Blurred Hospital

How Should Hospitals Reopen in the Middle of a Pandemic?

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Hospitals have been caught between costly preparations for a possible influx of COVID-19 patients and substantial revenue losses from the inability to provide elective surgeries and other service lines.  Locally, hospital operators Baylor Scott & White and Tenet have announced layoffs and furloughs, with similar actions from other providers most likely on the way.

The return of patients is essential for hospitals’ financial health and for patients who have been putting off care, but many patients are fearful of catching COVID-19, which is still present even if it is not at predicted levels in North Texas. As hospitals balance the public health emergency and crippling financial interruption, having a plan to open up safely is critical.

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COVID-19 Virus

Michigan Government Releases New Site To Help Businesses Reopen Without Spreading COVID-19

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Steps designed to protect against spread of coronavirus (COVID-19)

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan’s government has launched a new site to help reopening businesses keep employees and customers safe and prevent further spreading the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The site was developed by the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration within the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.

The site offers resources to keep workplaces safe as sectors of the state’s economy reopen.

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Positive Workplace

Never Allow Your Business To Be Unprepared For Unforeseen Events Again

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Small business has been booming over the last decade. Though some business owners may have feared that the good times wouldn’t last, that boom showed no signs of ending. So, the current economic crisis and uncertainty around the future have left business owners feeling like they took an unexpected blow to the head.

We cannot change the past, but we can learn from it. Your business should never again be unprepared for an unforeseen event. While being prepared for any eventuality may seem implausible, it’s really not. (CPAs are not generally in the business of giving illogical advice.) What we’re talking about here is having a solid financial plan consisting of budgets and forecasts with built-in variable assumptions, cash flow models and dashboard reporting of your key performance indicators (KPIs).

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Biotech Coronavirus

Houston Biotech Firms Resume Trading After Weeks-Long Suspensions

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Securities trading for two Houston-based biotechnology firms have resumed after regulators questioned recent claims regarding potential Covid-19 treatments.

Both Moleculin Biotech Inc. (Nasdaq: MBRX) and CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: CNSP) resumed trading on the Nasdaq on May 28. Trading for both firms had been halted since May 1. After closing at $2.76 per share on May 1, shares of CNSP were trading at $2.41 per share, down around 12.7%, when markets closed May 28, according to Yahoo Finance. After closing at $1.07 per share on May 1, Moleculin’s stock price closed at 97 cents per share, down around 9.4%, on May 28.

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Nurse with gear stressed out

Why Rugged Devices Are Necessary for Nurses

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Designed to ensure care delivery after a shock or sanitation effort, the tough tools offer valuable protection.

As nurses continue to work the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic, rugged devices — which can be wiped down for repeat cleanings and survive drops, spills and other hazards of a healthcare setting — are more critical than ever.

Anything can happen during a nurse’s shift, after all.

“You always want a device that is going to maintain its worth as far as ensuring liquid doesn’t seep into it,” says Jennifer Lewis, a senior nurse manager for the nursing informatics department at AdventHealth Central Florida in Orlando. “And if it does, it’s not going to die on you really quickly. If you drop it on the floor in the process, it’s still going to work.”

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Delta Airlines

Delta Air Lines Upgrades Health, Safety Guidelines

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As travel restrictions are lifted, Delta Air Lines has implemented a series of health protocols to keep passengers safe as they fly again during the coronavirus outbreak and moving forward.

From the time customers check-in for their flights until they collect their bags at the final destination, Delta officials claim the company’s main focus has shifted to the health and safety of passengers.

In the airport, travelers will notice check-in lobbies, self-service kiosks, gate counters and baggage claim are thoroughly wiped down throughout the day, while electrostatic spraying will take place in the planes and throughout terminals.

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Woman Pharmaceutical Worker

Sonoma Pharma Shares Up on Approval of Covid Disinfectant

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Per an Australian regulator’s decision, Sonoma Pharmaceuticals can label a disinfectant sold in the country as effective against covid-19.

Sonoma Pharmaceuticals  (SNOA) – Get Report more than tripled on Friday after a decision by an Australian regulator gave the green light for the wound-care-product company to label its disinfectant and sanitizer Nanocyn as effective against covid-19.

Sonoma’s shares at last check were trading at $14.77 after the decision by the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. They’ve traded above $19 on Friday. Sonoma shares closed Thursday at $5.41 a share.

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Patient

‘Healthcare Is Healing and About Feeling’: 10 Patient Care Standards From Scripps CXO Dr. Ghazala Sharieff

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Ghazala Sharieff, MD, corporate vice president, chief experience officer at Scripps Health in San Diego, and her team developed 10 standards for a superior patient experience.

1. Never have poor communication with patient. Always communicate effectively and be as transparent as possible. “Patients should be called back same day or receive response to email same day. My expectation as a patient is if I have a question, my physician will respond same day or at least within 24 hours,” she said. “Clear communication about surgery should be given to the patient upfront prior to having surgery scheduled. My expectation as a patient would be to have clear understanding of when my surgery is going to happen to help with planning … [I would also like to be] given financial information upfront instead waiting to get a bill later. I would like to know what it’s going to cost me to get medical care prior to having the services rendered. Many patients are not aware of what their out of pocket cost are and call us to complain about the bill.”

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Bud Light

Beer Drinking, 103-Year-Old Nursing Home Resident Beats COVID-19

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WILBRAHAM, Mass. (WWLP) – A 103-year-old Massachusetts nursing home resident infected with COVID-19 just weeks ago has beaten the odds – and gone viral after celebrating with a cold Bud Light.

Jennie Stejna of Indian Orchard has lived at the Life Care Center in Wilbraham for the past seven years.

Stejna’s large family, which includes two great, great grandchildren, told sister station WWLP that USA Today had run a picture of Jennie celebrating with a can of beer.

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Man Depressed

‘You Are Not Alone’: Managing Mental Health Concerns Amid COVID-19

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Through a long, ongoing quarantine, one of the biggest concerns for healthcare providers isn’t just the spread of COVID-19, but the mental health of the public.

Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody is Chair of the Department of Psychiatry in the UNC School of Medicine. She also serves as the Director for the UNC Center for Women’s Mood Disorders.

Meltzer-Brody said finding some semblance of normalcy amid the pandemic is going to be important for people’s mental health as we continue move forward.

“The COVID pandemic is going to be simmering along for a while,” Meltzer-Brody said. “It has not gone away. The re-opening does not mean it has gone away. On the other hand, people cannot be locked in their house for the next couple of years, and so we all have to figure out what is going to be the middle ground.”

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