News

The Health and Public Health Sector Coordinating Council, a public-private partnership, released a crisis response guide to help health care providers respond to a critical incident.

Marking Mental Health Awareness Month, Robyn Begley, CEO of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, writes that health care workers already faced burnout, addiction and suicide before COVID-19, and it’s important to tackle these issues now.

To facilitate tracheal intubation and provide skeletal muscle relaxation during surgery or mechanical ventilation, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of succinylcholine chloride injection USP 200 mg/10 mL.

The National Cancer Institute and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, seek input through May 26 on research priorities for COVID-19 serology testing and related technologies, which are key to understanding immunity and developing vaccines against the virus.

The CDC has released a framework for providing non-COVID-19 clinical care during the pandemic, based on the level of community transmission and potential for patient harm from deferring in-person care.

CMS said that until Medicare sets national payment rates for COVID-19-related testing claims, its Medicare Administrative Contractors have authority to set payment amounts in their respective jurisdictions.

HHS reminded eligible health care providers that they have until June 3 to attest to receipt of payments from the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund, accept the terms and conditions and submit their revenue information to potentially qualify for an additional payment from the $50 billion general distribution.

The Health Resources and Services Administration, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, provided $225 million to rural health clinics for COVID-19 testing.

The AHA is encouraged by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s proposal to use its authority under the Defense Production Act to establish a voluntary agreement of key private sector stakeholders to coordinate COVID-19 response and information sharing, the association told the agency.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released early stakeholder insights from its Accountable Health Communities Model.

Hospitals can submit their stories of kindness in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic by May 31 to be featured in Reader's Digest's Nicest Places in America 2020.

The AFL-CIO asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to order the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue within 30 days an emergency temporary standard to protect U.S. workers from COVID-19 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

In response to the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing homes, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recommended criteria for state and local officials who are considering how to mitigate risks.

The Small Business Administration released the application that borrowers must submit to the lender servicing their Paycheck Protection Program loan to request forgiveness for some or all of the loan.

The CDC awarded $10.25 billion from the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act to states, territories and local jurisdictions, and $750 million to tribal health programs to expand COVID-19 testing capacity and related activities.

HHS announced a $354 million agreement with a private partnership to make more active pharmaceutical ingredients and generic drugs in the United States to treat patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and prevent shortages of essential medicines.

The AHA, Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, and AdvaMed released clinically based guidance to support the safe reentry of medical device representatives into hospitals and other surgical facilities as they resume elective surgeries paused during the COVID-19 pandemic.

State Medicaid programs are reporting an uptick in enrollment compared with their fiscal year 2020 projections, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Infectious virus in feces is a common manifestation of COVID-19, according to a study from China published in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emerging Infectious Diseases journal.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of Everlywell, Inc.’s COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit.