COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and Homecare

 FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (October 28, 2020)—New York state Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Hochul recently visited D’Addario’s Farmingdale factory to tour the facility and learn more about the company’s COVID-19 Face Shield Initiative. During the height of the crisis, D’Addario, the world’s largest musical instrument accessories manufacturer, shut down all normal operations and rapidly converted to producing personal protective equipment (PPE) face shields.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 22, 2020)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released data showing that 21% of Medicare beneficiaries report forgoing non-COVID-19 related care due to the pandemic, and nearly all—98%—of beneficiaries have taken preventative measures to keep themselves safe from the virus.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (October 19, 2020)—The COVID-19 pandemic changed the world for homecare—but also elevated the profession in the eyes of the public and lawmakers, William A. Dombi, president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, said Monday as he opened the group’s annual conference.

“What has emerged is energy and enthusiasm about our future,” Dombi said.

MassPACE, the Massachusetts chapter of Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly, has taken an innovative approach to serving its clients, mostly patients who are dual eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, during the pandemic. While traditionally center-based, MassPACE shifted to an at-home model, sending caregivers out with tablets for telehealth and also setting up social activities, counseling and more.

ATLANTA (October 8, 2020)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) has announced their partnership with WellEntry—a simple smartphone- and tablet-based solution that helps prevent and mitigate the spread of infectious diseases—as their preferred health-screening solution to keep patients, families and employees safe.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 7, 2020)—The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) opened the $20 billion Phase 3 General Distribution under the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) on Monday, Oct.5th.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (October 2, 2020)—The United States’ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced $20 billion in new funding for providers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.

ATLANTA (October 1, 2020)—Since 1979, Medtrade has brought the home medical equipment (HME) industry together to connect, share ideas and experience the newest HME technology and personal health products; our goal is always to support this remarkable community. 

Given the ongoing concerns around COVID-19, and our commitment to the safety of our industry, we are cancelling our in-person event at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA, scheduled for Nov. 2-4, 2020. 

PHILADELPHIA, (September 29, 2020)—OneClick.chat, an innovative video chat platform, announced positive outcomes in the study of older adults—with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI)—who used their video chat technology to engage in social activities to meet new people of all ages with shared interests. Some of the participants' favorite topics of conversation were books, health, family and exercise.

FORT WORTH, Texas (September 22, 2020)—VERTESS, a health care mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory firm, announced the closing of four major durable medical equipment (DME) health care transactions in Q2 and Q3 2020, despite challenges brought on by the pandemic. Even during unprecedented times, 2020 has been steadily gaining momentum within the DME industry. With several successful transactions this year, traction continues to increase in this sector.

MORRISVILLE, N.C. (SEPTEMBER 16, 2020)—According to a Relias survey of more than 5,000 health care and public safety professionals, 59% of respondents indicated a lack of well-developed methods of evaluating whether training is actually being put into practice on the job. This is down from 74% in 2017; however, it alludes to the prevalent gap in the perceived value and the impact of staff development and training.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 15, 2020)—The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued a "Temporary Rule" in response to an Aug. 3, 2020 decision of a federal court in New York that invalidated the department's earlier rulemaking. While there remains a legal issue as to whether the court's ruling is limited to New York, DOL chose to issue a new rule that would be effective prospectively beginning Sept. 11, 2020. 

HOBOKEN, N.J., (September 8)—Health Recovery Solutions (HRS), a national provider of telehealth and remote patient monitoring solutions (RPM), announced the launch of its COVID-19 Recovery Care Plan. The COVID-19 Recovery Care Plan was developed to support providers who are offering telehealth and RPM to their patients recovering from COVID-19 at home.

KOKOMO, Indiana (September 3, 2020)–Ventec Life Systems announced it delivered its 30,000th V+Pro critical care ventilator to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services yesterday in partnership with General Motors.

AMSTERDAM (September 1, 2020)—Royal Philips, a provider of health technology, announced that it has received notice from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of the partial termination of the April 2020 contract to deliver 43,000 bundled EV300 ventilator configurations to HHS through December 2020.