Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Most Home Health Aides ‘Can’t Afford Not to Work’ — Even When Lacking PPE
Home health aides flattened the curve by keeping the most vulnerable patients — seniors, the disabled, the infirm — out of hospitals. But they’ve done it mostly at poverty wages and without overtime pay, hazard pay, sick leave or health insurance.
As Californians Get Older and Less Mobile, Fires Get Hotter and Faster
Retirement areas are increasingly being built in the idyllic wooded fringe of towns and cities. Being close to nature also means being in the path of wildfires.
Pandemia obstaculiza al preciado bloque de votantes en centros de adultos mayores
Muchos seniors que necesitan ayuda para obtener o llenar sus boletas podrían sufrir la consecuencias por el cambio de las reglas sobre visitas familiares.
Pandemic Erects Barriers for Prized Bloc of Voters in Nursing Homes, Senior Facilities
Voting is a point of pride for many older Americans, and senior living facilities in past years have encouraged the civic act by hosting voting precincts, providing transportation to the polls and bringing in groups to help explain election issues. But fears of the spread of the coronavirus among this vulnerable population make voting more difficult this year.
Lifetime Experiences Help Older Adults Build Resilience to Pandemic Trauma
These seniors use coping strategies to keep them socially active yet safe from the coronavirus.
Post-COVID Clinics Get Jump-Start From Patients With Lingering Illness
Pop-up care facilities bring together a range of specialists to address the needs of patients who survive but continue to wrestle with COVID-19’s physical or mental effects, including lung damage, heart or neurological concerns, anxiety and depression.
‘No Mercy’ Explores the Fallout After a Small Town Loses Its Hospital
Listen to “Where It Hurts,” each episode debuting on Tuesdays, from Sept. 29 through Nov. 10. When Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut its doors, locals lost care. Health workers lost jobs. The hole left behind is bigger than a hospital. Season One is “No Mercy.”
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
A Pandemic Upshot: Seniors Are Having Second Thoughts About Where to Live
More than 70,000 residents and staff members at nursing homes and assisted living facilities have died of COVID-19, and others are under strict rules designed to keep the disease from spreading. That has evoked concern that living in a communal facility could be dangerous.
New Dental Treatment Helps Fill Cavities and Insurance Gaps for Seniors
A new treatment for tooth decay is cheaper, quicker and less painful than getting a filling. Originally touted as a solution for kids, silver diamine fluoride is poised to become a game changer for treating cavities in older adults or those with disabilities that make oral care difficult.
Readers and Tweeters Grapple With COVID Therapies and Forecasts
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
With No Legal Guardrails for Patients, Ambulances Drive Surprise Medical Billing
Studies show that at least half of ground ambulance rides across the nation leave patients with “surprise” medical bills. And a $300-a-mile ride is not unusual. Yet federal legislation to stem what’s known as balance billing has largely ignored ambulance costs.
Hospitals, Nursing Homes Fail to Separate COVID Patients, Putting Others at Risk
COVID patients have been commingled with uninfected patients in California, Florida, New Jersey, Iowa, Ohio, Maryland, New York and beyond. While officials have penalized nursing homes for such failures, hospitals have seen less scrutiny.
Older Blacks are perishing quietly, out of sight, victims of the pandemic and a lifetime of racism and its attendant adverse health effects.
Is Cuomo Directive to Blame for Nursing Home COVID Deaths, as US Official Claims?
New York’s governor directed nursing homes to take COVID patients. But is it fair to say he “forced” them to do so, or that his directive led to the deaths of thousands of elderly residents? Most public health experts say no.
Trump Is Sending Fast, Cheap COVID Tests to Nursing Homes — But There’s a Hitch
Experts say the administration’s approach with antigen tests could add cost and risk for the most vulnerable patients.
We Put Off Planning, Until My Father-in-Law’s Medical Crisis Took Us by Surprise
Although the family patriarch did not face a life-threatening emergency, the episode was a reminder that you have to prepare for a real crisis.
Isolation, Disruption and Confusion: Coping With Dementia During a Pandemic
COVID-19 has upended the lives of people with dementia, limiting their interactions with others and complicating matters for their caregivers.
Bereaved Families Are ‘the Secondary Victims of COVID-19’
New research suggests the pandemic’s deaths are taking an enormous toll on surviving family members and worrisome ripple effects may linger for years.
La pandemia interrumpe una mina de oro: las cirugías de reemplazo articular
Las pérdidas de ingresos en hospitales y centros de cirugía ambulatoria pueden haber superado los $5,000 millones sólo por las cancelaciones de los reemplazos de rodilla y cadera.
