(March 27, 2020)—The limited supply of ventilators is one of the chief concerns facing hospitals as they prepare for more COVID-19 cases. In Italy, where hospitals have been overwhelmed with patients in respiratory failure, doctors have had to make difficult life-or-death decisions about who gets a ventilator and who does not.
Editor's note: This article will be updated with new information about the novel coronavirus outbreak as it relates to home health, home medical equipment and the aging-in-place community as we receive it. Please make sure you check homecaremag.com/coronavirus for longer articles, news releases and other updates on a daily basis. Note that date stamps are Central time.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 26, 2020)—The Senate passed a $2 trillion stimulus package yesterday with provisions designed to help stabilize the economy and provide direct aid to most individuals and families.
The bill also contains measures related to Medicare HME policy, including:
KIRKLAND, Wash. (March 25, 2020) -- Home health, hospice and homecare providers should prepare to be called on to handle a surge of patients as hospitals are overwhelmed by the coronavirus epidemic, one provider who has been at the forefront of the crisis said Wednesday.
FORT WORTH, Texas (March 25, 2020)—MedHab LLC launches Steprite and MyNotifi with pulse oximetry allowing home health therapists to monitor their patients either remotely or in-home. Steprite and MyNotifi offer four immediate benefits to home health. First, they both meet recent Medicare rulings regarding remote patient monitoring (RPM) and allow home health therapists to monitor patients remotely and receive Medicare reimbursements.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (March 25, 2020) -- As a hospice nurse in Seattle, Diane Speer said giving out hugs to patients and family members was a routine part of home visits.
But in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, she now tells family members to keep their distance.
“There’s no touching hands or handshakes,” said Speer, who works for Renton, Washington-based Providence St. Joseph Health. It’s “time for a virtual hug.”
WASHINGTON, DC (March 24, 2020)--The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced over the weekend a series of relief measures for providers and clinicians when it comes to Medicare quality reporting to ease the strain of COVID-19 response.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (March 20, 2020)—National Seating & Mobility (NSM),a provider of mobility and accessibility solutions in North America, has enacted extensive plans in response to the evolving COVID-19 (coronavirus 2019) pandemic. New procedures, guided by the NSM Disaster Preparedness Task Force, will be integrated companywide to mitigate exposure risk and support alternative service delivery options for clients during this time.
SANDWHICH, Mass. (March 19, 2020)—As information about COVID-19 continues to update rapidly, health care providers are continually seeking guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the administration on protocol for dealing with patients and adjusting their practices in these challenging circumstances.
DENVER, Colo.(March 19, 2020)—OnTerra Systems, the developers of RouteSavvy routing software for small businesses, today announced that RouteSavvy route planning software (routesavvy.com) will be free through June 30, 2020 for up to 1,000 small businesses struggling to survive during the coronavirus pandemic.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (March 19, 2019)—President Donald Trump signed HR 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act into law yesterday. The bill responds to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) by providing paid sick leave and free coronavirus testing expanding food assistance and unemployment benefits, and requiring employers to provide additional protections for health care workers.