Senate Pandemic Preparedness Report and Request for Recommendations

Senator Lamar Alexander, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, this week released a 40-page report, “Preparing for the Next Pandemic”. The report aims to cover what the United States has learned from the past twenty years of public health preparedness and response and how it can better prepare for future pandemics. Chairman Alexander’s report recommends that Congress should work with federal departments and agencies, states, and the private sector to address these five specific issues and newly identified gaps: 1. Tests, Treatments, and Vaccines, 2. Disease Surveillance, 3. Stockpiles, Distribution, and Surges, 4. Public Health Capabilities, and 5. Coordination of Federal Agencies During a Public Health Emergency. Chairman Alexander requests recommendations that Congress can consider and act on this year. Responses should be sent to PANDEMICPREPAREDNESS@HELP.SENATE.GOV by 5pm ET on June 26.

The report may be accessed here.

ASAHP Partners with CastleBranch to Fight Back Against COVID-19

The Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) is providing a no-cost solution to its members to help mitigate the risk of COVID-19 and assist health professions students in safely returning to clinical rotations. The solution, CastleBranch’s CB COVID-19 Compliance application, can be used to screen for common COVID-19 symptoms, high-risk indicators, and help students prove their safe to return to onsite clinical experiences.

The CB COVID-19 Compliance tool closely aligns with ASAHP’s values of preparing safe and competent professionals, benefitting from the power of a united approach and bringing creative and innovative solutions to its members. CB COVID-19 Compliance will enable ASAHP’s members to screen students for a fever, collect information on a student’s travel and exposure to COVID-19, and provide education on proper protocol and practices to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The application follows CDC guidelines and was inspired by the Infectious Disease Council, an international panel of experts representing the fields of infectious disease policy, education, healthcare, diagnostic and medical testing, and law. Members include, among others, Donna Meyer, CEO of the Organization for Associate Degree Nursing, and Dr. Deborah Trautman, CEO of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

“Our healthcare professions schools and students are facing extraordinary challenges as the pandemic both highlights, and elevates, the central role healthcare workers play in the wellbeing of our nation,” said John Colbert, Esq., executive director of ASAHP. “We must work to protect our next generation of healthcare workers, and to fight against the threat to their education, training, and clinical experience process. By partnering with CastleBranch, we are taking proactive steps to empower our next generation of health professionals and get them back into clinical rotations during this unprecedented time.”

CB COVID-19 Compliance is built upon CastleBranch’s existing enterprise-level clinical experience platform, CB Bridges, which is designed to support millions of users. The platform is compliant with all relevant regulations governing the collection and usage of private data, including FERPA, FCRA, CCPA and more. CB COVID-19 Compliance will be available to all ASAHP members and allied health programs, regardless of whether they’re current CastleBranch clients.

“It’s crucial that we take all available measures to help the healthcare community during this time of crisis, and that includes helping health students get back to the classroom and back into clinical rotations to continue their education,” said Brett Martin, CEO of CastleBranch. “These students are the next generation of healthcare professionals we’ll rely on to help our communities respond to and recover from COVID-19.”

CB COVID-19 Compliance will be available to ASAHP members, students, and associated healthcare facility partners at no cost through December 2020.

For more information, please visit https://discover.castlebranch.com/covid-19-resources-cu/ or call or email CastleBranch at 888.914.7279, covid19@castlebranch.com.

Summary of Senate Hearing on Returning to College Safely

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a hearing last Thursday on “COVID-19: Going Back to College Safely.” Topics discussed by the committee include institutional plans for COVID-19 testing, isolation of students who test positive or have been exposed, social distancing guidelines, disparities for underrepresented college students with distance learning, contact tracing, and collaborative efforts between the institution, local, state, and federal agencies.

The memo, compiled by ASAHP staff, may be accessed here.

Nonprofit Organizations Struggle To Survive COVID-19

Nonprofit community-based organizations (CBOs) provide invaluable social services to society’s most vulnerable members, but the COVID-19 pandemic threatens CBOs' survival at a time when their clients need them most. A report from the Commonwealth Fund describes the pandemic’s implications, including dwindling funds, staffing constraints, and challenges in delivering services. 

 The report can be obtained here.

Upcoming Senate Committee Hearing: Telehealth Lessons from the Pandemic

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee has announced a full committee hearing on telehealth, focusing on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, June 17 at 10am Eastern in 430 Dirksen in Washington D.C. Witnesses and more information to be announced.

FDA Posts COVID-19 Resources For Health Professionals

The FDA has created a page of resources for health professionals on the topic of COVID-19. It contains information about emergency use authorizations, personal protective equipment, and medical products, including investigational drugs and fraudulent devices.

Resources can be obtained at https://www.fda.gov/health-professionals/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-resources-health-professionals.

ACAPT Releases Guidelines for PT Programs

The American Council of Academic Physical Therapy’s (ACAPT) board of directors initiated and is leading several work groups to address pressing concerns as a result of the COVID-19 impact.  Work groups have been developing guidelines to help PT programs, including the following:

1. ACAPT's new guidelines for returning to the PT classroom and lab during COVID-19

2. Needs of the doctor of physical therapy (DPT) class of 2020 (preliminary report)

3. Guidance on participation in clinical education experiences.

They will continue to update their resources with new information. Read more here.

CDC Updates Its COVID-19 Webpage

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its page on COVID-19 transmission to clarify other types of spread beyond person to person. 

The update can be obtained at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html.

Essentials of Mechanical Ventilation: Interview and Online Resource

David. C. Shelledy, PhD, RRT, RPFT, FAARC, FASAHP, recently joined Jones & Bartlett Learning to discuss his text, Essentials of Mechanical Ventilation, with respect to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the pandemic, the publisher is providing free access to this online education resource.

The interview may be accessed here. A request form to access the text may be found here.

CDC Holds Stakeholder Call on COVID-19 Considerations for Institutes of Higher Education

On Friday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will hold a stakeholder call which will highlight a recent CDC document that offers considerations for ways in which Institutes of Higher Education can help protect students and employees and slow the spread of COVID-19. The call takes place on Friday, May 29 from 4-5pm E.T.

Register here. The CDC’s Considerations for Institutes of Higher Education may be accessed here. Questions for the call may be submitted in advance to the following email: eocevent357@cdc.gov.

Estimating Potential Spending On COVID-19 Care

The disruption to the healthcare system caused by COVID-19 is having major financial consequences for providers, insurers, and patients. A new study from Brookings seeks to estimate the direct cost of COVID-19 care in the United States.

The study can be obtained at https://www.brookings.edu/research/estimating-potential-spending-on-covid-19-care/.

CDC Activities And Initiatives Supporting The COVID-19 Response

A new report briefly summarizes CDC’s initiatives, activities, and tools in support of the Whole-of-Government response to COVID-19. Guidelines are described for reopening the economy, including specifics for child care centers, schools, businesses, restaurants and public transit.

The report can be obtained at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/php/CDC-Activities-Initiatives-for-COVID-19-Response.pdf.

State Insurance Marketplaces During COVID-19

Job loss can result in loss of health insurance coverage. A report from the Commonwealth Fund explores how state-based insurance marketplaces are working to enroll the uninsured — from creating special enrollment periods to redoubling outreach efforts.

The report can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/during-covid-19-crisis-state-health-insurance-marketplaces-are-working-enroll-uninsured?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Health%20Coverage.

House Approves 5th Emergency COVID-19 Spending Bill

House lawmakers on May 15 voted 208 to 199 ​to approve a new emergency supplemental spending bill to address economic problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act provides $3 trillion, including more than $100 billion for education, with about $37 billion allocated for higher education.

The bill can be obtained at https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6800/text.

HRSA Awards $15 Million in Telehealth Funding

HHS, through HRSA, awarded $15 million to 159 organizations to increase telehealth capabilities and activities that train health professions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The awards are funded through the (CARES) Act that was signed into law on March 27. HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) oversees the five workforce programs that received funding. These are the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program, Area Health Education Centers Program, Centers of Excellence Program, Veteran Nurses in Primary Care Training Program, and the Registered Nurses in Primary Care Training Program.

The HHS press release may be accessed here. A complete list of the award recipients may be accessed here.

Social Distancing Measures And The COVID-19 Growth Rate

In order to minimize the spread of COVID-19 during March and April, U.S. state and local governments joined worldwide efforts to impose social distancing measures. A paper from the journal Health Affairs published today examined the impact of selected measures on the COVID-19 growth rate after different periods of days.

The paper can be obtained at https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/pdf/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00608.

Short-Term Insurance Plans And COVID-19 Coverage

What happens when individuals with short-term health insurance plans, which are known for restricted coverage and high out-of-pocket costs, need treatment for COVID-19? A report from the Commonwealth Fund sheds light on this question.

The report can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/age-covid-19-short-term-plans-fall-short-consumers?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Health%20Coverage.

House Democrats Release Latest COVID-19 legislation

Today the House Democrats released their latest COVID-19 legislation, H.R. 6800, The Heroes Act, which proposes more than $3 trillion in funding. The bill contains over $100 billion in funding for the Department of Education, including $90 billion for a State Fiscal Stabilization fund and $10.15 billion to help alleviate burdens with the coronavirus for both colleges and students, of which $1.7 billion is for HBCUs and MSIs. The bill also includes up to $10,000 in debt relief per Federal Student loan borrower. Additional funding includes $7.6 billion for HRSA, $2.1 billion for the CDC, $4.7 billion for NIH, and $3 billion for SAMHSA. It contains nearly $916 billion for state and local governments as well as tax relief, direct cash payments, expanded Unemployment Insurance benefits, and funding for election security and the postal service. Republican leaders oppose the bill and have been advocating for a pause in legislation in order to assess the impact of the previous relief bills. The House aims to vote on the Heroes Act this Friday.

Heroes Act Draft legislation
Title-By-Title Summary  

NexusIPE Hosts COVID-19 Webinar on Geriatrics

In the Accelerating Initiative, the Rochester Nexus Team implemented a highly successful pilot in an academic-community partnership with Lifespan,to address the needs of homebound older adults .Lifespan began strategic planning to determine how their program could scale as the COVID-19 pandemic hit.  Planning has been put on pause as New York grapples with the COVID-19 crisis. The Rochester Nexus Team will present their pilot program, and then we will pivot to an interactive, consultive, solutions-oriented webinar to brainstorm how this team and others could adapt student-staff home visits in order to meet the needs of older adults in the community and advance student learning.  This will be an opportunity for creativity and innovation. The webinar is Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm CDT

More details are available here.

Lessons from the Front Lines: COVID-19 Call

Lessons from the Front Lines: COVID-19 (Friday May 15 at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern)

Lessons from the Front Lines calls are a joint effort between CMS Administrator Seema Verma, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, and the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Physicians and other clinicians are invited to share their experience, ideas, strategies, and insights with one another related to their COVID-19 response. There is an opportunity to ask questions of presenters. The call will take place on Friday, May 15, from 12:30 – 2:00pm Eastern.

Details:

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 877-251-0301; Access Code: 8983296

Web Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=13db3037-4f8f191c-13db0108-0cc47a6d17cc-3e08fb388e16c445&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2045

Conference lines are limited. Interested parties are encouraged to join via audio webcast, either on thier computer or smartphone web browser. These calls are not intended for the press.