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Summary of Senate Hearing on Returning to College Safely

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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.

ACE Publishes Department of Education Funded Blockchain Report

Today the American Council on Education (ACE) released their report, “Connected Impact: Unlocking Education and Workforce Opportunity through Blockchain”. The report, based on numerous interviews, is the result of a study funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The report will inform the Blockchain Innovation Challenge grant program.

More information may be accessed here, and the report may be accessed here. An Inside Higher Ed article on the report may be accessed here.

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Nonprofit Organizations Struggle To Survive COVID-19 

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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.

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Upcoming Senate Committee Hearing: Telehealth Lessons from the Pandemic

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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.

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FDA Posts COVID-19 Resources For Health Professionals

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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.

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ACAPT Releases Guidelines for PT Programs

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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.

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Essentials of Mechanical Ventilation: Interview and Online Resource

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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.

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

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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.

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Estimating Potential Spending On COVID-19 Care

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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/.

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CDC Activities And Initiatives Supporting The COVID-19 Response

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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.

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State Insurance Marketplaces During COVID-19

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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.

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House Approves 5th Emergency COVID-19 Spending Bill

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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.

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HRSA Awards $15 Million in Telehealth Funding

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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.

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Social Distancing Measures And The COVID-19 Growth Rate

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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.

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Short-Term Insurance Plans And COVID-19 Coverage

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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.

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House Democrats Release Latest COVID-19 legislation

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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  

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NexusIPE Hosts COVID-19 Webinar on Geriatrics

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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.

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Lessons from the Front Lines: COVID-19 Call

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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.