COVID Catch-22: They Got A Big ER Bill Because Hospitals Couldn’t Test For Virus

By Sandra R. Nicholson 3 hours ago

‘Please Tell Me My Life Is Worth A LITTLE Of Your Discomfort,’ Nurse Pleads

By Sandra R. Nicholson 3 hours ago

Coronavirus Crisis Disrupts Treatment For Another Epidemic: Addiction

By Sandra R. Nicholson 1 day ago

What Seniors Should Know Before Going Ahead With Elective Procedures

By Sandra R. Nicholson 1 day ago

Social Media Image About Mask Efficacy Right In Sentiment, But Percentages Are ‘Bonkers’

By Sandra R. Nicholson 1 day ago

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COVID Catch-22: They Got A Big ER Bill Because Hospitals Couldn’t Test For Virus

By Sandra R. Nicholson 3 hours ago

‘Please Tell Me My Life Is Worth A LITTLE Of Your Discomfort,’ Nurse Pleads

By Sandra R. Nicholson 3 hours ago

Coronavirus Crisis Disrupts Treatment For Another Epidemic: Addiction

By Sandra R. Nicholson 1 day ago

What Seniors Should Know Before Going Ahead With Elective Procedures

By Sandra R. Nicholson 1 day ago

COVID Catch-22: They Got A Big ER Bill Because Hospitals Couldn’t Test For Virus

By Sandra R. Nicholson 3 hours ago

Fresh off a Caribbean cruise in early March, John Campbell developed a cough and fever of 104 degrees. He went to his primary care physician and got a flu test, which came up negative.

Then things got strange. Campbell said the doctor then turned to him and said, “I’ve called the ER next door, and you need to go there. This is a matter of public health. They’re expecting you.”

It was March 3, and no one had an inkling yet of just how bad the COVID-19 pandemic would become in the U.S.

At the JFK Medical Center near his home in Boynton Beach, Florida, staffers met him in protective gear, then ran a battery of tests — including bloodwork, a chest X-ray and an electrocardiogram — before sending him home. But because he had not traveled to China — a leading criterion at the time for coronavirus testing —

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‘Please Tell Me My Life Is Worth A LITTLE Of Your Discomfort,’ Nurse Pleads

By Sandra R. Nicholson 3 hours ago

When an employee told a group of 20-somethings they needed face masks to enter his fast-food restaurant, one woman fired off a stream of expletives. “Isn’t this Orange County?” snapped a man in the group. “We don’t have to wear masks!”

The curses came as a shock, but not really a surprise, to Nilu Patel, a certified registered nurse anesthetist at nearby University of California-Irvine Medical Center, who observed the conflict while waiting for takeout. Health care workers suffer these angry encounters daily as they move between treacherous hospital settings and their communities, where mixed messaging from politicians has muddied common-sense public health precautions.

“Health care workers are scared, but we show up to work every single day,” Patel said. Wearing masks, she said, “is a very small thing to ask.”

Patel administers anesthesia to patients in the operating room, and her husband is also a health care worker. They’ve

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Coronavirus Crisis Disrupts Treatment For Another Epidemic: Addiction

By Sandra R. Nicholson 1 day ago

Shawn Hayes was thankful to be holed up at a city-run hotel for people with COVID-19.

The 20-year-old wasn’t in jail. He wasn’t on the streets chasing drugs. Methadone to treat his opioid addiction was delivered to his door.

Hayes was staying at the hotel because of a coronavirus outbreak at the 270-bed Kirkbride Center addiction treatment center in Philadelphia, where he had been seeking help.

From early April to early May, 46 patients at Kirkbride tested positive for the virus and were isolated. The facility is now operating at about half-capacity because of the pandemic.

Drug rehabs around the country — including in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Florida — have experienced flare-ups of the coronavirus or COVID-related financial difficulties that have forced them to close or limit operations. Centers that serve the poor have been hit particularly hard.

And that has left people who have another potentially deadly

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What Seniors Should Know Before Going Ahead With Elective Procedures

By Sandra R. Nicholson 1 day ago

For months, Patricia Merryweather-Arges, a health care expert, has fielded questions about the coronavirus pandemic from fellow Rotary Club members in the Midwest.

Recently people have wondered “Is it safe for me to go see my doctor? Should I keep that appointment with my dentist? What about that knee replacement I put on hold: Should I go ahead with that?”

These are pressing concerns as hospitals, outpatient clinics and physicians’ practices have started providing elective medical procedures — services that had been suspended for several months.

Late last month, KFF reported that 48% of adults had skipped or postponed medical care because of the pandemic. Physicians are deeply concerned about the consequences, especially for people with serious illnesses or chronic medical conditions.

To feel comfortable, patients need to take stock of the precautions providers are taking. This is especially true for older adults, who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. Here

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