Lessons from the pandemic can help ensure caregivers’ mental health and well-being
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Jul 27, 2023
Healthcare organizations’ disaster preparedness plans must include “explicit plans for supporting mental health,” say the authors of a new piece in JAMA Psychiatry.
COVID-19 could lead to billions in long-term healthcare costs: experts
By
Amy Novotney
Aug 04, 2020
More than 18 million people have been infected by coronavirus worldwide, about a quarter of them in the United States. And healthcare experts say it will likely be years before the costs for those who...
Christian groups appeal to Supreme Court to block OSHA vaccinate-or-test mandate
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Dec 21, 2021
Following the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on Friday that the Occupational Health and Safety Administration can enforce a vaccinate-or-test mandate for large companies, multiple faith-based...
‘Long COVID’ could mean insurance cost increases for employers
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Aug 12, 2022
More than two years into adjusting to the “new normal” brought on by COVID-19, employers now are faced with navigating the reality of “long COVID,” a wide range of ongoing health problems that...
AHCA/NCAL asks HHS to extend COVID-19 public health emergency past Jan. 11
By
Lois A. Bowers
Nov 03, 2022
The COVID-19 public health emergency should be extended past Jan. 11 “so that long-term and post-acute care providers can continue to offer the most efficient and effective care possible and so our nation’s...
End of PHE a good time to review employee accommodations—carefully, EEOC says
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
May 17, 2023
The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency does not mean that employers can automatically terminate reasonable accommodations that were provided due to pandemic-related circumstances, the Equal Employment...
Medicare, many third-party insurers to cover coronavirus testing
By
Amy Novotney
Mar 10, 2020
Medicare and several leading insurers have committed to helping mitigate the costs associated with testing for and treating the novel coronavirus that has been spreading nationwide. In addition, officials...
Few COVID-displaced direct care workers return: study
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Oct 14, 2021
Approximlately 4% of direct care workers were displaced during the second quarter of 2020. A year later, few had returned to direct care, according to a new study by PHI and the Health Workforce Research...
Many healthcare employers not reporting COVID-19 worker deaths: analysis
By
Amy Novotney
Dec 02, 2020
Some healthcare employers — including a number of long-term care facilities — have been choosing not to report healthcare worker deaths to occupational safety officials amid the pandemic, according...
COVID-19 outbreaks could follow low employee vaccination rates
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Jun 08, 2021
COVID-19 cases and mortality in long-term care facilities have decreased significantly in the months since residents and staff members were prioritized for vaccination. Nationwide, however, vaccination...