While untold Americans tried to do right by older and more vulnerable friends and family members by taking extra precautions and even canceling Thanksgiving gatherings, the nation crossed a ghastly threshold for the aged, sick, and injured in late November: The coronavirus has killed at least 100,000 residents and staff in nursing homes and other….
Continue ReadingTesting
Coronavirus metrics grim as winter sets in and U.S. awaits political transition
As the winter of 2020-21 descends, the coronavirus pandemic is raging, unchecked, from coast-to-coast while the folks in control of the federal government sulk and seem to have checked out from their governing roles. The numbers likely are understated. But roughly 265,000 Americans have been killed by the Covid-19 virus and more than 13 million….
Continue ReadingEven as the pandemic hits grim phase, we have much to be thankful for
With the pandemic tearing through the United States and overwhelming U.S. health care system, we pause from the grim news to tally some of the nation’s blessings in this time. We can be thankful for the courage, fortitude, dedication, and skill of an army of health workers of all kinds. They have put themselves….
Continue ReadingGrim reprise in nursing homes: four-fold infection hike and doubling deaths
Coronavirus cases are spiking among residents and staff at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. They increased four-fold between May’s end and late October — even as deaths among the vulnerable also doubled, disturbing new data show. Those are the findings of Rebecca Gorges and Tamara Konetzka, University of Chicago researchers who analyzed federal….
Continue ReadingAmericans urged to redouble infection preventions as pandemic rips nation
Although company-reported data on the potency of a prospective coronavirus vaccine provided rare glimmers of hope, the rampaging coronavirus pandemic triggered clangorous coast-to-coast health alarms: Infections are skyrocketing. So, too, are hospitalizations. And, yes, deaths are spiking, as well. Records are falling each day. Covid-19 is raging unchecked among the American people, with a season….
Continue ReadingCaregiver staffing a key issue in shielding vulnerable in nursing facilities and in their own homes
Nursing homes put their residents at heightened health risks by scrimping on personnel costs and failing to deal with significant staffing shortfalls, especially as the coronavirus inflicted some of its highest death and infection tolls on the elderly, sick, and injured in long-term care, media investigations have found. The profit-focus by health providers is not….
Continue ReadingAs nation focused on vote tallies, coronavirus cases and deaths kept soaring
While Americans have been riveted for days about incremental shifts in election results, other confounding numbers raced ever higher and into worrisome places. Just consider these numbers: 128,000, 9.6 million plus, and 235,000 and more. “Covid, covid, covid. By the way, on Nov. 4 you won’t hear about it anymore,” President Trump asserted during his….
Continue ReadingColorectal screening may need to start at age 45, U.S. panel advises
An important federal advisory group has joined with medical specialists in recommending a change in the age at which patients should start screening for colorectal cancer, to age 45 and not the current 50 years old. Earlier detection of bowel issues could save lives, the U.S. Protective Services Task Force (USPSTF) has decided, with the….
Continue ReadingAs virus burned through nursing homes, inspectors cleared most of infection violations
Disturbing new data shows that a much-promoted plan by federal watchdogs to protect vulnerable residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities from Covid-19 resulted in dismal outcomes, with inspectors dispatched by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services largely dismissing infection-control concerns as the deadly pandemic raged. “During the first six months of….
Continue ReadingOptimize November: Vote with care, plan holidays, scrutinize health coverage
As coronavirus infections rage unchecked from coast-to-coast, Americans may need to redouble the attention they pay to their health and safeguarding it. To deal in optimal ways with what threatens to be a tough November, we all may wish to: Vote as safely as possible. If you plan to exercise your constitutional rights in person,….
Continue Reading