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A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released shows an increase between 2018 and 2019 in rates of suspected nonfatal drug overdoses involving opioids, cocaine and amphetamines, and of polydrug overdoses co-involving opioids and amphetamines that were treated in the emergency department.

State Opioid Response and Tribal Opioid Response grant programs are receiving the first of two rounds of funds totaling $1.5 billion, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced.

Clinicians who may see patients from areas affected by Hurricane Laura should maintain a high level of suspicion for carbon monoxide poisoning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in new guidance.

The federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., should overturn a lower court ruling upholding a Department of Health and Human Services final rule requiring hospitals to disclose the rates they agree to accept from insurers, the AHA told the court , joined by the Association of American Medical Colleges, Children's Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals and several member hospitals.

Those with intellectual and developmental disabilities who require in-person care, including in-classroom settings, are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the directors of the National Institutes of Health-funded Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers Network said in an American Journal of Psychiatry article.

The National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced $17 million in grants to establish the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases, which will support multidisciplinary investigations into how and where viruses and other pathogens emerge from wildlife and spillover to cause disease in people.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention credited universal testing of residents and staff of all 123 West Virginia nursing homes for SARS-CoV-2, irrespective of symptoms, as a key factor for limiting COVID-19 transmissions and reducing the pandemic’s impact on the state’s vulnerable populations.

Threatening to expel hospitals from the Medicare and Medicaid programs if they don’t report COVID-19 data to the federal government, which was outlined in a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services interim final rule released this week, “is ridiculous and should be rescinded,” according to a Washington Times editorial.

If you missed the Aug. 27 livestream, you can watch a replay of the latest episode of Leadership Rounds – short conversations on a range of key issues AHA Board Chair Melinda Estes, M.D., is having with hospital and health system leaders from across the country.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced a contract award to Abbott for the delivery of 150 million rapid Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Point of Care SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests.

The Department of Health and Human Services yesterday released its COVID-19 Workforce Virtual Toolkit, which includes updated resources for hospitals.

AHA Today will not publish the week of Aug. 31. After tomorrow's newsletter, the next edition of AHA Today will be Sept. 8. AHA members will continue to receive information on breaking news or important updates.

A century ago, nominating a presidential ticket during political conventions was an arduous marathon. The Democrats opened their convention with 14 names in serious contention, while the Republicans had to whittle down their list from a dozen hopefuls.  

Approximately one-quarter of healthy women with low-risk pregnancies still undergo C-sections despite the potential risks to mothers and babies. To avoid unnecessary C-sections, hospitals are making strides in recognizing risk factors for mothers and babies sooner.

The AHA and other national health care groups urged the Department of Health and Human Services to protect 340B hospitals and the vulnerable communities they serve “from actions taken by five of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturers that undermine access to critical drugs and other health care services.”

Learning mental health first aid could ease the exacerbation of behavioral health conditions during the COVID-19 public health emergency, writes Katherine Bunting, CEO of Illinois-based Fairfield Memorial Hospital.

The Department of Health and Human Services declared public health emergencies and waived certain Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program requirements in Louisiana and Texas due to Hurricane Laura, and in California due to wildfires.

The Health Resources and Services Administration has distributed the first half of a planned $5 billion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act’s Provider Relief Fund allocation to nursing homes, the agency announced.

People who have been within 6 feet of someone with COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes but do not have symptoms do not need to get a COVID-19 diagnostic test unless they are “a vulnerable individual” or their health care provider or public health officials recommend it, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in updated guidance.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized the first COVID-19 antigen test that allows health care providers to read the results in minutes directly from the testing card, similar to some pregnancy tests.