Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources and Special Communications

Widespread distrust of health care institutions and the government are making the pandemic worse for Black Americans, according to Danielle E.K. Perkins

To create more flexible conditions for COVID-19 vaccine distribution, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced undiluted frozen vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

In a Feb. 25 letter, the Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) urged Congressional leaders to include support for front-line health care workers and nursing education in the next COVID-19 relief package.

COVID-19 created opportunities for nurses to transform clinical operations, according to AONL member Betty Jo Rocchio, MS, RN, senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Mercy health system, based in St. Louis, Mo.

Senate Democrats today are expected to release their $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill and begin debate with the hopes of passing it in the next few days under “budget reconciliation,” which allows the measure to pass with a simple majority, instead of the 60 votes required for most legislation.

n this AHA Physician Alliance podcast, Amy Ahasic, M.D., section chief for pulmonary and critical care medicine at Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut, shares how she applied skills learned from the Women’s Wellness through Equity and Leadership Project to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

AHA, Other Health Care Provider Groups Urge Senate to include in legislation addressing the COVID-19 pandemic additional funding to counter sequester cuts to Medicare providers. This funding would allow for continued support of providers' COVID-19-related lost revenues, as well as additional expenses due to activities such as purchasing supplies and equipment, standing up emergency testing centers and the construction and retrofitting of facilities. As you know, the Medicare sequester relief is scheduled to end March 31.

The House of Representatives Feb. 27 approved the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, legislation to provide reconciliation protection for a roughly $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.

AHA voices support for the National Coronavirus Commission Act (S. 412), legislation that would create a national commission to examine lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and how to improve public health readiness.

A summary of important information for providers on Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine.

The House of Representatives early this morning voted 219-212 to approve a modified version of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, legislation to provide reconciliation protection for a roughly $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, which includes a number of provisions that affect hospitals and health systems.

Recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expanded options for source control and patient care activities in areas of moderate to substantial transmission of COIVD-19 and described strategies for improving the fit of face masks.

An article in the March issue of the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety details how Montefiore Medical Center (MMC), New York City, supported staff with mental health services designed to mitigate and treat psychological distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) Annual Report for fiscal year 2020 is now available on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) website.

Pfizer and its partner in developing a COVID-19 vaccine, BioNTech, announced the start of a global Phase 2/3 trial of the vaccine in roughly 4,000 pregnant women. The study will evaluate the vaccine’s safety, tolerability and immunogenicity in pregnant women and whether or not protective antibodies transfer to their infants.

To conserve personal protective equipment and reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19, some hospitals have moved intravenous (IV) infusion pumps from the bedside. Critically ill patients often require multiple IV medications to be administered using large-volume IV smart pumps (IVSPs), increasing the risk of adverse drug events and medication errors.

Increasing the number of vaccines delivered will require more predictable vaccine shipments, overcoming vaccine hesitancy, and public and private partnerships, said AONL CEO Robyn Begley, DNP, RN, who is also chief nursing officer and senior vice president workforce for the American Hospital Association (AHA).

This week AONL issued an advocacy alert for measures in the $1.92 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package advanced by the House Committee on the Budget titled American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

The AHA along with eight other health organizations urge Congress to provide additional funding for health care providers in the current reconciliation package.

During an AHA virtual briefing for lawmakers and staff, leaders from three health systems — One Brooklyn Health System, Grady Health System, and The Hospitals of Providence, part of Tenet Healthcare — discussed the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on communities of color and how their health systems are working with their communities to deliver high quality, culturally responsive care.