerns over vaccines among health care workers are needed rather than strictly enforcing vaccination.

(09/22/21) Effectiveness of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Among US Health Care Personnel
A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine looks at the impact of two mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, the Pfizer–BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, on preventing symptomatic infection among health care workers in their workplaces. This study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and found the vaccines to be highly effective in a real-world setting, which involved health care workers working at facilities in 25 states.

(09/22/21) FDA Authorizes Booster Dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for Certain Populations
The Food and Drug Administration has announced authorization for a booster dose for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, with health care workers being named among qualifying populations.

(09/30/21) Ohio Health Care Workers Warn of ‘Astronomical’ COVID-19 Pediatric Surge
As COVID-19 infections among children continues to remain at elevated levels, a hospital in Ohio is warning that surge capacity is impacting care in children’s hospitals throughout the state and country. Ohio currently has the second highest level of pediatric hospitalizations in the US.

(10/01/21) Do Hospitals Need to Extend Telehealth Services? An Experimental Study of Different Telehealth Modalities During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A new research article published in Methods of Information in Medicine seeks to answer how patients evaluate different telehealth services when compared to in-person services. Increased demand for telehealth in the COVID-19 pandemic has led to questions about the most effective ways to deliver care in general.

(10/01/21) JD Power Survey Sees Telehealth Falling Back Into the Same Old Rut
Following a surge in telehealth use, seeing a rise from 7% in the year before the COVID-19 pandemic to 36% utilization in 2021, a new survey from JD Power finds that customer satisfaction is declining, although nearly half of patients who utilized telehealth within the past year reported convenience and quickness of care as top reasons for utilizing telehealth services.

(09/30/21) Most Provider Organizations Boosting Telehealth Investments, Survey Finds
This interview from Healthcare IT News discusses a recent survey indicating more than half of hospitals and health systems are increasing their investment in virtual care. Although initial investments into telemedicine came out of necessity early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the positive impacts of virtual care are leading many organizations to continue and expand the practice.

(09/23/21) Advancement in Telehealth During COVID-19 Pandemic
This article from The National Law Review looks at the ways telehealth has changed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the regulatory actions enacted during the pandemic were temporary, with legislatures working to make some changes permanent and improve access to the technology, while preventing fraud and abuse.

(09/21/21) A Systematic Review of Long‐term Care Facility Characteristics Associated With COVID‐19 Outcomes
This research article published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society offers a systematic review of characteristics in long-term care facilities and how they relate to COVID-19 outcomes at these facilities. The investigation finds that larger size and location of facility in relation to community spread in that location were most consistent and strong predictors of COVID-19 outcomes.

(09/30/21) Health Workers Once Saluted As Heroes Now Get Threats
This article from the Associated Press highlights an increasingly pressing issue health care workers are facing as the COVID-19 pandemic continues: violence against workers. Health care workers across the United States are experiencing increases in threats, harassment, and assaults, as patients and their families, and members of the community in general, argue against the needs for masks and vaccines.

(09/30/21) Wolf Signs Bill Extending COVID-19 Regulatory Waivers
Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf has signed bipartisan legislation that extends regulatory waivers for health care providers until March 2022. Under the legislation, health care providers with out-of-state licenses can obtain Pennsylvania-specific licenses easier, as well as provide COVID-19 vaccinations.

(09/29/2021) Keeping It Human: Pandemic Era Psychiatry Teaching
This article from The Clinical Teacher shares the authors’ experience in transforming a 6-week clinical placement in psychiatry into a 4-week online course. Undergraduate clinical assignments were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Online course was designed to meet major learning goals and engage students in mental health discussion, using videos and blogs. In this course with 67 students, the students felt prepared for clinical placements and rated the course highly. Students’ comments that showed favorable views about mental illness.

(10/04/21) Alaska Activates Crisis Care Standards Amid High COVID-19 Transmission
Alaska is implementing new protocols for care in the state, as the state leads the United States in new COVID-19 infections, in spite of a drop across the country as a whole. The new protocols aim to help providers address the surge capacity challenges associated with the rise of infections and hospitalizations.

(09/24/21) See How Much COVID-19 Relief Money Health Care Providers in Your State Got
Analysis from STAT looks at a database from the United States Department of Health and Human Services to see where money from the federal Provider Relief Fund was sent and which providers in which states received the most of the funding. New York City providers make up most of the top-10 funded, with this entire database searchable by state on this webpage.