Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources and Special Communications

The AHA, along with numerous others, have rightly labeled this pandemic the greatest financial threat in history for hospitals and health systems as we continue to fight this pandemic at the same time that non-COVID patient visits remain down. This financial pressure has created a serious obstacle to keeping the doors open for many hospitals.

ASHE reports COVID-19-related staffing impacts through the COVID-19 Response Tactics Sharing survey project.

The Department of Health and Human Services today released its strategy for the public distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine.

This webpage is intended to help keep the field informed of important updates related to vaccine development, distribution, utilization protocols, supply chain and many other issues, through AHA-developed tools, as well as resources from the federal government and other stakeholders.

While commercial payers and employers are finding their own ways of dealing with this new COVID-19 normal, it’s important for hospital and health system leaders to stay abreast of how the upheaval in these sectors may ultimately impact provider organizations.

Technical guidance to support effective use of antigen tests in various testing situations was updated this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The guidance summarizes the differences between diagnostic, screening, and surveillance testing and provides links to regulatory requirements.

Health systems working to calculate their resource needs before a surge in COVID-19 can now avail themselves of a surge planning tool released by UCLA Health. The tool projects the numbers of inpatient beds, ICU beds and ventilators needed over a two-week period when predictions are highly accurate.

Concerns about the spread of COVID-19 is prompting a closer examination of the Hospital at Home model of care, which makes acute care available to patients in their homes.

A review of methods used for proning in the intensive care unit, including the required staffing, necessary equipment, safety for caregivers and relative risks for patients, will be the subject of a webinar hosted by the American Hospital Association (AHA) Sept.16 at 1 p.m. ET.

A study of 83 COVID-19 patients who were proned while placed on a ventilator found 12 developed peripheral nerve injury involving one or more major joints. The injuries were severe and included loss of hand function, frozen shoulder and foot dragging.

Stress from treating patients with COVID-19 can take a deep toll on nurses, putting them at risk of moral distress, compassion fatigue and burnout. A group of nursing organizations is responding with the Well-Being Initiative, and individual hospitals have employed a range of tactics to support front-line nurses.

Last week, the American Hospital Association (AHA) last week urged the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to adopt a unified set of guidelines for equitably allocating COVID-19 vaccines when they become available.

With the future anything but clear, strategic thinkers, consultants and tech gurus have begun to reimagine the field’s future and what opportunities lie ahead.

A wedding ceremony at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio fulfills a couple’s wish and helps speed the groom’s recovery from COVID-19.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued new surveyor guidance for COVID-19 laboratory test result reporting for Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-certified laboratories.

AHA comments on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Discussion Draft of the Preliminary Framework for Equitable Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccine.

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AHA has compiled several case examples demonstrating the struggles and successes of rural hospitals battling COVID-19 in their communities.

AHA urges the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to withdraw the condition of participation that hospitals report daily COVID-19 data.