Patients have embraced virtual care and telehealth at very high rates as a result of COVID-19, and nine out of 10 said the quality of care was as good as or better than before, according to findings of a global Accenture survey of 2,700 oncology, cardiology and immunology patients.Sixty percent said that, based on their experience during the pandemic, they want to use technology more for communicating with healthcare providers and managing their conditions in the future.The survey was conducted in May across China, France, Germany, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. at a time when all participating countries were under some degree of government restrictions as a result of the global pandemic.

WHAT'S THE IMPACT?As restrictions came into effect, patients faced difficult choices about whether and how to continue their treatments. Many healthcare providers cancelled appointments, and transportation options were shut down. Patients were afraid to risk exposure to COVID-19 by going to their healthcare providers for regular treatment, and as many as 70% deferred or cancelled at least some elements of their treatment.

But nearly half of all patients also started getting some treatment at home instead of going to their provider's office, and they began using virtual telehealth tools such as video conference calls, online chat and apps. Sixty-three percent of those who used video conferencing said it was very good or excellent an impressive response given 70% were using video conferencing for treatment for the first time. By using technology to support communication and care, providers were largely able to maintain or even improve on the patient experience.

Forty-seven percent of respondents said they received better, more personalized responses; 41% said responses were quicker;and 40% said it was more convenient to access care through new communications channels.Also, overall trust in the healthcare system has increased. Sixty percent of patients surveyed said their trust in healthcare providers has increased, and 45% said their trust in pharmaceutical and medical device companies has increased.

Worryingly, many clinical trials were disrupted by COVID-19. Seventy-seven percent of patients said their clinical trials were suspended or delayed, which could have an effect on the speed with which new treatments come to market.But for trials that continued, the use of telehealth was critical for consultations, treatment and monitoring. Case in point: 61% of patients whose trials continued used some form of virtual communication or care.

Patients said they want to be consulted more, but they are currently far from the center of the clinical-trial-design process. As decisions were being made on how to modify clinical trials due to COVID-19, only 14% of surveyed patients were asked about what changes would work for them. This held true across all therapeutic areas and geographies.

THE LARGER TREND

For insurers to continue covering telehealth after the public health emergency ends, policymakers should allow for flexibility in benefit designs, America's Health Insurance Plans said this week.

Telehealth visits should also be clinically comparable to in-person care and be countedtoward network adequacy requirements, risk adjustment calculations and quality measurement, the group said.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said Thursday morning that the agency is doing what it can to maintain telehealth in the healthcare system, for which the Trump Administration has expressed support.

Regulatory barriers to telehealth access include restrictions around geography, originating sites and state licensure requirements.

Federal policymakers have enacted more than 30 changes to enable greater access to telehealth, and,in a June hearing, members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions examined how many of those changes should be made permanent and how to make sure the most vulnerable won't get left behind.

Twitter:@JELagasseEmail the writer:jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com

Read this article:

Patients want to continue using telehealth even after pandemic ends - Healthcare Finance News

Posted: Jul 10, 2020 10:48 AM CDT

Updated: Jul 10, 2020 2:25 PM CDT

by Alabama News Network Staff

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) has donated 20,000 face masks to the Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency (EMA), as well as 400 acrylic face shields to Montgomery area health care providers.

HMMA donated 20,000 form-fitting, washable fabric face masks to the Montgomery County EMA for community distribution via the Montgomery city council and the Montgomery county commission. Each city councilor will make the masks available for community events, neighborhood associations, and citizen requests.

Additionally, 200 acrylic face shields were donated to Baptist Health and 200 were donated to Jackson Hospital. With a national shortage of face masks available for medical personnel, plastic face shields serve as an extra layer of protection for doctors and nurses wearing surgical or fabric face masks.

Together, we will come out of this crisis stronger than ever, said Robert Burns, HMMA vice president HR & administration. While navigating the impact of COVID-19 , team member safety has been a top priority in getting us back on our feet producing high quality vehicles for the entire North American market . We feel it is our duty to help get our home community of Montgomery, which has been so severely impacted, back on its feet as well.

Montgomery has always been stronger together, and public-private partnerships with community stakeholders like HMMA are the bedrock of our success, said Montgomery Mayor Steven L. Reed. These relationships will be integral in building out our vision for a better Montgomery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this donation, Hyundai again demonstrates its commitment to our people. We commend HMMAs leadership and hardworking team members for standing steadfast with our city as we work to stop the spread of COVID-19. We cannot thank them enough for another outpouring of generosity with the donation of 20,000 masks to those in need in Montgomery and central Alabama.

Montgomery Emergency Management Agency humbly thanks our continued HMMA partnership as our Montgomery Community mitigates the spread of COVID-19, said Christina Thornton, Montgomery County EMA director. The more we come together the stronger our Montgomery will be. Please help stop the spread and Mask-Up!

We are so grateful for Hyundai Motor Manufacturing of Alabama for recognizing the continued need to promote precautionary masking in our community, said Tommy McKinnon, Baptist Health vice president of community engagement.

We are equally appreciative of HMMAs contribution of protective face shields to our hospitals, which will greatly help with ongoing personal protective equipment needs.

Earlier this year HMMA donated 450 box lunches to Montgomery area front line health providers,1,000 surgical masks to the Alabama Dental Association and 10,000 COVID-19 tests to Montgomery and surrounding counties to support drive through testing in Alabama.

See the article here:

Hyundai Donates Over 20000 Face Masks to Montgomery Area Healthcare Providers and Community - Alabama News Network

Unions representing Ontarios health care workers say theyre consulting with their memberships about taking political action in response to the province potentially extending its emergency powers.

The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, a division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, said that under the emergency orders, their collective bargaining agreement with the province is suspended.

The Progressive Conservative government introduced a bill earlier this week that would allow the province to keep some emergency measures in place in the months ahead.

Story continues below advertisement

Michael Hurley, president of the OCHU, said that while that was acceptable in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, its now a detriment to health care workers.

The act makes it clear that the emergency is over thats explicit in the legislation, Mr. Hurley said. The case count in Ontario has dropped dramatically. The number of cases is perhaps a fifth of what it was in March when the emergency was declared.

As of Friday, there were 117 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in Ontario, down from a peak of 1,043 in March. There were 4,309 active cases in the province, according to the Ontario government.

Mr. Hurley said that with the emergency orders in place, nurses and other care workers can have their shifts changed, be moved from site to site or have vacation requests denied. He also pointed out that the act applies to the entire province, but many public-health units are out of an emergency situation.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said on Friday that 30 of the provinces 34 public-health units every region except Peel, York, Toronto and Windsor-Essex are reporting five or fewer new cases, with 17 of them reporting no new cases at all.

The health care worker unions said they will have meetings with executive board members, stewards and members over the weekend and on Monday to decide on a course of action by Tuesday. Options available to the membership range from wearing stickers to work, organizing a rally or even an interruption of work.

What is the most painful thing of this is that no one wants to turn their attention from providing patient care to having to defend some basic workplace rights, Mr. Hurley said. Thats the last thing anyone wants to do, so were hoping that the government reconsiders its position.

Story continues below advertisement

The union also said the Ontario government announced its plans to extend the act without consulting them.

Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the days most important headlines. Sign up today.

Follow this link:

Health-care unions considering political action over Ontarios emergency act - The Globe and Mail

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Tuesday falsely claimed that healthcare workers "don't get infected" with Covid-19 "because they take appropriate precautions" as he attempted to make the case for reopening schools in the falleven with coronavirus cases surging across the United States.

"If we don't have enough PPE for the healthcare workers on the front lines, how can we possibly have enough PPE for all of the country's teachers to take the same precautions?" Sarah Karlin-Smith, Pink Sheet

"There's no reason we can't do any of this," Azar, a former pharmaceutical lobbyist and executive, said during an event at the White House. "We have healthcare settings. We have healthcare workers, they don't get infected because they take appropriate precautions. They engage in social distancing, they wear facial covering, they use good personal hygiene. This can work, you can do all of this. There's no reason schools have to be in any way any different."

In addition to noting that Azar's claim about healthcare workers not getting infected is wildly falseaccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 94,000 healthcare workers have contracted Covid-19 and at least 500 have diedmedical professionals rejected the argument that precautionary measures taken in healthcare settings can easily be replicated in the nation's schools.

"We are trained in infection control and have used [personal protective equipment] for years," tweeted Prasad Jallepalli, MD, a professor at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. "This is almost as dumb as the 'give teachers guns' proposal."

Sarah Karlin-Smith, a reporter with Pink Sheet, asked: "If we don't have enough PPE for the healthcare workers on the front lines, how can we possibly have enough PPE for all of the country's teachers to take the same precautions?"

Watch Azar's remarks:

In response to widespread criticism of Azar's comments, HHS spokesperson Michael Caputo tweeted that the secretary "is keenly aware of and grateful for the sacrifices #HealthcareHeroes have been making throughout this pandemic" and added that it would be "foolish" to suggest he "doesn't believe these warriors get sick and die."

Kaiser Health News and The Guardian, in a collaborative investigation titled "Lost on the Frontline," identified more than 760 healthcare workers who have likely died of Covid-19 in the U.S.a death toll significantly higher than the CDC's official count.

"In some states, medical personnel account for as many as 20% of known coronavirus cases. They tend to patients in hospitals, treating them, serving them food, and cleaning their rooms. Others at risk work in nursing homes or are employed as home health aides," the outlets reported. "Some cases are shrouded in secrecy... Many hospitals have been overwhelmed and workers sometimes have lacked protective equipment or suffer from underlying health conditions that make them vulnerable to the highly infectious virus."

Originally posted here:

Trump Health Secretary Says US Healthcare Workers 'Don't Get Infected' With Covid-19 (94,000 Have Contracted the Virus) - Common Dreams

MADISON (WKOW) -- As some communities begin to return to normal, we'll still be fighting COVID-19 for months and the stress over the virus hasn't gone away.

An April poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found one in five adults believes the ongoing crisis has had a negative impact on their mental health.

Health care workers are seeing how it impacts patients every day, working harder than ever right now to keep everyone safe.

"When these COVID patients are the ICU they're very, very sick," said SSM Health respiratory therapist Kristie Reilly. "You're with them a lot. They're very tenuous. Simple things like repositioning their head can make their blood pressure drop, can make their oxygen saturation drop."

That kind of pressure can add to the stresses for these essential workers. Plus, the fears of the virus itself.

"Not that I didn't think about what I was going to bring home to my family [before the pandemic], but now it's definitely on my mind," Reilly told 27 News. "As soon as I get home, before my kids can talk to me, before my husband talks to me, I take everything off and I take a shower, wash my hair, just to make sure that I don't give them anything."

Experts say they're seeing more health care workers seeking counseling because the pandemic is taking a toll on their mental health.

"People get in survival mode and you just think, what do I need to do today to get to the job, to meet my family obligations. And we can really neglect our own mental health needs," said Dr. Lisa Baker, a psychologist at SSM Health.

Dr. Baker says the healthcare system is working on ways to help frontline workers get through the challenges. SSM launched a new virtual collaborative space, where people across departments can get together online and talk about what's going on.

"It's definitely something new in our system, really in reaction to the needs of healthcare workers at this time," she said. "It's been really an opportunity to collaborate with different disciplines across our system and it's been really rewarding to be a part of."

SSM Health is also providing more guidance for department leaders and educating staff to spot signs of stress among their coworkers.

"That is one way to mitigate, is having people look out for each other, giving each other breaks, normalizing, utilizing time for self care and really encouraging people to take care of themselves," Baker told 27 News.

It's that support from colleagues that's helping Kristie Reilly.

"We're really great at being there for each other, helping each other. We laugh a lot. We really are like a family," she said.

That family shares in the extra workload and keeps an eye out for each other on the job.

"We help each other a lot and I think that gets you through it, that builds morale when you know that you can count on your coworkers," said Reilly.

She also makes sure to relax when she gets down time at home, going for walks with her family or watching TV to ease her mind.

Plus, the public showing of support through thank you messages, meals and parades, helps them through one more day on the frontlines of the crisis.

"It really makes you feel good. It makes you feel appreciated," she said. "To know you have that community support, to know that you can go home and that people are behind us, I think it's really cool. It was definitely not something that we ever expected, but it's been a really neat thing to see that the community has come together."

Experts say everyone should take time to focus on their mental health right now. That may mean prioritizing a good night's sleep, getting exercise and eating well.

Many workplaces offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), which can provide mental health services. An April survey from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans found 15 percent of employers have added services to their EAP since the pandemic began. 17 percent now have more coverage for mental health and 15 percent added telepsychiatry options.

Click here for resources and information on mental health services.

Here is the original post:

Help for health care workers facing stresses on the job - WKOW

They have already made and delivered nearly 8,000 face shields to health care workers in the Chicago area for free.

Now, they want to make it easy for groups around the country to replicate their success, and theyve created a website with everything you need to start a socially distant face shield factory.

It all began on March 25, when retired Oak Park resident Rob Parks saw a story on Chicago Tonight about a mother and son making face shields for health care workers using a 3D printer. Parks tried it out on the printer in his basement and showed it to his neighbor, Lisette Verhagen Metman, an ICU nurse, who had expressed concern about supplies of personal protective equipment. When she showed the shield to her bosses, the intensivist and the manager said immediately order 72! Metman said. Basically all the nurses and the intensivists and the respiratory therapists would use them.

That threw me into a bit of a panic, Parks said with a smile, because it took me three hours to print that first one.

Rob and Susan Parks hold face shields made by the Noble Army. (Courtesy of Rob and Susan Parks)

Employees of the Dr. Lucy Lang-Chappell Housing Complex in Chicago wear face shields provided by the Noble Army. (Courtesy of Rob and Susan Parks)

Parks put out a call on an Oak Park email list, asking for anyone with a 3D printer to help out. Inside of a day I had 20 people signed up to print, he said. He dubbed his eager recruits the Noble Army. After they completed that first order they easily found other institutions that needed face shields. Soon there were 40 people cranking out more than 200 face shield frames a day.

So obviously, there is a hidden but very powerful force in the community that was like waiting to be tapped. All these people are so generous and they are so dedicated and they really want to help they want to find a way to help, Parks said.

Parks, and his wife Susan Parks, both have business backgrounds and they created the necessary systems to handle the volume.

I will be glad when what we do is not necessary anymore, said Susan Parks, because that means that people will not need this type of protection. But while it is there we will fill the need.

And as long as the need exists, they hope others will use what they have learned and follow in their footsteps.

Read more:

'Noble Army' Makes Thousands of Face Shields for Health Care Workers - WTTW News

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella gestures as he speaks during a Bloomberg event on the opening day of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 21, 2020.

Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Microsoftis targeting the health-care sector with a new Cloud for Health Care bundle a customized solution incorporating existing products like the Azure cloud and the Teams communication app for businesses.

The move shows that Microsoft intends to deliver more growth in Azure as it competes with Amazon:by tailoring its wares to the needs specific industries. In 2017, the company announced an initiative to focus on health care and five other industries, such as manufacturing and retail. It added media, communications and automotive last year

Industry customizations are already available in Dynamics 365 and Power Platformproducts, like a patient portal. Now Microsoft is keen to ensure they work together to provide the best possible experience for customers.

Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare is available to customers in public preview with a six-month free trial, Microsoft corporate vice presidents Tom McGuinness and Greg Moore said in a blog post Tuesday. It was not immediately clear how pricing for the bundle will differ from the standard fee for individual products in the bundle. Microsoft will provide more details in the fall, a spokesperson told CNBC in an email.

Azure derives a greater portion of its revenue from large enterprises than market leader Amazon Web Services, RBC analysts led by Alex Zukin said in a note to clients on Sunday. Go-to product collections for various industries could yield more widespread enterprise adoption. Azure revenue growth slowed to 59% in the first quarter from 62% one quarter earlier, although it continues to grow faster than other parts of the company. Microsoft does not specify Azure revenue in dollars.

Google's cloud organization is also targeting health care and other individual industries, and Salesforce offers a Health Cloud.

Microsoft offloadedhealthassets in 2012 with the formation of Caradigm, a joint venture with GE. Microsoft said last week it's working with UnitedHealthCare to bring out an Azure-powered app that can help companies in their efforts to return their employees to offices.

WATCH: FedEx announces strategic partnership with Microsoft

Here is the original post:

Microsoft targets health-care industry with new cloud offering - CNBC

May 22, 2020 -The NetWalker ransomware threat actors a serious threat to the healthcare sector has ramped up its business model, transitioning into a Ransomware-as-a-Service (Raas) model in an attempt to partner with other seasoned cybercriminals, according to a recent Advanced Intelligence report.

The healthcare sector has been a prime target for NetWalker through the pandemic. The hacking group was behind the ransomware attack on the website of Champaign-Urbana Public Health District in Illinois in mid-March.

In March, Microsoft detailed some its tactics alongside other human-operated ransomware groups, such as Maze and REvil. These groups all rely on similar techniques, such as credential theft and lateral movement, before later deploying a ransomware payload.

In the last two months as the impact of the pandemic increased, NetWalker has become extremely active. And its new business model will allow the group to collaborate with other cybercriminals whove already gained access to large networks and have the capability of disseminating ransomware.

Members of the hacking group began posting advertisements for a ransomware affiliate program, on March 19. NetWalker appears to be looking for groups that prioritize quality, not quantity. The researchers noted this preference is vastly different than typical Russian-based ransomware operations that commonly leverage brute-force attacks and mass production.

To gain further interest, NetWalker shared some of its victim-focused material, such as IP addresses, administrator access, and network-attached storage access, among other key elements. A month later, the group refreshed its advertisement asking for experienced hackers in an effort to create an exclusive group of top-tier network intruders to execute its new RaaS business model.

Trend Micro researchers recently reported NetWalker is now also leveraging fileless ransomware, written in PowerShell, and executed directly in memory without storing the virus on the disk. As a result, these attacks allow the hackers to maintain persistence and easily evade detection by abusing system tools.

NetWalker is also actively leveraging the COVID-19 crisis for its phishing campaigns, targeting individuals interested more information about the virus, as well as healthcare industry individuals and entities.

The hackers primarily distribute their ransomware through phishing schemes or spam emails, or through large-scale network infiltration. The group claims theyre able to first exfiltrate data from its victims and posts it online: a model made notorious by the Maze hacking group.

Further, the group will typically ask for a significant ransom demand from its victims, from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Researchers explained NetWalker is rapidly evolving and highly credible, especially to the healthcare sector during the COVID-19 crisis. And its likely there will be more attacks and updates from the group in the coming weeks.

NetWalker now claims a singular preference for network infiltration, which is novel to the Russian-speaking ransomware community, researchers explained. As a result, the threat actor is requiring its new affiliates to have pre-existing access to large networks.

NetWalker poses a significant threat, as it has been carrying out these high-profile attacks while simultaneously posting on the top-tier Russian-language DarkWeb forums in order to expand its operations and capabilities, they added.

As ransomware attacks on healthcare providers rose 350 percent during Q4 2019, healthcare organizations should review key ransomware resources, paying particular attention to the human-operated methods, including insights from Check Point, Microsoft, the FBI, the NSA, the Office for Civil Rights, and other security leaders.

Go here to see the original:

NetWalker Ransomware Expands Operations, Targeting Healthcare - HealthITSecurity.com

Photo by Alexander Nguyen

Above: The driveway entrance to the emergency room at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, May 14, 2020.

As San Diego County officials move forward with plans to reopen restaurants for dine-in service and retail stores, two local health care systems say they wanted more of a say in the final plan.

"We want to see businesses open too Scripps like every health care system is losing a ton of money but we need to do it in the right way," said Scripps Health CEO Chris Van Gorder.

Van Gorder said Scripps was given the county's 180-page plan to reopen more businesses the morning of Tuesday's supervisors' vote.

"Didnt give us enough time to really look it over discuss it with them, they are elements in the triggers that we have deep concerns about," Van Gorder said.

Van Gorder said the curve isnt flattening everywhere. Scripps has been at or near capacity at their Chula Vista hospital for weeks and he said reopening businesses could make that situation even worse.

"Weve had to transfer 56 patients from Chula Vista up to our northern hospitals," Van Gorder said. Scripps is also starting to take patients from Imperial County.

Sharp HealthCare also said Tuesday they had not reviewed the plan before the vote and were only shown an outline the night before. Sharp and Scripps officials say currently they are handling about 60% of the countys presumed COVID-19 cases Both health care giants are concerned about the triggers that could lead to restrictions coming back.

"One of the triggers is the hospitals reach 80% capacity," Van Gorder said. "The County always talks about the 6,051 beds. Thats total beds in the county. Thats not intensive care unit beds, thats not negative pressure isolation rooms. So wed be in deep trouble long before we ever filled all 80% of our beds if our ICU beds were full and our negative isolation rooms were full in a COVID situation."

While Scripps and Sharp might not have seen the plan prior to Tuesday's vote, UC San Diego Health and Palomar Health officials both said they supported it after meeting and going over it directly with county health doctors.

"I wanted to thank Patty Maysent from UCSD and Dianne Hansen from Palomar from two large hospital systems that came down and took the time to work with our CAO and our team," County Supervisor Dianne Jacob said during Tuesday's board meeting.

After Scripps and Sharp officials raised their concerns, county supervisors unanimously passed the plan to reopen more businesses.

KPBS asked county health officials Wednesday why Scripps and Sharp were not briefed on the plan in advance. Public health officer Dr. Wilma Wooten said no one was left out.

"It was completed over the weekend and we had our partners review it on Monday and we submitted it Tuesday evening so no one was left out," Wooten said.

Wooten said health care providers got the reopening plan after it was completed.

"Weve reviewed the application with them and different people have different opinions," Wooten said.

Sharp issued a statement to KPBS Wednesday saying they are reviewing the reopening plan.

"We have now received the 187-page proposal for accelerated implementation of Californias road-map to modify the stay-at-home order, and we will be reviewing the document and providing our thoughts to county staff and the supervisors," a Sharp spokesperson said via email.

Scripps is currently conducting a similar review of the proposed plan.

The reopening outline was unanimously passed by supervisors Tuesday and is currently awaiting state approval to be implemented.

Aired 5/21/20 on KPBS News

Listen to this story by Matt Hoffman.

KPBS' daily news podcast covering local politics, education, health, environment, the border and more. New episodes are ready weekday mornings so you can listen on your morning commute.

Matt Hoffman General Assignment Reporter

I am a general assignment reporter for KPBS. In addition to covering the latest news and issues that are relevant to the San Diego community, I like to dig deeper to find the voices and perspectives that other media often miss.

To view PDF documents, Download Acrobat Reader.

Read the rest here:

Scripps, Sharp HealthCare Voice Concerns Over County Reopening Plan - KPBS

Jane Lethlean Correspondent

FridayMay22,2020at9:12AM

FREEPORT Health care workers on the front lines have had to deal with much during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two employees of FHN decided to bring a little sunshine into their lives. On Tuesday, Mary Freidag and Colleen Gallagher delivered colorful plants to healthcare workers.

The women call their mission Wagons of Hope. With the help of an anonymous donor, the two women hauled their wagon around Freeport and outlying clinic locations to hand over plants.

This is our way to let healthcare workers, including clerical, housekeeping, cafeteria, medical records, and those at hospice and the health department know that we appreciate them, Freidag said. It takes all of us working together to help people for a better tomorrow.

Each plant had a special sign that read, Hope Blooms from Within.

It feels wonderful to work in health care, and to be able to give back to those who work so hard to make a difference, Gallagher said.

As Freidag and Gallagher waited at the employee entrance at FHN Family Healthcare Center Burchard Hills on Tuesday, they greeted employees as they left work for the day. Even though face masks worn to prevent spread of the highly contagious COVID-19 disease caused by the virus hid the smiles of each employee, their eyes lit up with the gesture of hope.

As Lorrie Heeren accepted a plant, she said, Its exciting to be given that little extra hope and faith.

Keri Wall said: This just brightens my day, and its nice to be thought of as a healthcare worker. This is special.

Jane Lethlean: jlethlean1210@gmail.com; @DOGWMN2

Read this article:

Plants given to healthcare workers in Freeport - Freeport Journal-Standard

KALAMAZOO, MI -- This week, Bronson Healthcare launched antibody testing to identify patients who have been exposed to COVID-19 but may have been asymptomatic or were not able to get tested.

The antibody test is not meant to determine if someone currently has COVID-19, said Dr. Aaron Lane-Davies, chief of quality for Bronson Medical Group.

The test is intended to see if the patient was exposed to the virus and has built up some immunity to it. Its too early to tell if someone who recovered from COVID-19 would have permanent immunity to the virus and not be susceptible to getting infected again, he said.

For things to truly return to the pre-COVID norm, we would need to understand that people are protected long-term, either for natural infection or for vaccination, he said. That data is really at least a year away.

The data collected from antibody testing will also give a fuller picture of how many people were infected with COVID-19, which is especially relevant in a county like Kalamazoo where testing was delayed or limited for the first several weeks of the pandemic.

It will be really important to understand the prevalence in our community, Lane-Davies said. And it will be really important as we begin to have access to a possible vaccine to ensure that people are creating an antibody response to that vaccine.

The antibody tests will also greatly expand the pool of applicants who can donate plasma for current coronavirus patients, he said. Still, a provider must decide if a patient is a good candidate for the antibody test and request it on their behalf, Lane-Davies said.

If we use the plasma and give antibodies from people whove been affected to people who are fighting the infection, theres data that suggests that those people have better outcomes," he said. People who are interested in being a plasma donor and were unable to be tested when they were symptomatic then thats a good use of that testing.

On Wednesday, April 29, Bronson requested its first plasma transfer for a patient, said Dr. Carla Schwalm, medical director of Bronson Childrens Hospital Pediatric Hematology and Oncology.

A plasma transfusion from a COVID-19 survivor transfers antibodies that have been exposed to COVID-19 to the current patient. Those antibodies can attack the virus and improve the chances of the patient getting not as sick or of them recovering faster, Schwalm said.

As of Thursday, May 21, Bronson has referred around 45 patients to be plasma donors. Across the healthcare system, approximately 10-15 patients have received a plasma infusion.

Bronson Methodist and Ascension Borgess hospitals both have recovered as well as currently hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Both are working with Versiti Blood Center to receive the plasma donations. The center has locations in Portage, Grand Rapids and Grandville.

On Thursday, Lane-Davies said the number of COVID-19 patients and deaths have reached a plateau in the last three weeks and are now on a downward trend.

Were beyond that three-week plateau and moving into how do we deliver care going forward, understanding that COVID-19 is in our community for the foreseeable future, he said.

Bronson Methodist reported 71 recovered COVID-19 patients on Friday. Recovered patients are defined as someone who has 72 hours of improvement in cough and fever and is 10 days out from the onset of symptoms.

In the last 30 days Bronson Methodist has averaged 18 patients a day. On Friday, the hospital reported 16 patients and a total of 25 deaths.

Ascension Borgess has not released its patient, recovery and death data, citing patient privacy.

A visual representation of the increasing case counts and death toll in Kalamazoo County is shown below, based on data reported by the state. Apparent conflicts in data reported there result from slight differences in daily case counts provided by state and county health officials.

More coronavirus coverage on MLive:

Michigan-made coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer in clinical trials

Bronson hospital in Kalamazoo sees decline in coronavirus patients

Kalamazoo hospitals begin treating coronavirus patients with plasma donations

Kalamazoo hospitals adapt to new normal after coronavirus brings uncertain future

Long-term care facility residents make up the majority of Kalamazoo Countys coronavirus deaths

See more here:

Bronson Healthcare launches antibody testing for coronavirus - mlive.com

As Emory Healthcare works to fight the coronavirus pandemic, the economic hit to its other services has it furloughing or cutting work hours for up to 1,500 full-time-equivalent positions.

The furloughs and hour reductions will run June 1 through Aug. 31, said Dr. Jonathan S. Lewin, Emory Healthcares president and CEO, in a May 21 announcement. The healthcare system, which is part of Emory University, projected a $660 million revenue shortfall through August, he said.

While never more proud of our teams response, COVID-19 has had a significant negative impact on our normal revenue and operating expenses, which we must address to ensure a sustained financial recovery throughout our extensive health care system to continue our care and academic missions, Lewin said in a written statement.

Emory Healthcare operates 11 hospitals and around 250 outpatient practices.It has nearly 25,000 employees.

Departments throughout the system will reduce labor expenses by at least 10 percent through the end of the fiscal year, Lewin said, through flexible scheduling and the furloughs. The intent is to still have staffing to meet patient demand and administrative work. These changes will be reassessed continuously throughout that period, he said.

Furloughed employees will retain healthcare benefits. Executive and senior management will receive a scaled aggregate compensation reduction of up to 25 percent for the fiscal year.

Excerpt from:

Emory Healthcare to cut hours, furlough employees due to COVID-19's 'negative impact' on revenue - Atlanta Intown

One of the greatest challenges facing the global healthcare community in the post-COVID-19 era will be to improve the handling of health data to provide better connectivity between health systems that remain fragmented and disjointed.

Thats the view of Bernardo Mariano Jr, CIO and director, digital heath and innovation at the World Health Organization, who was speaking during a recent webinar hosted by HIMSS, 'Accelerating Health Systems Digital Transformation: Why Digital Health must be the new standard in a post-COVID-19 world', which was moderated by HIMSS president and CEO, Hal Wolf.

Mariano said the pandemic had opened up three battle fronts for the future of healthcare: public health security, the rapid development of digital solutions, and cybersecurity. All three must coalesce, with the ideal outcome being a global surveillance system that brings data from multiple countries, enabling a rapid response to future crises, but also using analytics to share learning.

HIMSS20 Digital

In the financial sector, data is the new gold, he said. In the healthcare sector, data is the new blood. So we need to make sure that we have principles and policies around how we manage and handle it, how we ensure ethics, how we monetise or demonetise health data. How do we ensure that the principles around the management of data address the challenges that we have today?

The answer, said Mariano, lies in taking health data to the next level to stop being guided by principles rooted in silos, and find ways to draw the data from multiple sources so that we can ensure the algorithms deliver meaningful health gains.

While some countries have achieved a degree of integration that overcomes the information connectivity gap, the community has to find ways to take the lessons of the pandemic forward rather than reverting to pre-COVID models.

Finland is a showcase for how digital systems can help during a crisis, said Pivi Sillanaukee, director general for the countrys ministry of social affairs and health. She said that when a country has already gone through a discussion about data use, it can be at the core of discovering ways to make that data available for research and ultimately the development of digital solutions and AI services.

Benedict Tan, group chief digital strategy officer at Singapore Health Services, suggested that even during the height of the pandemic, privacy concerns might still be putting the brakes on global collaboration.

Philosophically, I dont know what is happening on the ground, but I feel that different labs, researchers and countries are working independently, he said. Imagine the difference, he added, if everyone collaborated and shared data to find a common benefit.

But the acceleration of digital transformation caused by the pandemic has also created a new Wild West, according to Pravene Nath, global head for digital health strategy, personalised healthcare, at Roche.

The shift in selective health data disclosure requirements and governance demands a new framework for what privacy means, and how disclosure should happen all of which will create new intersections with the data.

The translation of real-world clinical data into regulatory-grade data that can be used to demonstrate the effectiveness of particular treatments could emerge from new partnerships with healthcare entities, said Nath. This will bring new ways of mapping health data, normalising it and building it into standardised data models.

We have to leverage what weve been doing, accelerate it and bring it out with real-time data access, he said.

From a crisis that has generated too much information and no time to process or review it clinically, a new model must emerge that combines patients willingness to share health data with a new definition of interoperability that is practical, useful and problem-oriented.

Ultimately, said Bernardo Mariano, there is one overwhelming lesson to take away from this pandemic. Globally, we must change our health data policies and change data governance, in order to accelerate the adoption of digital technologies that really delivesr the benefits of closing the information gap.

Original post:

How to bridge the health data information gap after COVID-19 - Healthcare IT News

Newport Beach, CA, May 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pacific Health Care Organization, Inc., (the Company) (OTCQB: PFHO) today filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) its quarterly report on Form 10-Q announcing financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Quarterly Results

The Company reported total revenue of $1,552,909 for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, compared with total revenue of $1,783,438 for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. The Company reported net income of $123,128 or $0.01 per share on a basic and fully diluted basis for the first quarter 2020, compared to net income of $314,563 or $0.02 per share on a basic and fully diluted basis for the first quarter 2019.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $404,754 during the three months ended March 31, 2020, compared to $297,951 for the same period in 2019. Net cash used in investing activities during the quarter ended March 31, 2020, was $19,637 compared to $2,284 during the quarter ended March 31, 2019. The Companys cash balance at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, was $8,489,281 and $8,104,164, respectively.

About Pacific Health Care Organization, Inc.

The Company specializes in workers compensation cost containment. The Companys business objective is to deliver value to its clients that reduces their workers compensation related medical claims expense in a manner that will assure that injured employees receive high quality healthcare that allows them to recover from injury and return to gainful employment without undue delay. Workers compensation costs continue to increase due to rising medical costs, inflation, fraud and other factors.Medical and indemnity costs associated with workers compensation in the state of California are billions of dollars annually.Through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, the Company provides a range of effective workers compensation cost containment services, including but not limited to, Health Care Organizations, Medical Provider Networks, HCO + MPN, Workers Compensation Carve-Outs, Utilization Review, Medical Bill Review, Medical Case Management, Lien Representation, Legal Support and Medicare Set Aside services. Safe Harbor Statement: Statements included in this press release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on managements current judgment, expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions about future events. While management believes these assumptions are reasonable, such statements are not guarantees of future results and involve certain risks and uncertainties which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results and trends may differ materially from what is forecast in any forward-looking statement due to a variety of factors. Additional information regarding these factors, such as the potential loss of one or more key customers or the possible impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, is contained in the Companys filings with the Commission, including without limitation, its annual report on Form 10-K and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or publicly release any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or changes in expectations after the date of this press release.

To view the Companys quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, filed with the Commission today and the Companys annual, quarterly and current reports and other information the Company files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission go to: http://www.sec.gov. You may also view our annual report on Form 10-K on our website at http://www.pacifichealthcareorganization.com.

View post:

Pacific Health Care Organization, Inc. Reports First Quarter 2020 Results - GlobeNewswire

Billion Honda of Iowa City is helping ushonor some more wonderful local healthcare workers this week!

Inthe fightagainst the coronavirus pandemic, healthcare workers are on the front lines. Their knowledge, dedication, kindness, and selflessness in the midst of all this chaos has not gone unnoticed. That's why westarted decided to start a new segment called the'Healthcare Hero of the Day.'

Each weekday around 6:45 a.m., we honor one of the many amazing healthcare workers here in Eastern Iowa, postthe honoree on the98.1 KHAKFacebook page, and mention them on the air throughout the day. It's just one small way we cansupport and recognize all their hard work.

Here are all of this past week's honorees:

You can view more local winners below:

ClickHEREto nominate an awesome local healthcare worker for our 'Healthcare Hero of the Day!'

See the original post here:

Brain & Courtlin Honored 5 More 'Healthcare Heroes' This Week - khak.com

The worst is about to get worse.

In Texas, where 5 million people already go without health insurance, nearly 1.2 million more are projected to join their ranks far more than any other state.

Thats the estimated collateral damage from the coronavirus recession, assuming the national unemployment rate hits 20%, according to a recent Urban Institute report. Some believe the real jobless number for April may already be that high.

In that scenario, 25 million adults and children in the U.S. are expected to lose employer-sponsored health insurance. The vast majority 7 in 10 nationwide will get coverage elsewhere, the study estimated.

But in Texas, just 1 in 2 are projected to be covered, which would be the lowest share among the states.

The surge in uninsured arrives while COVID-19 is still raging and states are struggling to restart their economies safely. Laid-off workers who lose health insurance generally have a 60-day window to sign up for replacement coverage, usually through their company plan or the federal health exchange.

Its a complicated decision that can be expensive, and unemployed Texans have a weak record of enrolling in such backup plans. Thats why the report projects such a low take-up in the state.

Losing insurance will greatly compound the health and financial challenges for people, hospitals, doctors and the broader economy.

Its devastating for the families that wont be able to get the care they need, said Vivian Ho, a Rice University economist who specializes in health issues. Many are gonna try to tough it out on their own, and they could get really ill.

Its also devastating for health providers, she said. Their patient volumes have declined sharply amid coronavirus fears, and theyve had to ramp up spending on supplies and preparation for COVID-19 cases.

Providers are already running in the red, Ho said. This is gonna turn it blood red.

Even before the pandemic, hospitals were struggling with a large number of uninsured and underinsured patients in the state, said John Hawkins, senior vice president for the Texas Hospital Association. Facilities in Texas provide billions in uncompensated care, and he said the costs are generally passed on to commercial customers and taxpayers in hospital districts.

Adding more uninsured now will amplify the strain.

Its huge, Hawkins said. It has a fiscal impact and a quality-of-life impact.

Every state will see an increase in uninsured, the study shows. But Texas stands apart in both the total number to be added and the share of workers projected to end up without coverage.

Why so bad? Its no coincidence.

For years, Texas statewide elected leaders have rejected efforts to improve access to care. They turned down Medicaid expansion time and again, and resisted programs to help people enroll in the federal marketplace. Texas is leading the legal challenge to overthrow the Affordable Care Act, a case headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Thirty-six other states, including some led by Republican governors and legislatures, have expanded Medicaid, a key plank of the ACA. The federal government pays 90% of those costs, and expanding Medicaid would cover nearly 1.6 million working poor in Texas that was the figure before the pandemic led to millions of layoffs and furloughs.

In Texas existing Medicaid program, the state sets the lowest income threshold in the country. If a single mom with two kids earns more than $3,800 a year or $317 a month she makes too much to get Medicaid coverage in Texas, said one expert.

We have the stingiest eligibility in the country, said Stacey Pogue, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Public Policy Priorities in Austin.

The income cap in Texas is 17% of the federal poverty level for a family of three, which is lower than in Alabama and Mississippi, said the Kaiser Family Foundation. The average income cutoff for the U.S. is 138% of poverty level, which is generally the level in states that expanded Medicaid.

In those states, over half of the people losing employer insurance will get Medicaid coverage.

This is the purpose of the Medicaid program, to provide a safety net to people in financial distress, wrote Bowen Garrett and Anuj Gangopadhyaya of the Urban Institutes Health Policy Center.

Texas lags in another metric: Just 23% of those eligible for a marketplace plan enrolled in an ACA option. Thats lower than in the U.S. (32%) and far lower than in Florida (47%) even though Florida has a Republican governor and hasnt expanded Medicaid, either.

In Texas, maybe theres less of a culture of coverage, said Katherine Hempstead, a senior policy adviser at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which helped support the Urban Institute report.

That could be related to the type of households, family income, immigration status and other factors. All thats in addition to public policies from lawmakers, along with ideology and politics.

She believes the dynamic could change, perhaps with the new wave of workers who lose health plans during the pandemic. Theyre accustomed to having coverage and may prioritize it more highly than the uninsured in the past.

They could pressure elected leaders to expand Medicaid and push for other ways to help residents navigate the marketplace. Such efforts are underway in other states.

Sometimes a catastrophe can reshape whats considered normal and whos considered to be deserving, Hempstead said. This experience could normalize other kinds of health coverage. Theres so much financial strain right now, and Texas is passing on a huge source of federal money.

For years, Texas hospitals have fallen short in pushing for Medicaid expansion, which could be worth $100 billion in federal funding over a decade. The picture has changed, Hawkins said, because of the coronavirus and the energy bust.

These are extraordinary times, he said, and if theres a federal tool we can use, we ought to figure out how to access it.

Read more:

The pandemic's next blow: Over 1 million Texans will lose health insurance - The Dallas Morning News

On Thursday, May 21 Gov. Whitmer rescinded Executive Order 2020-91, issued only three days prior, and released an amended order that now includes new provisions governing outpatient health care facilities. This latest order, Executive Order 2020-97 (Order), also makes some minor adjustments to the workplace safety rules announced earlier in the week.

The governor's latest announcement allows outpatient health care facilities, including doctor's offices, dental offices and veterinary clinics to resume non-essential procedures starting May 29, 2020. These offices must abide by a number of workplace safety protocols, and the Order does not provide an expiration date for the new safety measures.

The Order provides 15 workplace safety rules specific to health care facilities, including limiting waiting room occupancy, conducting a common screening protocol for all patients and adding special hours for patients highly vulnerable to severe illness from COVID-19. Facilities are also instructed to enable contactless sign-in as soon as practicable. Such facilities must also abide by the general business workplace safety rules set out in section one of the Order.

The new Order maintains the enhanced enforcement powers first revealed in Executive Order 2020-91. The State of Michigan now has two routes of enforcement it may pursue against employers who fail to follow the workplace safety rules enumerated in the Order. First, the workplace safety rules are given the force and effect of regulations adopted by the state agencies that oversee workplace health and safety. Such agencies are given full authority to enforce the rules, and any challenges to penalties must move through the agencies' administrative appeals process. Second, the Order states that violations of the workplace safety rules are also violations of the Michigan Occupational Health and Safety Act (MIOSHA). As a result, Michigan's Occupational Safety and Health Administration will have the authority to conduct investigations into violations, issue penalties and distribute cease operation orders.

View post:

New MI Executive Order Allows Outpatient Health Care Facilities To Resume Non-Essential Procedures Starting May 29 - JD Supra

If you're not living in New York City during the pandemic, you might be wondering how we're even getting by. The numbers are staggering, the reality is harrowing the city has been hit by the coronavirusreally, really hard.

But there's a certain resilience that New Yorkers have that keep the spirits of a pre-pandemic city alive. I see moments of kindness on my walks through Brooklyn every day.

Written in chalk down the street, the sidewalk reads: "Tough times never last, but New Yorkers do!"

A healthcare worker looks out as a crowd of people gather to cheer her on at The Brooklyn Hospital Center on May 19. 2020. Natalie Colarossi/ Insider

Over the last few weeks, I've seen seen multiple neighbors bring bags of groceries to homeless people on the street. And all throughout my block, rainbows made by children dot the windows with encouraging messages to "Stay hopeful," "Be kind," and "Keep your head up."

But perhaps my favorite moment of resilience comes every day at 7 p.m., when New Yorkers take to their stoops, balconies, rooftops, and windows to cheer for the essential workers keeping this place alive.

A healthcare worker claps with her colleagues at The Brooklyn Hospital Center on May 19, 2020. Natalie Colarossi/ Insider

Without fail, people line the streets to clap for the city's heroes. It's become one of my favorite moments of quarantine, and one of the most important reminders of why I still want to live in a city that's been so devastatingly hurt.

I live about a 15-minute walk from a hospital in Brooklyn, located near a neighborhood park. I typically go to the park in the evening to clear my head after work, and each night that I do, I'm greeted with the inspirational sounds of a city coming together.

A healthcare worker reaches her arms out to embrace the community at The Brooklyn Hospital Center on May 19, 2020. Natalie Colarossi/Business Insider

Every night at the hospital, healthcare workers come outside while crowds gather (at a safe distance, of course) to cheer them on. Someone always brings a massive speaker, and inspirational songs such as Bill Withers' "Lean On Me" or Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" blast through the streets.

And we dance.

A Healthcare worker dances outside of The Brooklyn Hospital Center on May 19, 2020. Natalie Colarossi/Insider

In the most defiant of spirits, and in their full PPE, healthcare workers come outside to celebrate one another.

Healthcare workers dance outside of The Brooklyn Hospital Center on May 19, 2020. Natalie Colarossi/ Insider

Healthcare workers dance outside of The Brooklyn Hospital Center on May 19, 2020. Natalie Colarossi/ Insider

Crowds stand in front of them holding encouraging signs saying, "Together we shall overcome" and, "Our hearts are with you."

Two girls hold up signs of encouragement as they cheer for healthcare workers outside of The Brooklyn Hospital Center on May 19, 2020. Natalie Colarossi/ Insider

And a line of NYPD cars come in every night to cheer, too.

NYPD officers gather to clap for essential workers outside of The Brooklyn Hospital Center on May 19, 2020. Natalie Colarossi/ Insider

The result is an inspiring reminder that, even in the darkest times, we can take a moment to celebrate one another, and thank those who are fighting on the frontlines.

This is the New York that I know and love.

Excerpt from:

Photos show healthcare workers in NYC coming together to dance - Insider - INSIDER

Secord Trails Care Community in Ingersoll.

Public health officials have declared an outbreak at an Ingersoll long-term care home after seven health-care workers there tested positive for COVID-19, but how the virus got into the home remains a mystery.

Southwestern Public Health, which covers Oxford and Elgin counties and St. Thomas, said a health-care worker at Secord Trails Care Community tested positive Monday. Since then, officials have recorded six more cases among staff, who hold different positions and have different levels of interactions with residents.

All seven infected workers are self-isolating at home, officials said.So far, none of the homes roughly 80 residents has tested positive, though some results are still pending.

The first case was confirmed after a staffer with very mild symptoms was tested, Joyce Lock, the regions chief medical officer, said at a news conference Friday. But theres no indication of how the virus got into the home.

We dont even know who the first (infected) staff member was, because when the other six staff members were deemed to be positive, on deeper questioning (we) realized some had developed very mild symptoms prior to the first case, Lock said.

So we dont know who the index case was or where the exposure may have occurred.

Lock said extra staff have been brought in to ensure the home, which employs about 110 people, remains fully staffed.

Though most of the infected staff reside within Southwestern Public Healths jurisdiction, health officials arent releasing where they live, Lock said.

All Secord Trails staff and residents have been swabbed since Monday, Lock said. Officials are working to inform people of their results and trace all contacts, and all precautions are being taken to prevent the virus spreading within the home.

Sienna Living, the homes owner, said Friday that 51 residents have tested negative, and test results on 27 others are pending.

Long-term care and retirement homes across Canada have been hit hard by the virus crisis, with residents accounting for most COVID-19 cases and deaths.

As of Friday, there were 171 active outbreaks at Ontario long-term care homes, and 1,486 residents and patients had died, according to figures collected by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

On Friday, Ontario reported 441 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the provincial total to 24,628 since the pandemic began. About 76 per cent of those cases have been resolved.

jjuha@postmedia.comTwitter.com/JuhaatLFPress

Continue reading here:

Seven health-care workers at local long-term care home test positive for COVID-19 - St. Thomas Times-Journal

MORGANTOWN, Ky. (WBKO) - Since its first confirmed positive case on April 6th, Signature HealthCARE of Morgantown has been in a proactive battle with this virulent enemy we call Coronavirs and its related illness, COVID-19.

Signature HealthCARE of Morgantown has 75 victories over the coronavirus to celebrate.

As of the release of this statement, Signature HealthCARE of Morgantown has had a total of 144 positive COVID-19 cases including 100 residents and 44 staff members.

Of those 100 residents, 36 have since recovered and have been moved off the COVID-19 only unit.

Of the 44 staff members, 39 have recovered and, their calling remaining strong, the majority returned to work to fight the virus that fought them.

While CDC guidelines only require one negative test to deem a resident COVID-free, out of an abundance of caution and the utmost safety for all, Signature HealthCAREs company standard is two negative tests.

They believe the proactive protocol has resulted in the most encouraging news of all, that Signature HealthCARE of Morgantown has not had any new positive resident cases in the last 23 days and no new positive staff cases in 17 days.

Signature HealthCARE of Morgantown believes a great deal of this success lies within the facilitys initiation of a facility-wide test-based strategy; testing all residents and staff after the first confirmed cases.

This is now the standard testing strategy for Signature HealthCARE.

While these results are exhilarating, we cannot forget those of our Morgantown family who have passed.

This virus has taken the lives of 10 of our beloved residents.

Follow this link:

Signature HealthCARE's Morgantown Care & Rehabilitation Center is celebrating many victories over COVID-19 - WBKO