A New Front in America’s Pandemic: College Towns

Posted on September 9, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in 2020 Election Issues, Asymptomatic Transmission, Clinical Testing, Contact Tracing, Coronavirus, Crisis, Crisis Management, Economic Crisis, Economic Recovery, Economic Stimulus, Evidence-based Leadership, Evidence-Based Plan, Evidence-Based Policy, Financial Pressure, Financially Distressed, Infection Control, Infection Control Plan, Infectious Virus, Leadership Decentralized, Misinformation, Misinterpret, Mislead, Misleading, Mistake, Mistrust, Mixed Message, Mortality, National Strategy, Pandemic, Partisanship, Public Health, Public Opinion, Public Perception, Public Safety, Public Trust, Quarantine, Scientists, Social Distancing, Superspreader, Superspreader Event, Superspreader Facilities, Superspreading Events • Leave a comment

The coronavirus is spiking around campuses from Texas to Iowa to North Carolina as students return.

Last month, facing a budget shortfall of at least $75 million because of the pandemic, the University of Iowa welcomed thousands of students back to its campus — and into the surrounding community.

Iowa City braced, cautious optimism mixing with rising panic. The university had taken precautions, and only about a quarter of classes would be delivered in person. But each fresh face in town could also carry the virus, and more than 26,000 area residents were university employees.

“Covid has a way of coming in,” said Bruce Teague, the city’s mayor, “even when you’re doing all the right things.”

Within days, students were complaining that they couldn’t get coronavirus tests or were bumping into people who were supposed to be in isolation. Undergraduates were jamming sidewalks and downtown bars, masks hanging below their chins, never mind the city’s mask mandate.

Now, Iowa City is a full-blown pandemic hot spot — one of about 100 college communities around the country where infections have spiked in recent weeks as students have returned for the fall semester. Though the rate of infection has bent downward in the Northeast, where the virus first peaked in the U.S., it continues to remain high across many states in the Midwest and South — and evidence suggests that students returning to big campuses are a major factor.

In a New York Times review of 203 counties in the country where students comprise at least 10 percent of the population, about half experienced their worst weeks of the pandemic since Aug. 1. In about half of those, figures showed the number of new infections is peaking right now.

Despite the surge in cases, there has been no uptick in deaths in college communities, data shows. This suggests that most of the infections are stemming from campuses, since young people who contract the virus are far less likely to die than older people. However, leaders fear that young people who are infected will contribute to a spread of the virus throughout the community.

The surge in infections reported by county health departments comes as many college administrations are also disclosing clusters on their campuses.

*Brazos County, Tex., home to Texas A&M University, added 742 new coronavirus cases during the last week of August, the county’s worst week so far, as the university reported hundreds of new cases.

*Pitt County, N.C., site of East Carolina University, saw its coronavirus cases rise above 800 in a single week at the end of August. The Times has identified at least 846 infections involving students, faculty and staff since mid-August.

*In South Dakota’s Clay and Brookings counties, ballooning infections in the past two weeks have reflected outbreaks at the state’s major universities. In McLean County, Ill., the virus has been spreading as more than 1,200 people have contracted the virus at Illinois State University.

*At Washington State University and the University of Idaho, about eight miles apart, combined coronavirus cases have risen since early July to more than 300 infections. In the surrounding communities — rural Whitman County, Wash., and Latah County, Idaho — cases per week have climbed from low single-digits in the first three months of the pandemic, to double-digits in July, to more than 300 cases in the last week of August.

The Times has collected infection data from both state and local health departments and individual colleges. Academic institutions generally report cases involving students, faculty and staff, while the countywide data includes infections for all residents of the county.

It’s unclear precisely how the figures overlap and how many infections in a community outside of campus are definitively tied to campus outbreaks. But epidemiologists have warned that, even with exceptional contact tracing, it would be difficult to completely contain the virus on a campus when students shop, eat and drink in town, and local residents work at the college.

The potential spread of the virus beyond campus greens has deeply affected the workplaces, schools, governments and other institutions of local communities. The result often is an exacerbation of traditional town-and-gown tensions as college towns have tried to balance economic dependence on universities with visceral public health fears.

In Story County, Iowa, a local outcry following a burst of new Iowa State University cases pressured the university on Wednesday to reverse plans to welcome 25,000 football fans for its Sept. 12 opener against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In Monroe County, Indiana, the health department quarantined 30 Indiana University fraternity and sorority houses, prompting the university to publicly recommend that members shut them down and move elsewhere.

In Johnson County, where the University of Iowa is located, cases have more than doubled since the start of August, to more than 4,000. Over the past two weeks, Iowa City’s metro area added the fourth-most cases per capita in the country. The university has recorded more than 1,400 cases for the semester.

With a population of roughly 75,000, Iowa City relies on the university as an economic engine. The University of Iowa is by far the community’s largest employer, and its approximately 30,000 students are a critical market. Hawkeye football alone brings $120 million a year into the community, said Nancy Bird, executive director of the Iowa City Downtown District.

When the pandemic first hit in March, the university sent students home and pivoted to remote instruction, like most of the country’s approximately 5,000 colleges and universities. That exodus, heightened by health restrictions, has been an existential challenge for many downtown businesses, Ms. Bird said.

Jim Rinella, who owns The Airliner bar and restaurant, said the 76-year-old landmark across the street from campus “had zero revenue the whole month of April.” May was almost as scant, he said, and in June, he shut down after a couple of employees became infected.

By the time he reopened after July 4, too few students were in town to come close to making up the losses. He and his wife, Sherry, had hoped the campus reopening in August might be a lifeline.

The Rinellas live in Detroit, where they have other businesses, and Mr. Rinella said he was out of town when crowds jammed downtown on the weekend before the Aug. 24 start of classes. He said he immediately called his manager to make sure they were following state and local health rules.

But the photos taken by the local press from outside his establishment and others were damning. In an open letter, the university president lashed out, saying he was “exceedingly disappointed” in the failure of local businesses to keep students masked and socially distanced. Days later, the governor cited high infection rates among young people as she closed bars and restricted restaurants in Johnson County and five other counties with high concentrations of students.

Now The Airliner — where a booth is named for the University of Iowa’s most famous dropout, Tom Brokaw, and a modeling scout is said to have discovered Ashton Kutcher — has to close at 10 p.m. as well as require customers to buy a meal and sit far apart if they want to drink there.

“I’m at a pain point,” Mr. Rinella said. “If my grandfather hadn’t started the place, I’d question whether I want to be in the restaurant business.” A recent lunch hour visit found one customer at the bar drinking a beer.

The rise in local case counts reverberated at the county’s community college, which decided to start its fall semester with continued online instruction. Iowa City’s K-12 schools followed suit, which also meant canceling extracurricular activities, including sports, until students come back to the classroom in person.

“This is one of our last chances for college coaches to see us play or to get recent films sent out to college coaches. For some of us, playing in college is a goal we have been working toward since we were 11 or 12,” Lauren Roman, a 17-year-old high school volleyball player, told the school board last month. She burst into tears as she explained that she has waited since March for college recruiters to see her play. “Some of us really do need that scholarship money.”

“This sucks,” the board vice-president Ruthina Malone, agreed at the same meeting, choking up as she described emails she had received from families of children whose education relies on in-person instruction. But, she told the board, “we do not operate in isolation.” Her husband, she said, is an art teacher who would like nothing more than to teach again in person, and she works at the university.

The pandemic has hurt colleges’ finances in multiple ways, adding pressure on many schools to bring students back to campus. It has caused enrollment declines as students have opted for gap years or chosen to stay closer to home, added substantial costs for safety measures, reduced revenue from student room and board and canceled money-generating athletic events.

Governments have not always stepped into the breach: In Iowa, the state cut $8 million from its higher education appropriation even after the Board of Regents, which oversees the state’s universities, requested an $18 million increase. Over the summer, the University of Iowa announced a salary freeze and other significant cuts. This was before the Big Ten Conference postponed fall competition, erasing more than $60 million from the university’s athletics program.

When the university announced its plans for reopening with a combination of in-person and virtual instruction, it did not mention its finances as a factor, though it froze tuition rather than reduce it, as some universities have done. It also mandated mask wearing inside buildings and said it would test students with symptoms or who had been exposed to the virus.

Still, its decision to hold in-person classes drew criticism from some faculty. “We’re scared for our health and yours,” one group of instructors wrote in an open letter to students in July.

And its decision not to test asymptomatic students unless they had been exposed unnerved some city officials. Dr. Dan Fick, the campus health officer, said the university wanted to avoid a false sense of security.

But Janice Weiner, who represented the City Council in meetings with the business community and campus, questioned the approach. “We have a robust and capable medical community, we have good public health officials, we have everything we need,” she said. “But then the university didn’t require everyone coming back to campus to be tested.”

Iowa City is a blue town in a state with a pro-Trump Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, who has clashed with the state’s cities over masks and Covid policies.

Though the governor in March restricted large gatherings, closed Iowa schools and banned indoor operations of many businesses, she began relaxing those orders in May and has argued that face-mask mandates couldn’t be legally enforced.

Several municipalities have nonetheless passed ordinances requiring face masks, including Johnson County and Iowa City — largely in preparation for the return of students. But because state health rules have become a patchwork, not all returning students come from places where mask wearing is required, said Ms. Weiner. And, she said, the inconsistency offers an excuse to those who don’t want to wear them.

Interviews with students suggested that concern had at least some justification.

“If people get sick, they get sick — it happens,” Mady Hanson, a 21-year-old exercise science major, said last week on campus. She added that she and her family had survived Covid-19 and that she resented the city’s “ridiculous” restrictions.

“We’re all farmers and don’t really care about germs, so if we get it, we get it and we have the immunity to it.”

Both university and city officials said they believe the spike in cases has been a wake-up. “When we look back,” said Dr. Fick, “I think we’ll be proud that when students got the message, a majority stepped up.”

On the City Council, Ms. Weiner was less upbeat.

“There’s not a whole use in placing blame — we have to figure out a way forward,” she said. “But it’s going to take a herculean effort here for our numbers to start to go down.”

The coronavirus and a $12 billion motorcycle rally

Posted on September 9, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in 2020 Election Issues, Clinical Testing, Contact Tracing, Coronavirus, Crisis, Crisis Management, Economic Crisis, Economic Recovery, Economic Stimulus, Evidence-based Leadership, Evidence-Based Plan, Evidence-Based Policy, Infection Control, Infection Control Plan, Infectious Virus, Leadership Decentralized, Misinformation, Misinterpret, Mislead, Misleading, Mistake, Mistrust, Mixed Message, Mortality, National Strategy, Pandemic, Public Health, Public Opinion, Public Perception, Public Safety, Public Trust, Quarantine, Scientists, Social Distancing, Superspreader, Superspreader Event, Superspreader Facilities, Superspreading Events • Leave a comment

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-vitals-9f3757d6-dde4-4b75-a994-9572837e9d3f.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosvitals&stream=top

The coronavirus outbreak tied to the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, ended up generating more than $12 billion in public health costs, according to a new discussion paper.

Why it matters: The analysis puts a point on just how bad these superspreader events can be — and the difficulty of preventing them solely with voluntary policies.

Background: The annual rally was held this year over 10 days in August, and included a Smash Mouth concert. The nearly 500,000 attendees came from all over the country, and social distancing and mask-wearing were mostly optional.

By the numbers: The rally led to 266,796 additional cases, or 19% of the new cases in the U.S. between Aug. 2 and Sept. 2., the paper found.

The event led to a 35% increase in cases in South Dakota. In counties that are home to the highest number of rally attendees, cases rose by 10.7% compared to counties without any attendees.
If each coronavirus case costs $46,000, that’s an additional $12.2 billion added on to the pandemic’s price tag.

The other side: “Overall, I think the ‘Sturgis Effect’ that the authors document is in large part just a Midwest surge that took place during this time period. There is likely still a small Sturgis Effect … but the results are likely biased upward,” tweeted Devin Pope, a professor at the University of Chicago.

The big picture: Given the state of contact tracing in the U.S. (bad), we’ll never know how many coronavirus cases were actually tied to the Sturgis rally.

But it’s a reminder that it takes collective action to contain the virus: As Sturgis revelers head back home, this South Dakota-centered outbreak has the potential to infect people who never went anywhere near Sturgis and thought they were doing everything right.

Where furloughs stand at 92 hospitals, health systems

Posted on September 9, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in Coronavirus, Economic Crisis, Economic Recovery, Economic Stimulus, Employee Benefits, Employee Furlough, Employee Hiring Freeze, Employee Layoffs, Employee Pay Cuts, Employee Protections, Employer-Based Health Insurance, Health Insurance Coverage Adequacy, Job, Job Loss, Job Search, Job Security, Labor Spend Management, Labor Union, Net Income, Nonoperating Income, Operating Expenses, Operating Income, Operating Margin, Operating Performance, Operating Revenue, Pandemic • Leave a comment

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/where-furloughs-stand-at-92-hospitals-health-systems.html?utm_medium=email

U.S. hospitals and health systems were forced to make cost reduction a priority this spring to offset decreases in patient volume, a ban on elective procedures and increased expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While cost reduction strategies differed across organizations, more than 266 hospitals and health systems announced plans to furlough a portion of their staff to help address the financial fallout.

Below are status updates on many of the hospital and health system furloughs announced this spring, such as how many workers have been called back, how many are still on furlough and how many have been let go.

1. Adena Health System (Chillicothe, Ohio)

Since mid-April, the health system has furloughed 579 employees. Adena projected a deficit of more than $50 million through 2020 due to a lack of elective procedures.

As of Aug. 31, all of Adena’s furloughed workers have been called back to work, the health system told Becker’s Hospital Review.

2. Altru Health System (Grand Forks, N.D.)

The health system reduced the number of staffing hours by 10 percent to 15 percent through furloughs and a system-required absence program during April. An Altru Health System spokesperson provided Becker’s the following statement Sept. 2:

“Altru responded to reduced volumes and changing patient and community health needs during the COVID situation by implementing system requested absence time for employees. This is mandatory time off when an employee is removed from the schedule, implemented on a shift-by-shift and at times week-by-week basis, while maintaining their benefits. During COVID when we experienced periods of sustained lower volume, Altru had upwards of 100 employees who consistently were not able to work all of their typically scheduled hours. Approximately 90 percent of these employees have since returned to their full time equivalent. We continue to respond to changing patient needs, placing employees where they are needed throughout the health system.”

3. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital (Chicago)

In April, the hospital furloughed about 20 percent of its staff through the end of the month, though staff members still received pay and healthcare benefits. Lurie CFO Ron Blaustein told Becker’sthat as of Aug. 31 the furloughs and pay cuts are over.

“However, we continue to align our resources with the projected lower than expected volumes as a result of the impact of the pandemic and continued masking and social distancing,” Mr. Blaustein added.

4. Arnot Health (Elmira, N.Y.)

In April, the health system laid off 400 employees to shore up finances.

As of Aug. 27, about 300 of the 400 employees have returned to work. “Decisions on the balance of the workers who were furloughed are being made based on a careful analysis of patient volume, to ensure our ability to be responsive to the community’s needs while maintaining our financial stability at a time where revenues have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” a spokesperson for the health system told Becker’s.

5. Aspirus Health (Wausau, Wis.)

Citing the financial hit from COVID-19, Aspirus Health furloughed a portion of its staff beginning May 1, according to a system press release. The furloughs primarily affected employees who did not work directly in patient care.

“As of the end of August, Aspirus had recalled 214 of our furloughed team members. Our goal is to recall all remaining furloughed employees; fewer than 40 percent have yet to be recalled,” Aspirus Health wrote in a Sept. 2 email to Becker’s.

6. Ballad Health (Johnson City, Tenn.)

On April 10, citing severe patient volume disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ballad Health furloughed 1,300 team members. The furloughs affected about 10 percent of its workforce.

As of Sept. 8, about 200 team members remain on furlough, a hospital spokesperson told Becker’s.

“Those team members are still receiving medical benefits and are being contacted this week to discuss other opportunities within Ballad Health in order to return them to full employment within the organization as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said Sept. 8.

The spokesperson added that while the majority of the other 1,300 furloughed members have returned to their roles, some found other positions within Ballad Health or have secured other employment opportunities outside of the health system.

7. Baptist Health (Little Rock, Ark.)

Baptist Health this spring furloughed an unspecified number of employees to remain financially stable amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The health system also reduced benefits, and took additional steps to offset a drop in patient volume and revenue losses.

As of the end of July, Baptist Health brought its workforce back, and it has also restored some of the retirement benefits the health system stopped in April, President and CEO Troy Wells told news website Talk Business & Politics.

8. Bay Area Hospital (Coos Bay, Ore.)

Seventy-one employees from the hospital opted to take voluntary furloughs this spring. All of them have been called back to work, according to a hospital spokesperson.

9. Beaumont Health (Southfield, Mich.)

The health system implemented furloughs in April to offset pandemic-induced losses in revenue. A Beaumont Health spokesperson provided the following statement to Becker’s in a Sept. 2 email:

“Throughout this pandemic, Beaumont Health has made the difficult decision to lay off about 2,700 employees. Though approximately 2,000 have been returned to their previous roles or comparable positions, we are actively working with the remaining 550 to match them to available open jobs across the organization.”

10. Blount Memorial Hospital (Maryville, Tenn.)

In April, the hospital furloughed 211 employees due to low patient volume amid the pandemic. All but one of them have been brought back, according to a spokesperson for the hospital.

11. Boston Medical Center

Boston Medical Center furloughed this spring 10 percent of its workforce, or about 750 staff members, due to financial losses from the COVID-19 pandemic.

A hospital spokesperson told Becker’s Sept. 3 that about 660 furloughed employees have returned to work and about 90 employees are still furloughed. The health system expects the remaining 90 workers to return to work by the end of September.

12. Bronson Healthcare (Kalamazoo, Mich.)

Citing the suspension of elective procedures and a 50 percent reduction in revenue, the health system furloughed hundreds of employees in April. Furloughed employees were not paid and could not use paid time off.

“Bronson Healthcare’s 16-week furlough period for several hundred employees ended in August as planned with the exception of those who work in its fitness centers which, by governor’s order, cannot reopen until Sept. 9, 2020,” a spokesperson for the health system told Becker’s.

13. Campbell County Health (Gillette, Wyo.)

The health system furloughed an undisclosed number of employees in April. All of them have returned to work, according to the hospital’s spokesperson.

14. Cape Cod Healthcare (Hyannis, Mass.)

Cape Cod Healthcare furloughed 595 employees in May due to reduced patient volumes and financial losses related to the pandemic.

On Aug. 28, the health system announced that it had recalled 477 of the 595 furloughed workers, and 118 will be laid off.

15. Cape Fear Valley Health(Fayetteville, N.C.)

The health system furloughed 783 employees this spring to help offset financial damage from the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of late July, Cape Fear Valley Health had brought back 721 furloughed employees and the remaining 62 employees would not be returning, according to the health system.

16. Carthage (N.Y.) Area Hospital

Citing the financial burden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital furloughed 20 percent of its staff April 17. About 83 staff members were affected. Furloughed employees with health insurance could still receive those benefits.

The hospital received its Paycheck Protection Program loan April 20, allowing all furloughed employees to return to work, a spokesperson for the hospital told Becker’s.

17. Catholic Health (Buffalo, N.Y.)

The health system furloughed nearly 1,100 employees in April. Most have returned to work, but “about 50 associates in support roles” remain on furlough, a Catholic Health spokesperson told Becker’s Sept. 2.

18. Catholic Medical Center (Manchester, N.H.)

In April, the hospital furloughed 423 employees after canceling elective procedures to save staff and supplies for COVID-19 patients. It also reduced hours for 914 other employees.

In late July, the hospital permanently laid off 50 furloughed employees as well as another 21 employees who weren’t on furlough.

As of Aug. 26, all furloughed workers not affected by the layoffs had been brought back, the hospital told Becker’s.

19. Central Maine Healthcare (Lewiston)

The health system furloughed about 330 employees to help offset the revenue loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in April. The furloughs affected about 10 percent of its workforce.

A Central Maine Healthcare spokesperson in June said about three-quarters of its 300 employees furloughed in April were recalled.

As of Aug. 31, the remaining employees on furlough had been called back, a spokesperson told Becker’s.

20. Children’s Mercy (Kansas City, Mo.)

The hospital furloughed 575 employeest on April 26. Hospital officials said the furloughs were imposed to help offset fiscal losses attributed to the pandemic.

“As we have started ramping back up, all but 60 of the furloughed employees have been called back. For those eligible, severance packages will be made available. We are deeply grateful for their contributions to Children’s Mercy and the patients and families they have served,” a June 22 letter to employees read.

21. Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center (Ogdensburg, N.Y.)

In April, about 175 of the medical center’s 850 employees were affected by salary reductions, reduced hours or unpaid leave. A spokesperson for the medical center provided Becker’s with the following statement Sept. 3:

“We have been able to return all but 4 percent of our workforce to employment and restore salaries to pre-COVID levels. Nearly half of the layoffs are employees on unpaid leave. Other positions that have remained open or unfilled at this time have also been eliminated, but have not affected current employees. These changes came into effect around July 31, 2020.”

22. Columbia Memorial Hospital (Astoria, Ore.)

The hospital furloughed 90 of its 740 employees in late March after the facility scaled back nonemergent procedures to concentrate on the coronavirus.

As of July 28, the facility reinstated 34 of the 90 furloughed employees.

23. Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (Hartford)

The children’s hospital furloughed 400 employees across its system in April. The system said its patient volume has been cut in half due to halting elective procedures. Furloughed employees were mainly nonclinical workers.

As of Aug. 10, most are back at work, CEO James Shmerling told the Hartford Business Journal.

24. Cookeville (Tenn.) Regional Medical Center

Citing a decrease in patient volume and revenue due to the pandemic, Cookeville Regional Medical Center furloughed about 400 employees of its 2,300-person workforce.

A hospital spokesperson told Becker’s Sept. 3 that staff members were brought back to the medical center in phases over several weeks. The health system has now called back all of its employees.

“We are happy to report that all our employees have been called back to return to work with full schedules, and almost all services are reopened with processes in place to protect our patients and staff from the spread of COVID-19,” a hospital spokesperson toldBecker’s Hospital Review.

25. Edward-Elmhurst (Ill.) Health

The health system furloughed a portion of its 8,000-person workforce due to the pandemic. The furloughs took place across departments over June, July and August.

The health system told Becker’s Aug. 21 it is unclear how many employees were still on furlough.

26. Elizabethtown (N.Y.) Community Hospital

The hospital furloughed 25 staff members in April after experiencing a revenue cut of 50 percent due to the suspension of elective procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. All but one of the affected employees have returned to work, a hospital representative told Becker’s in a Sept. 2 email.

27. Emory Healthcare (Atlanta)

Emory Healthcare cut hours or furloughed 1,500 workers to help offset a revenue shortfall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The health system told Becker’s Aug. 25 that it continues its clinical and financial recovery program after experiencing its second peak of COVID-19. “It would be premature to comment further at this time,” a spokesperson said.

28. Erlanger Health System (Chattanooga, Tenn.)

Erlanger Health System said in March it was implementing a cost-reduction plan that included furloughs and pay reductions for leadership. The moves were prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The health system ended its furloughs June 22, but had to lay off 93 workers who were previously furloughed across the health system, a spokesperson confirmed to Becker’s Sept. 2.

29. Essentia Health (Duluth, Minn.)

Citing the COVID-19 pandemic, Essentia Health in March placed about 500 nonclinical staff on a special administrative leave.

Of those 500 employees, all but 65 of have been brought back to work, a spokesperson for Essentia Health told Becker’s Sept. 2.

30. Evangelical Community Hospital (Lewisburg, Pa.)

This spring, as the pandemic was declared and certain services slowed, Evangelical Community Hospital furloughed a portion of its staff. In March, 250 employees were furloughed, including 173 full or part-time employees and 77 per diem employees.

As of Sept. 8, 155 full and part time employees have been recalled and the per diem employees are used as needed, a hospital spokesperson said. Additionally, nine full and part-time employees were laid off, seven full and part-time employees retired and two full and part time employees remain on furlough, the spokesperson said.

31. Faith Community Health System (Jacksboro, Texas)

In April, the health system furloughed, cut hours or reassigned about 75 percent of its staff due to the suspension of elective procedures.

CEO Frank Beaman told Becker’s Aug. 31 that all furloughed staff have been brought back to work. He added that none of the staff affected by the furloughs or who had their hours cut lost any income, as they were able to use vacation time to supplement their income.

32. Fayette County Memorial Hospital (Washington Court House, Ohio)

Citing a revenue and patient volume drop from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ohio hospital furloughed 71 of its 352 employees this spring.

A hospital spokesperson told Becker’s that everybody was brought back mid-May. Since workers were brought back, one employee has been laid off, the spokesperson said.

33. Fenway Health (Boston)

In March and April, Fenway Health furloughed 143 employees in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Sept. 1, 52 of those employees have been brought back to work, Fenway told Becker’s. Of the 83 still on furlough, about 65 of them work in Fenway’s retail, dental and acupuncture operations.

Fenway has not laid off any of the furloughed staff and they have all received full health insurance coverage during their furloughs. Eight of the furloughed employees have left Fenway, a spokesperson told Becker’s.

“We ultimately expect to bring everyone back as our patient care volume continues to return to pre-pandemic levels,” the spokesperson added.

34. Freeman Health System (Joplin, Mo.)

Freeman Health System implemented a voluntary furlough program for its staff members this spring after suspending elective procedures.

A hospital spokesperson told Becker’s Sept. 2 that all of the employees who volunteered to take furloughs have returned to work. The furloughs lasted about one month and had no impact on benefits. Freeman Health System was also able to implement staff raises during this time, according to the hospital spokesperson.

35. Froedtert Health (Wauwatosa, Wis.)

Froedtert Health furloughed and cut the hours of some workers in April, according to furloughed nurses from the system.

“Like all healthcare organizations, we continue to evaluate the daily operational and staffing needs for our organization. Since March, staff members continued to remain active Froedtert Health employees during low-census and furlough status. At this time, approximately 1 percent of our staff are impacted by reduced hours,” a hospital spokesperson told Becker’s Sept. 2.

36. Halifax Health (Daytona Beach, Fla.)

In April, the health system furloughed nearly 400 of its staff members and required all nonclinical staff take one day off per week.

In July, Halifax laid off 95 of the furloughed workers. Employees no longer had to take one day of paid time off each week as of July 1 and employees who took a pay cut instead of paid days off had their salaries restored.

All furloughed workers unaffected by the layoffs returned to work Aug. 3, Halifax told Becker’s.

37. Henry Ford Health System (Detroit)

In April, the health system furloughed 2,800 staffers not directly involved in patient care due to financial damage from the COVID-19 pandemic. Ninety-two percent of furloughed staff have returned to work, a Henry Ford representative told Becker’s in an Aug. 31 email.

38. Hillcrest HealthCare System (Tulsa, Okla.)

Hillcrest HealthCare System said in April it would furlough 600 employees for up to 90 days. The furloughs affected about 9 percent of staff and were a result of a decline in routine and elective procedures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A hospital spokesperson told Becker’s Sept. 1: “We made the difficult decision to reduce staffing in some areas across our system as part of a strategic restructuring due to the devastating impact from COVID-19. While the reduction represents less than 1 percent of our workforce, it does not make the decision any less difficult or impactful to those team members affected.”

39. Hospital Sisters Health System (Springfield, Ill.)

Hospital Sisters Health System furloughed a portion of its staff in April due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August, the health system announced plans to reduce its workforce by 10 percent. The reductions include some of those who were furloughed.

40. Infirmary Health (Mobile, Ala.)

Citing a decrease in patient volume and revenue, the health system furloughed a portion of its staff in April. All affected employees have returned to work, according to an Infirmary Health spokesperson.

41. Kaleida Health (Buffalo, N.Y.)

The health system offered a temporary, voluntary furlough program for its staff in April. The furlough program is a joint agreement with two unions that represent 8,000 Kaleida Health employees. All of the health system’s furloughed employees have since returned, according to Michael Hughes, its senior vice president and chief of staff.

42. Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital (Somerset, Ky.)

In April, the hospital placed 17 percent of its workforce on temporary leave. Those workers continued to receive health insurance and 25 percent of their wages.

As of Sept. 2, all of those employees have returned to work, according to CEO Robert Parker.

“We are extremely grateful to our many dedicated team members, across all of our departments, who have worked tirelessly to keep one another and our patients safe as we continue the fight against COVID-19,” Mr. Parker said.

43. Lawrence (La.) General Hospital

In early April, Lawrence General placed 8 percent of its staff, or 160 employees, on a four-week furlough. Most of the furloughs affected nonclinical workers.

The hospital told Becker’s Sept. 2 that the safety-net facility had to extend the initial time frame of the four-week furlough four more weeks to address the volume dip and subsequent revenue loss attributed to the pandemic.

Although most of the furloughed workers returned to work June 15, 10 furloughed positions were eliminated, and a few employees remained on furlough until July 15. Now, those workers are back.

“Within weeks, canceling all elective volume and ramping up staff, supplies and equipment for the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a 40 percent decline in patient volume and income and an increase in costs. The response required by Lawrence General Hospital to fight the pandemic, combined with an already challenging financial outlook for safety-net hospitals,” a Lawrence General hospital spokesperson said.

44. Lee Health (Fort Myers, Fla.)

Lee Health offered voluntary buyouts and voluntary summer leave program to help offset losses attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

About 600 employees took voluntary buyouts, and a lot of workers took summer sabbaticals, but no one is keeping track of the exact number, a spokesperson for the health system told Becker’s Aug. 24. The spokesperson said about 150 people took leaves of absence. Lee Health is trying to get all of these workers back as patient volume returns to normal.

45. Lewis County Health System (Lowville, N.Y)

The health system placed 14 percent of its workforce on unpaid leave in April due to the pandemic. They have all returned to work, according to a spokesperson from the health system.

46. Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic

Marshfield Clinic in April said it would furlough employees who are not involved in preparing for the anticipated surge in COVID-19 patients.

As of Sept. 1, the system had recalled 96 percent of the employees who were on furlough, a Marshfield Clinic spokesperson confirmed to Becker’s. Some of the employees who did not return retired or ended employment with the health system, the spokesperson said.

47. Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital (Grand Rapids, Mich.)

The hospital furloughed 32 percent of its staff members in April, affecting 603 employees. As of Aug. 31, 512 employees had returned, 34 remain furloughed and 57 were terminated, a hospital representative told Becker’sSept. 1.

The spokesperson also said that Mary Free Bed augmented unemployment benefits when it issued the furloughs so employees would receive about 75 percent of their regular wages. Affected employees also received dental, vision and life insurance, as well as 100 percent coverage for behavioral health telehealth visits and COVID-19 treatment.

48. Maury Regional Health(Columbia, Tenn.)

Maury Regional Health implemented two rounds of furloughs this spring that affected 414 employees; the first round affected 340 employees.

A hospital spokesperson told Becker’s Sept. 2 that of the 414 employees affected, 287 staff members were called back to work, and 127 employees were laid off.

49. McDonough District Hospital (Macomb, Ill.)

The hospital furloughed 60 workers in April amid declining revenue from the pandemic. It has brought back 14 of those employees, a hospital representative told Becker’s in a Sept. 2 email.

50. Mid-Columbia Medical Center (Dalles, Ore.)

The medical center began furloughing employees May 3 in an effort to help offset losses attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. The furloughs primarily affected departments that were not seeing a lot of patients.

A Mid-Columbia Medical Center spokesperson told Becker’s the medical center has brought back all of its furloughed staff members, except for those who worked within its spa services, which have been closed due to financial instability.

51. Melissa Memorial Hospital (Holyoke, Colo.)

Melissa Memorial Hospital, a 15-bed critical access hospital with about 100 employees, placed 19 employees on furlough this spring due to a reduction in volume amid the coronavirus pandemic. The hospital had a layered approach to cost reduction, as some employees were on reduced hours, some on furlough, and managers volunteered to take pay cuts.

Cathy Harshbarger, BSN, RN, and the hospital’s CEO, confirmed with Becker’s that due to restructuring to respond to the pandemic, eight employees were laid off, and the remaining employees were brought back to work. Terminated employees were offered a severance package.

Six of the eight terminated employees were part of the hospital’s dental and optical departments, which were struggling with volume before the pandemic. The hospital looked at operations and reworked many of the departments to gain efficiencies. Due to this restructuring, the other two employees were laid off.

All employees who took pay cuts have had their regular salaries restored, Ms. Harshbarger said.

“It’s scary for a rural hospital. Our little hospital was dealing with trying to build cash again after a loss in volume. At the beginning, we were worried because we had just 32 days of cash on hand. We had to act very quickly and tighten things down,” Ms. Harshbarger said. “Through teamwork, we developed and found efficiencies we really needed.”

52. Mercy Medical Center (Canton, Ohio.)

Mercy Medical Center began implementing furloughs in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The system placed 349 employees on full furlough and 376 employees on partial furlough.

As of Sept. 3, 15 employees remain on full furlough, two remain on partial furlough, and 19 employee positions were eliminated, according to a hospital spokesperson.

53. Mohawk Valley Health System (Utica, N.Y.)

The health system furloughed about 20 percent of its workforce of 4,000 in April as part of a cost-cutting plan to recover from lost revenue caused by the pandemic. A spokesperson for the health system told Becker’s that about “300 employees have been brought back so far” in a Sept. 2 email.

54. Monument Health (Rapid City, S.D.)

In April, Monument Health placed 200 employees on furlough to help preserve protective gear and save costs after suspending elective surgeries. The furloughs affected 4 percent of its workforce. The health system “brought its furloughed caregivers back as needed through Aug. 17, when the furlough officially ended,” a Monument representative told Becker’s.

55. Munson Healthcare (Traverse City)

Citing a financial hit from the suspension of elective procedures, the health system furloughed a portion of its staff in April.

“While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact Munson Healthcare in significant ways, we can report that 90 percent of the individuals who were placed in furlough status are no longer on furlough,” a Munson Healthcare spokesperson told Becker’s in a Sept. 2 email.

56. MUSC Health (Charleston, S.C.)

The eight-hospital system said it would temporarily lay off 900 employees, or 5 percent of its workforce, to offset the financial hit caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporary layoffs, which do not affect nonclinical workers, were effective April 7.

MUSC Health said in late June it has called back nearly half of the employees who had been furloughed.

57. Myrtue Medical Center (Harlan, Iowa)

The medical center furloughed a portion of its 422 employees in April due to a revenue drop from the pandemic. All of the furloughed employees have returned to work, according to a hospital spokesperson.

58. Niagara Falls (N.Y.) Memorial Hospital

The hospital furloughed 52 employees in April to offset a revenue loss due to the pandemic. It received federal Paycheck Protection Program funding and was able to bring back all of its furloughed staff, a spokesperson for the hospital told Becker’s.

59. North Bend Medical Center (Coos Bay, Ore.)

North Bend Medical Center this spring furloughed 130 employees to prepare for the novel coronavirus pandemic.

According to John Burles, North Bend Medical Center CEO, most of the furloughed workers have been called back to work, but about 30 did not return, many of whom were offered their positions back. The hospital has been able to hire new people to fill some of those positions.

60. Northern Light Health (Brewer, Maine)

The health system asked staff to volunteer for furloughs in early April.

A spokesperson for Northern Light Health told Becker’s Aug. 31 that 187 employees were granted a voluntary furlough, the average length of which was 36 days. The last furloughed employee was slated to return Sept. 6.

61. Noyes Health (Dansville, N.Y.)

In April, Noyes Health furloughed some of its staff for one to two weeks on a rolling basis, citing a revenue decline of 50 percent due to the pandemic. All affected employees returned from furlough by June, and the health system’s budgeted revenue has bounced back into the upper 90 percent range for June and July, according to a spokesperson for the health system.

62. Olmsted Medical Center (Rochester, Minn.)

The medical center furloughed 200 people in April to offset the financial hit caused by the pandemic. All affected employees have returned to work, according to a spokesperson.

63. Pikeville (Ky.) Medical Center

The medical center furloughed more than 200 employees April 26 amid mounting financial pressure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most employees have returned to their positions, and the medical center is bringing back the fewer than three dozen remaining employees, according to a medical center spokesperson.

64. Premier Health (Dayton, Ohio)

The Dayton-based health system said this spring it would furlough an undisclosed number of employees due to an anticipated financial hit from Ohio’s interim ban on nonessential surgeries.

In response to Becker’s request for an update on furloughs, the organization provided a statement from the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association, which includes Premier Health, but is not specific to Premier Health.

“The Dayton region’s hospitals employ more than 34,000 individuals across our 11-county region. During COVID-19, 5,648 healthcare workers and hospital employees were temporarily furloughed due to Ohio’s executive order that suspended elective and nonessential surgeries. At this time, most furloughed employees have returned to work,” the hospital association stated.

65. Prisma Health (Greenville, S.C.)

Citing the financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, Prisma Health said it furloughed about 3,900 of its 30,000-person workforce this spring.

“We are on the front end of a long-term recovery effort, as is the entire U.S. economy. As we need staffing for patient care, we have continuously been recalling furloughed clinical staff or increasing hours for those team members whose hours were previously reduced. We do not have an update on the number of earlier announced furloughs or reduced hours because staffing is constantly shifting to accommodate the impact of COVID-19 as it ebbs and flows in our communities,” Prima Health told Becker’s Sept. 3.

66. Providence Oregon (Portland)

Providence Oregon implemented staff furloughs and leadership pay cuts to help offset financial losses attributed to the pandemic. At the time, the health system said its core leaders would take a one-week unpaid furlough between May 17 and July 31. In addition, the health system said caregivers would flex their hours during the same time period.

Providence Oregon has since seen its patient volumes recover to near-expected levels, with 95 percent of budgeted volume in June, the health system told Becker’s Sept. 3. Therefore, the health system has ended most patient-facing caregiver furloughs. “We continue to manage our operations during the pandemic based on the new economic realities,” Providence Oregon said.

67. St. Agnes Medical Center (Fresno, Calif.)

The medical center furloughed 161 employees in April to better align its resources with the pandemic-induced reduction in services. As its volume has been slowly ramping up, it has brought back 94 of those employees.

“We’re hopeful this trend will continue so we can soon return even more,” a spokesperson for the medical center told Becker’s Aug 27.

68. St. Claire HealthCare (Morehead, Ky.)

St. Claire HealthCare announced in late March it would furlough 300 employees who are not involved in direct patient care to ensure it can sustain clinical operations during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

A hospital spokesperson told Becker’s Sept. 2: “We are very fortunate we have been able to return the vast majority of our furloughed staff to work.”

69. St. Joseph Health (Syracuse, N.Y.)

The hospital system furloughed about 500 workers to deal with an “unprecedented fiscal fallout” from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Syracuse.com.

St. Joseph’s Health brought back 135 workers as of June 1, according to Syracuse.com.

Most of the remaining furloughed employees have since been recalled back into employment, according to an Aug. 31 press release emailed to Becker’s.

70. St. Lawrence Health System (Potsdam, N.Y)

The three-hospital system temporarily furloughed 427 workers in April to help offset the revenue loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of June, 25 of those positions were permanently eliminated, all of which were full time and primarily at the management level.

71. St. Luke’s Hospital (Chesterfield, Mo.)

St. Luke’s offered a voluntary furlough program to employees in May. A spokesperson told Becker’s Sept. 8 that about 300 employees accepted the offer and received paid benefits while they received unemployment insurance and the additional benefits provided by the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.

The furlough program ended at the end of July, the hospital said, and most furloughed employees are back in their normal positions.

“For those whose normal positions were and are still impacted by the pandemic, they have the opportunity to be part of a COVID-19 screening pool to cover essential needs and to minimize reductions in their work schedules whenever possible,” the spokesperson said.

72. Sarasota (Fla.) Memorial Hospital

Sarasota Memorial Hospital furloughed 640 staff members in March and April as patient volumes dropped amid a statewide elective procedure ban.

A hospital spokesperson told Becker’s Sept. 3 that staff were brought back in phases as the ban was lifted and volume returned. Specifically, most employees were brought back in May and the rest returned by the end of June.

73. Scotland Health Care System (Laurinburg, N.C.)

The health system furloughed nearly 70 employees through June 30 due to a pandemic-induced drop in patient volume and revenue, according to The Laurinburg Exchange. Most affected employees work in nonclinical roles, though some front-line staff were furloughed. All furloughed employees have since returned to work, a human resources representative told Becker’s.

74. Sinai Health System (Chicago)

Crain’s Chicago Business reported the health system would lay off 24 nonclinical employees, furlough about 150 caregivers and cut hours for another 200 employees during April, citing a loss of $10 million per month due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All but 13 of Sinai’s furloughed employees have been brought back, according to the hospital’s spokesperson.

75. Stamford (Conn.) Health

Stamford Health furloughed 375 employees to help offset a revenue loss from the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Aug. 31, five full-time employees are still on furlough, and the health system plans to bring those employees back, a spokesperson told Becker’s.

76. Stanford (Calif.) Health Care

Stanford Health Care’s Temporary Workforce Adjustment program, which began on April 27, required all exempt, non-represented employees, including executive leadership, to take 12 days off in a 10-week period or a pay reduction of 20 percent for the 10 weeks. More than 99 percent of its workforce chose to use paid time off. The program allowed all staff who did not have enough PTO hours to use hours they had not yet earned to maintain their pay level. Those who needed to were allowed to go into a negative PTO balance and earn the hours back.

The program ended for Service Employees International Union employees June 20 and ended for all other employees July 4. All furloughed employees have returned to their regularly scheduled hours, a spokesperson told Becker’s.

77. Stephens Memorial Hospital (Breckenridge, Texas)

Stephens Memorial Hospital furloughed a portion of its staff in April due to the pandemic.

The hospital was able to bring back all furloughed employees after a few weeks, a hospital spokesperson told Becker’s Aug. 31. “We have been fortunate to benefit from the programs that have been offered to help rural hospitals stay open during this time,” the spokesperson added. “Our volumes have consistently increased back up to or near pre-pandemic levels with the exception of our emergency department. They are still seeing about 60 percent of average based on historical data.”

78. Summa Health (Akron, Ohio)

Throughout the spring, Summa Health furloughed 728 of its 7,200 employees in an effort to cut costs.

In August, the health system brought back the majority of the furloughed employees. As of Aug. 25, 12 employees remained on furlough, the health system told Becker’s.

79. Thomas Health (South Charleston, W.Va.)

Thomas Health, which had 1,663 employees at the start of the pandemic, furloughed 584 of those staff members.

Due to attrition and reorganization, the health system brought back all but 80 employees, a health system spokesperson told Becker’s Sept. 2.”Since then, we have already hired 50 new full-time employees,” the spokesperson added.

80. Tower Health (Philadelphia)

In April, the seven-hospital system furloughed at least 1,000 employees due to the financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting roughly 7 percent of the system’s 14,000-person workforce. In a Sept. 2 email, a Tower Health spokesperson told Becker’s “almost all staff furloughed in April have been recalled.”

81. Trinity Health (Livonia, Mich.), which includes Trinity Health of New England (Hartford, Conn.)

Trinity Health, a 92-hospital system, implemented furloughs across its network. At its Michigan hospitals, 2,500 employees were furloughed this spring, while an undisclosed number of employees were furloughed at Trinity Health of New England.

In July, the health system said it would lay off and reduce work schedules of 1,000 employees.

A Trinity Health spokesperson told Becker’s Sept. 3: “Our staffing reductions were less than 3 percent of our workforce nationally, which is much lower than we originally anticipated would be required due to stronger-than-expected resurgence of patient volume. Many furloughed colleagues have either returned to work or are anticipated to return to work as patient volumes grow.”

82. UK Healthcare (Lexington, Ky.)

The health system furloughed 1,500 employees to help offset a COVID-19-related revenue loss in April. Only two of the affected employees remain on a partial furlough, which is one day per week, a UK Healthcare spokesperson told Becker’s in a Sept. 2 email.

83. UnityPoint Health (West Des Moines, Iowa)

The health system began implementing furloughs April 26, which affected employees in areas of the system that were operating at capacity or experiencing closures. Most of them have been brought back.

“UnityPoint Health has returned more than 95 percent of our team members from furlough and has reinstated our standard pay practices,” a spokesperson said in a Sept. 1 email. “We continue to evaluate opportunities to respond to the rapidly evolving dynamics of the pandemic including executive benefit offerings and other options. Our top priority remains the health and safety of our team members, patients and communities.”

84. University Hospitals (Cleveland)

The health system cut the hours and pay of 4,100 employees not involved in patient care in April, all of whom have since returned to work.

“Furloughs for nonclinical caregivers were temporary and involved 20 percent reduction in hours over a 10-week period,” a system representative told Becker’s. “Our caregivers continued to receive benefits and were eligible to continue pay by using earned or borrowed paid time off. UH leaders in clinical and nonclinical positions continued to work through the 10-week period at reduced levels of pay. The temporary furloughs have ended, and all of our caregivers are focused on restoring care for our patients that may have been delayed because of the pandemic.”

85. University of Chicago Medical Center

University of Chicago Medical Center furloughed more than 800 employees in May.

A hospital spokesperson told Becker’s Aug. 26 the furloughs have ended, and no other layoffs or further furloughs have been announced.

86. University of Kansas Health System St. Francis Campus (Topeka)

The University of Kansas Health System in April laid off 29 employees and furloughed 235 to help offset the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In mid-June, the health system restructured and consolidated some services and laid off 33 employees to manage the effect of COVID-19. The 33 affected employees represent about 2.3 percent of the hospital’s workforce, and most had already been put on furlough.

Becker’s reached out to the University of Kansas Health System to provide an update on whether the remaining furloughed employees have been brought back.

87. University of Vermont Medical Center (Burlington)

University of Vermont Medical Center furloughed hundreds of employees this year. More than 660 employees were affected by furlough at some point, with numbers fluctuating throughout the spring and summer as some redeployed into new positions, such as screening employees and patients for COVID-19 symptoms at hospital entrances, or assisting colleagues with proper PPE usage, a spokesperson told Becker’s Sept. 8.

The medical center has recalled more than 400 employees to their normal roles amid the resumption of nonurgent and routine procedures. The spokesperson said nearly all affected employees will be back in their normal roles by the end of September.

88. UW Medicine (Seattle)

UW Medicine announced furloughs of approximately 1,500 professional and non-union staff members in May. It also announced furloughs of approximately 4,000 union employees in May and layoffs of 100 staff members in July due to financial challenges from the pandemic.

The health system told Becker’s Aug. 26 that 260 staff furloughs were canceled, either due to increased patient volumes or a need for staff coverage.

89. Vidant Health (Greenville, N.C.)

To address the financial hit and patient volume dip caused by the pandemic, the health system furloughed 212 of its employees. A Vidant Health spokesperson told Becker’s in a Sept. 2 email that 207 of them had returned to work.

90. Virginia Mason Medical Center (Seattle)

Virginia Mason Medical Center furloughed an undisclosed number of employees this spring amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the affected employees were in nonclinical roles.

A Virginia Mason spokesperson said the hospital system has resumed services in compliance with Washington state’s guidelines, and some furloughed workers have returned to work.

“While some team members who were temporarily furloughed during the peak of the pandemic have returned to work, I am unable to provide specific figures or percentages,” a hospital spokesperson told Becker’s Sept. 3.

91. Washington Regional Medical Center (Fayetteville, Ark.)

In April, the hospital furloughed 305 full-time employees to help offset revenue losses tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of those employees, 288 had been brought back by late July and the remaining workers returned to work by Aug. 2.

Natalie Hardin, director of marketing and public relations at the hospital, told Becker’sthat a small number of the furloughed workers resigned or found other jobs. No employees remain on furlough as of Aug. 25.

“This does not mean that Washington Regional’s pandemic related revenue troubles are over — far from it. The pandemic presents an unpredictable challenge that we recognize will remain with us for some time to come. As a result, we will continue to focus on our financial and clinical operations to ensure that our health system is on a sound footing now and into the future,” CEO Larry Shackelford said in a statement.

92. West Tennessee Healthcare (Jackson)

West Tennessee Healthcare furloughed 1,100 individuals of its 7,000-person workforce. The health system said it lost $18 million in March due to the statewide ban on elective procedures that went into effect March 23.

“We have three employees who still aren’t working their normal hours, but the other employees who were furloughed are working,” a spokesperson wrote in a Sept. 1 email to Becker’s.

Cartoon – 2020 Labor Day Picnic

Posted on September 7, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in 2020 Election Issues, Cartoon, Coronavirus, Economic Crisis, Economic Recovery, Economic Stimulus, Employee Benefits, Employee Furlough Pay, Employee Hiring Freeze, Employee Layoffs, Employee Pay Cuts, Employee Protections, Employer-Based Health Insurance, Happy Labor Day, Health Insurance Coverage Adequacy, Health Policy, High Deductible Health Plans, High Drug Prices, High Premiums, High Prices, Job, Job Loss, Job Market, Job Search, Job Security, Out of Pocket Expenses, Pandemic, Preexisting Conditions, Underinsured, Unemployment, Unemployment Insurance, Uninsured • Leave a comment

Healthcare jobs grew by 75K in August as industry recovers from job losses due to COVID-19

Posted on September 4, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in Bureau of Labor Statistics, Coronavirus, Economic Crisis, Economic Recovery, Economic Stimulus, Employee Furlough, Employee Hiring Freeze, Employee Layoffs, Employee Pay Cuts, Employer-Based Health Insurance, Health System, Hospital, Hospital Industry, Job, Job Loss, Job Search, Job Security, Nursing Home, Physician Practice Management, Unemployment, Unemployment Insurance • Leave a comment

https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/hospitals/healthcare-jobs-grew-by-75k-august-as-industry-recovers-from-job-losses-due-to-covid-19

The healthcare industry added 75,000 jobs last month, a decline compared with the 126,000 that were added in July, the latest federal jobs report shows.

But there are some bright spots for the industry that is still recovering from major unemployment earlier this year sparked by job losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ jobs report released Friday showed that hospitals continue to add more jobs after several major subsystems furloughed and laid off workers at the onset of the pandemic in March.

Hospitals added 14,000 jobs in August, which was below the 27,000 jobs the industry added in July.

The industry shed 26,000 jobs in May as hospitals took massive revenue hits from the cancellation of elective procedures and lower patient volume due to COVID-19.

Job numbers continue to recover robustly for other sectors of the healthcare industry.

Physician offices added 27,000 jobs and dentists another 22,000 in August. Home healthcare agencies added 12,000 positions in August.

But things continue to get worse for nursing homes.

Nursing homes and residential care facilities lost 14,000 jobs. But it was the lowest number of job losses the industry has faced in months.

In July the sector lost 28,000 jobs. In June, 20,000 positions were shed.

While several parts of the healthcare industry are adding jobs, the overall picture has been bleak. The federal government reported last month that healthcare employment has been down by nearly 800,000 jobs since February.

Things could continue to get worse for both hospitals and physician offices. Experts predict that hospital volumes, which have rebounded since major drops in March and April, are still below pre-pandemic levels for some facilities.

For-profit systems fare better than nonprofits in weathering COVID-19 cash crisis, MedPAC says

Posted on September 4, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in Economic Crisis, Economic Recovery, Economic Stimulus, Elective Procedures, Elective Surgery, For-Profit, Health System, Hospital, Hospital Industry, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Net Income, Nonoperating Income, Operating Expenses, Operating Income, Operating Margin, Operating Performance, Operating Revenue, Pandemic, Paycheck Protection Program, Physician Practice Management, The CARES Act • Leave a comment

https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/hospitals/medpac-for-profit-systems-do-better-job-than-nonprofits-weathering-covid-19-cash-crisis?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTlRJM05qVmhOVEptWm1ZNSIsInQiOiJaRHlaWHpyaHVZUHlvTFwvZmRaZDZKUVY2aEJka25ncStYSmcxZXo3bTR5TzV3NFE0YzdpYlpGMGRrbUxkcWVYT0Z4ZTVMa0VPN3BuSElkMldQRXBpTk1pbnN1T3VoalNXd0JzTU9aYngwazltVXRud0hISVppZnF2OHU0bFwvVzN6In0%3D&mrkid=959610

For-profit health systems have been better able to weather a financial crisis caused by COVID-19 than their nonprofit counterparts because they could reduce more expenses, a new analysis from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission finds.

The analysis released Thursday during MedPAC’s monthly meeting comes as providers struggle to recover from low patient volumes stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The report also explored how physician offices have fared.

Hospitals faced a massive dip in patient volume in March and April at the onset of the pandemic, which forced facilities to cancel or delay elective procedures. Patient volumes have since recovered to near pre-pandemic levels, MedPAC found.

But the recovery has been mixed depending on the hospital system.

MedPAC looked at earnings for three large nonprofit systems in the U.S. and four large for-profit systems in the second quarter and found a variation in how they handled the decline in revenue.

Aggregate patient revenue for the nonprofit systems declined by $1.5 billion and this led to a $621 million loss for the systems in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2019. Overall the systems had operating profit margins ranging from negative 13% to positive 5%.

The four for-profit systems saw a $3.5 billion decline in patient revenue. However, the systems posted an increase of $634 million in operating income.

This led to a range of operating margin increases of 1 to 14% in the second quarter compared to 2019.

The for-profit systems got more relief funding ($1.9 billion compared with $782 million) from a $175 billion federal provider relief fund created by the CARES Act.

But the biggest difference between for-profit and nonprofit systems was how they handled expenses.

“For-profit systems substantially reduced expenses in the second quarter, in aggregate reduced by $2.3 billion and that made up for lost revenue,” said Jeff Stensland, a MedPAC staff member, during the meeting.

Nonprofit systems only saw a $13 million decline in expenses.

The analysis comes as some larger for-profit systems like HCA Healthcare generate profits in the second quarter, while nonprofit systems such as Providence posted losses.

MedPAC did not name the systems that it analyzed nor did it delve into what expenses were reduced and how.

Some systems have taken to furloughing employees but all systems have faced increased expenses for personal protective equipment and some staff.

The analysis also looked at the financial impact of the pandemic on physician offices. MedPAC found that federal grants, loans and payment increases offset a majority of the revenue lost in March and May due to patient volume declines.

MedPAC estimated physician offices lost between $45 to $55 billion. However, offices got $26 billion in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program, which don’t have to be repaid if the majority of the funds go to payroll.

Physician offices also received $5 billion out of the $175 billion provider relief fund passed as part of the CARES Act.

Physicians also got $1 billion in savings from the temporary suspension of a 2% decline in Medicare payments created under sequestration.

Unemployment Claims Are ‘Stubbornly High’ as Layoffs Persist

Posted on September 2, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in 2020 Election Issues, Coronavirus, Crisis, Crisis Management, Economic Crisis, Economic Recovery, Economic Stimulus, Employee Benefits, Employee Furlough, Employee Hiring Freeze, Employee Layoffs, Employee Pay Cuts, Employee Protections, Employer-Based Health Insurance, Evidence-based Leadership, Evidence-Based Plan, Evidence-Based Policy, False Hope, False Narrative, Health Insurance Coverage Adequacy, High Deductible Health Plans, High Drug Prices, High Premiums, High Prices, Infection Control, Infection Control Plan, Infectious Virus, Job, Job Loss, Job Market, Job Search, Job Security, Leadership Decentralized, Market Uncertainty, Mixed Message, Mortality, National Strategy, Out of Pocket Expenses, Pandemic, Public Health, Public Opinion, Public Perception, Public Safety, Public Trust, Quarantine, Scientists, Social Distancing, Uncertainty, Underinsured, Unemployment, Unemployment Insurance, Uninsured • Leave a comment

Just over one million Americans filed new claims for state jobless benefits last week, the latest sign that the economy is losing momentum just as federal aid to the unemployed has been pulled away.

Weekly claims briefly dipped below the one million mark early this month, offering a glimmer of hope in an otherwise gloomy job market. But filings jumped to 1.1 million the next week, and stayed above one million last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

“It’s devastating how stubbornly high initial claims are,” said Julia Pollak, a labor economist at the employment site ZipRecruiter. “There are still huge numbers of layoffs taking place.”

Another 608,000 people filed for benefits under the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which offers aid to independent contractors, self-employed workers and others not covered by regular state programs. That number, unlike the figures for state claims, is not seasonally adjusted.

Other recent indicators also suggest that the recovery is faltering. Job growth slowed in July, and real-time data from private-sector sources suggests that hiring has slumped further in August. On Tuesday, American Airlines said it will furlough 19,000 workers on Oct. 1, the latest in a string of such announcements from major corporations.

“It is worrying because it does signal that these large companies are pessimistic about the state of the recovery and don’t think that we are going to be returning to normal anytime soon,” said Daniel Zhao, senior economist at the career site Glassdoor.

Unemployment filings have fallen sharply since early April, when 6.6 million applied for benefits in a single week. But even after that decline, weekly filings far exceed any previous period. Close to 30 million Americans are receiving benefits under various state and federal programs.

The rate of job losses remains high as government support for the unemployed is waning. A $600-a-week federal supplement to state unemployment benefits expired at the end of July, and efforts to replace it have stalled in Congress. President Trump announced this month that he was using his executive authority to give jobless workers an additional $300 or $400 a week, but few states have begun paying out the new benefit.

Economists warn that the loss of federal support could act as a brake on the recovery. Nancy Vanden Houten, lead economist for the forecasting firm Oxford Economics, estimated that the lapse in extra unemployment benefits would reduce household income by $45 billion in August. That could lead to a drop in consumer spending and further layoffs, she said.

The benefit initiated by Mr. Trump would use federal emergency funds to provide $300 a week in extra payments to most unemployed workers. (States can choose to chip in an additional $100 a week, but few are doing so.) As of Wednesday, 34 states had been approved for grants under the program, known as Lost Wages Assistance.

Arizona, the first state to turn the grants into payments, sent $252.6 million to about 400,000 recipients last week, a sum that included retroactive payments for the first two weeks of August. Texas this week has paid out $424 million and expects to deliver nearly $1 billion more to cover the first three weeks of benefits. A handful of other states are paying benefits or expect to begin doing so within days.

Most, however, said it could take until mid-September or later.

Once the money starts flowing, it may not last long. Mr. Trump’s order authorized spending up to $44 billion, which federal officials said last week would cover four or five weeks of payments. That means jobless workers in many states may receive a lump sum covering several weeks of retroactive benefits, but nothing more without congressional action.

The wait for the $300 benefit can depend on a state’s computers.

A crowd thronged a temporary unemployment office in Kentucky in June. Adapting computer systems to new benefits has been a crucial factor in processing claims.

On the surface, the new lost wages program looks like the earlier $600-a-week federal supplement, just cut in half. But there are subtle differences: The program has a different funding source (the Federal Emergency Management Agency instead of the Labor Department) and new restrictions (people receiving less than $100 a week in regular benefits don’t qualify).

Those kinds of adjustments would be trivial on a modern computer system. But many state unemployment systems are running on computers that are anything but modern.

In Oklahoma, for example, the unemployment system uses a 40-year-old mainframe computer that turns even minor adjustments into a major programming task. As a result, even though the state was among the first to apply for the $300 benefit this month, it doesn’t expect to begin paying the new benefit until late September.

“The fact that I’m working with a mainframe from 1978 to process claims is just crippling to the agency,” said Shelley Zumwalt, interim executive director of the agency that oversees Oklahoma’s unemployment system. “We are just holding that system together with masking tape and chewing gum.”

When the pandemic hit, Arizona, too, was stuck with archaic computer systems. It built a new system virtually from scratch to begin paying out federally funded emergency benefits, and it was among the last states to do so.

But the approach left Arizona better able to handle curveballs like the new $300 benefit.

“Through that chaos, we created a pandemic unemployment system,” said Michael Wisehart, director of the Arizona Department of Economic Security.

Since the $600-a-week benefit lapsed, her savings have been dwindling.

Christy Miller says there are three things that shape her identity: making people laugh, making people strong and lifting heavy objects. She can’t do any of those right now, and she isn’t sure when she will be able to again.

Ms. Miller, 49, is a standup comedian in New York, where comedy clubs have been closed since March. She is also a personal trainer and an amateur power lifter — activities she has had to give up because gyms, too, remain closed in the city.

The $600-a-week supplement to her unemployment pay didn’t just allow her to pay rent and buy food. It also freed up the time and mental energy for her to learn video production, podcasting and other skills to help her survive the pandemic-driven shutdown of her industry.

“I would give up the $600 a week any day for this coronavirus to go away and get back to work,” she said. “But the $600 has allowed me not to be homeless, to learn more computer stuff that I never would have learned or had the time to learn.”

None of those ventures are producing much income yet, though. She saved as much of her unemployment benefits as she could, and has enough to cover rent through the end of the year. But other bills are another matter. And there is little guarantee that her business will bounce back before her savings run out.

“If they don’t fix this pandemic thing, I may have to leave New York because I can’t afford to stay here,” she said.

Even getting back to work doesn’t always bring security.

Kris Fusco is finally back at work. That doesn’t mean her coronavirus worries are behind her.

When Ms. Fusco’s employer — a small, family-owned business in Massachusetts that rents musical instruments to students — laid her off in March, she expected to be out of work for a couple of weeks. That got extended to April, then to June. Eventually one of the owners called her to tell her they didn’t know when they could reopen.

“I said, ‘You do what you need to do to keep your business afloat, and I’m just going to hold on as long as I can,’” she said. Fortunately, her employer called her back shortly after the $600 supplement expired. She returned to work last week, and, despite some nervousness about going into the office with the virus still spreading, she said she was grateful for the paycheck.

But Ms. Fusco, 50, doesn’t know how long her good fortune will last. With many schools still teaching remotely or canceling activities like band, she worries that her company’s business will suffer. Already, she has noticed a large number of instruments being returned.

“It’s very worrisome for me because I can see the snowball effect from Covid-19 all around me,” she said. “It’s always lurking right behind my eyeballs that in six months I might be out of a job again.”

Unemployed struggle to cover basic expenses following CARES expiration: poll

Posted on September 2, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in 2020 Election Issues, Coronavirus, Crisis, Crisis Management, Economic Crisis, Economic Recovery, Economic Stimulus, Employee Benefits, Employee Furlough, Employee Hiring Freeze, Employee Layoffs, Employee Pay Cuts, Employee Protections, Employer-Based Health Insurance, Evidence-based Leadership, Evidence-Based Plan, Evidence-Based Policy, Executive Orders, False Hope, False Narrative, Health Insurance Coverage Adequacy, High Deductible Health Plans, High Drug Prices, High Premiums, High Prices, Infection Control, Infection Control Plan, Infectious Virus, Leadership Decentralized, Mistrust, Mixed Message, Mortality, National Strategy, Out of Pocket Expenses, Pandemic, Partisanship, Public Health, Public Opinion, Public Perception, Public Safety, Public Trust, Quarantine, Scientists, Social Distancing, Underinsured, Unemployment, Unemployment Insurance, Uninsured • Leave a comment

Unemployed struggle to cover basic expenses following CARES expiration: poll

The number of jobless people saying that unemployment insurance does not cover basic expenses including food, clothing, housing and transportation nearly doubled after key benefits expired in July.

A new survey from Morning Consult found that 50 percent of unemployed people said their benefits fell short of covering basic expenses, up from 27 percent in July.

The $600 in extra weekly benefits that Congress passed in March expired at the end of July, leaving many with significantly lower payments.

Republicans argued the $600 increase was too high and discouraged people from returning to work. Democrats countered that at a time of record high unemployment and limited job openings, the extra pay was unlikely to prevent jobs from getting filled.

A month later, negotiations between the White House and congressional Democrats remain stalled. Senate Republicans are setting a goal of voting on a more limited package of COVID-19 relief measures next week, though Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has dismissed the idea of approving a limited bill.

An executive order by President Trump to provide $300 in additional benefits to a more limited pool of recipients has lagged in implementation, with only a handful of states able to start making new payments.

In the meantime, the pandemic continues to stifle the economy.

A CNBC poll found that 14 percent of those surveyed had completely wiped out their emergency savings during the pandemic, and 39 percent were forced to take some sort of emergency measures to shore up their finances.

Among those who took emergency measures, 17 percent tapped into savings, 11 percent borrowed money, 6 percent stopped retirement contributions and 4 percent moved in with a family member.

U.S. says it won’t join WHO-linked effort to develop, distribute coronavirus vaccine

Posted on September 1, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in 2020 Election Issues, Coronavirus, Crisis, Crisis Management, Economic Crisis, Economic Recovery, Evidence-based Leadership, Evidence-Based Plan, Evidence-Based Policy, Health Policy, Judgement, Leadership Culture, Leadership Flexibility, Leadership Intent, Leadership Political, Pandemic, Public Health, Public Opinion, Public Perception, Public Safety, Public Trust, Quarantine, Reliable, Risk, Risk Management, Risk Tolerance, Vaccine, World Health Organization (WHO) • Leave a comment

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/coronavirus-vaccine-trump/2020/09/01/b44b42be-e965-11ea-bf44-0d31c85838a5_story.html?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR31G0QRSO-t6-OnkJxpPFGyIv5d9EW7Zmq4nLVs63OzYf2yR5v1RJ5MtNA

The Trump administration said it will not join a global effort to develop, manufacture and equitably distribute a coronavirus vaccine, in part because the World Health Organization is involved, a decision that could shape the course of the pandemic and the country’s role in health diplomacy.

More than 170 countries are in talks to participate in the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (Covax) Facility, which aims to speed vaccine development and secure doses for all countries and distribute them to the most high-risk segment of each population.

The plan, which is co-led by the WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Gavi, the vaccine alliance, was of interest to some members of the Trump administration and is backed by traditional U.S. allies, including Japan, Germany and the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union.

But the United States will not participate, in part because the White House does not want to work with the WHO, which President Trump has criticized over what he characterized as its “China-centric” response to the pandemic.

“The United States will continue to engage our international partners to ensure we defeat this virus, but we will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by the corrupt World Health Organization and China,” said Judd Deere, a spokesman for the White House.

The Covax decision, which has not been previously reported, is effectively a doubling down by the administration on its bet that the United States will win the vaccine race. It eliminates the chance to secure doses from a pool of promising vaccine candidates — a potentially risky strategy.

“America is taking a huge gamble by taking a go-it-alone strategy,” said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University.

Kendall Hoyt, an assistant professor at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine, said it was akin to opting out of an insurance policy.

The United States could be pursuing bilateral deals with drug companies and simultaneously participating in Covax, she said, increasing its odds of getting some doses of the first safe vaccine. “Just from a simple risk management perspective, this [Covax decision] is shortsighted, she said.

The U.S. move will also shape what happens elsewhere. The idea behind Covax is to discourage hoarding and focus on vaccinating high-risk people in every country first, a strategy that could lead to better health outcomes and lower costs, experts said.

U.S. nonparticipation makes that harder. “When the U.S. says it is not going to participate in any sort of multilateral effort to secure vaccines, it’s a real blow,” said Suerie Moon, co-director of the Global Health Center at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.

“The behavior of countries when it comes to vaccines in this pandemic will have political repercussions beyond public health,” she added. “It’s about, are you a reliable partner, or, at the end of the day, are you going to keep all your toys for yourself?”

Some members of the Trump administration were interested in a more cooperative approach but were ultimately overruled.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun had interest in exploring some type of role in Covax, a senior administration official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the decision-making.

But there was resistance in some corners of the government and a belief that the United States has enough coronavirus vaccine candidates in advanced clinical trials that it can go it alone, according to the official and a former senior administration official who learned about it in private discussions.

The question of who wins the race for a safe vaccine will largely influence how the administration’s “America first” approach to the issue plays out.

An unlikely worst-case scenario, experts said, is that none of the U.S. vaccine candidates are viable, leaving the United States with no option since it has shunned the Covax effort.

Another possibility is that a U.S. vaccine does pan out, but the country hoards doses, vaccinating a large number of Americans, including those at low risk, while leaving other countries without.

Experts in health security see at least two problems with this strategy: The first is that a new vaccine is unlikely to offer complete protection to all people, meaning that a portion of the U.S. population will still be vulnerable to imported cases — especially as tourism and trade resume.

The second, related problem is that a U.S. recovery depends on economic recovery elsewhere. If large parts of the world are still in lockdown, the global economy is smarting and supply chains are disrupted, the United States will not be able to bounce back.

“We will continue to suffer the economic consequences — lost U.S. jobs — if the pandemic rages unabated in allies and trading partners,” said Thomas J. Bollyky, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the director of its global health program.

Proponents of a multilateral approach to global public health would like to see all countries coordinate through Covax. Perhaps unsurprisingly, interest is strongest from poor countries, while some larger economies are cutting deals directly with drugmakers.

WHO officials have argued that countries need not choose — they can pursue both strategies by signing bilateral deals and also joining Covax.

“By joining the facility at the same time that you do bilateral deals, you’re actually betting on a larger number of vaccine candidates,” Mariângela Simao, a WHO assistant director for drug and vaccine access, said at an Aug. 17 briefing.

If nothing else, the United States could pledge surplus vaccine doses to Covax to ensure they are distributed in a rational and equitable way, experts said.

Some cautioned against a focus on “winning” the race. Given the complexity of supply chains, vaccine development will necessarily be a global effort, regardless of whether countries want to cooperate.

The decision to steer clear of Covax comes at a time of tremendous change for health diplomacy.

The United States has long been the biggest donor to the WHO and a major funder of vaccine initiatives.

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump praised both China and the WHO for their handling of the outbreak. But as the crisis intensified in the United States, he turned on the U.N. health agency.

In April, he announced a freeze on new U.S. funding. Not long after, the State Department started stripping references to the WHO from fact sheets and rerouting funds to other programs.

By July, the administration had sent a letter signaling its intent to withdraw from the WHO.

But untangling the United States from the agency it helped found and shape is not simple — and the terms of the separation are still being assessed.

It is not yet clear, for instance, whether a U.S. withdrawal means the United States will just stop its contributions to the WHO or whether it will stop funding any initiative linked to the agency in any way.

For instance, the White House no longer wants to work with the WHO, but the United States is a major supporter of Gavi, which co-leads the Covax project.

Asked to comment on the Covax decision, a State Department spokeswoman pointed to U.S. funding for Gavi, as well as money for such programs as UNICEF and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

J. Stephen Morrison, director of the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the White House could still reverse course and join Covax, or at least let the Senate fund through Gavi — a political workaround.

“This just shows how awkward, contradictory and self-defeating all of this,” he said. “For the U.S. to terminate its relationship with the WHO in the middle of a pandemic is going to create an endless stream of self-defeating moments.”

US surpasses 6 million coronavirus cases nationwide

Posted on August 31, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in 2020 Election Issues, Asymptomatic Transmission, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Clinical Testing, Contact Tracing, Coronavirus, Crisis, Crisis Management, Economic Crisis, Economic Recovery, Evidence-based Leadership, Evidence-Based Plan, Evidence-Based Policy, False Hope, False Narrative, Infection Control, Infection Control Plan, Infectious Virus, Leadership Decentralized, Misinformation, Misinterpret, Mislead, Misleading, Mistake, Mistrust, Mixed Message, Mortality, National Strategy, Pandemic, Public Health, Public Opinion, Public Perception, Public Safety, Public Schools, Public Trust, Quarantine, School Reopening, Scientists, Social Distancing, Superspreader, Superspreader Event, Superspreader Facilities, Superspreading Events • Leave a comment

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/public-global-health/514364-us-passes-6-million-coronavirus-cases-nationwide

The United States has passed six million confirmed cases of the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The country has also passed 183,000 deaths nationwide.

President Trump and his 2020 Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, have battled for months over the U.S.’s coronavirus response, with allies of the Democratic nominee hammering the administration over the U.S.’s status as the country with the most confirmed COVID-19 cases in the world.

In July, Biden accused Trump of giving up on the U.S.’s efforts to control the disease’s spread, claiming that the president “raised the white flag.”

“He has no idea what to do. It’s zero. It’s only one thing he has in mind — how does he win reelection? And it doesn’t matter how many people get COVID and or die from COVID because he fears that if the economy is strapped as badly as it is today that, in fact, he is going to be in trouble,” the former vice president told MSNBC.

Trump, meanwhile, has struck an optimistic tone on the virus when addressing it in recent months and claimed that he believes a vaccine could be available before the election. He also claimed in a recent Axios interview that the virus is “under control as much as you can control it” in the U.S.

“They are dying, that’s true. And you have — it is what it is,” Trump said earlier in August. “But that doesn’t mean we aren’t doing everything we can. It’s under control as much as you can control it. This is a horrible plague.”

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HENRY KOTULA

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U.S. says it won’t join WHO-linked effort to develop, distribute coronavirus vaccine

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The wait for the $300 benefit can depend on a state’s computers.

Since the $600-a-week benefit lapsed, her savings have been dwindling.

Even getting back to work doesn’t always bring security.

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