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Process to Reopen Pennsylvania Announced
The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented event that has impacted every part of the globe. All Pennsylvanians – businesses, communities, neighbors – have been affected and the Commonwealth has responded aggressively to the spread of COVID-19.
As stabilization starts to occur, Pennsylvania plans to proceed with returning to work cautiously. On April 22, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced his detailed plan for reopening Pennsylvania, categorizing the reopening with three phrases: red, yellow, and green. Phases are based on the conditions in the county, counties, or regions.
The guidance needed for businesses located in green phase counties is provided below.
Green Phase
As regions or counties move into the green phase, most restrictions will be eased, AND THE stay at home and business closure orders WILL REMAIN SUSPENDED to allow PA’s economy to strategically reopen while continuing to prioritize public health.
Work & Congregate Setting Restrictions
- Telework strongly encouraged
- In-person business operations must follow the COVID-19 Business Guidance
- All businesses operating at 50% occupancy in the yellow phase may increase to 75% occupancy
- Child care may open complying with guidance
- Congregate care restrictions in place
- Prison and hospital restrictions determined by individual facilities
- Schools subject to CDC and Commonwealth guidance
Social Restrictions
- Large gatherings of more than 250 prohibited
- Restaurants and bars open at 50% occupancy with continued implementation of the Restaurant Industry Guidance
- Personal care services (including hair salons and barbershops) open at 50% occupancy by appointment only
- Indoor recreation, health and wellness facilities, and personal care services (such as gyms and spas) open at 50% occupancy with appointments strongly encouraged
- All entertainment (such as casinos, theaters, and shopping malls) open at 50% occupancy
- Construction activity may return to full capacity with continued implementation of the Construction Guidance
Requirements for COVID-19 Safety Communication
Businesses conducting in-person operations or serving the public are required to make employees and customers aware of the guidance provided by the Commonwealth to keep people at their establishment safe. Businesses must print, sign and post the “COVID-19 Safety Procedures for Businesses” flyer and post it on their premises in employee common spaces and near the business’s public entrance(s).
The flyer is available in English or Spanish and larger sizes can be found on the DCED website.
PPE & Supplies Directory
As businesses reopen, it is imperative they equip their employees with the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and keep their workers and customers safe.
If your business needs PPE, visit the COVID-19 PPE & Supplies Business-2-Business (B2B) Interchange Directory to connect with manufacturers that have masks, thermometers, hand sanitizer, face shields, medical gowns, and cleaning disinfectants available.
Questions?
For any questions, contact the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development at 1.866.466.3972 or stay up-to-date with COVID-19 information by visiting the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Responding to COVID-19 Guide
Updated Pennsylvania Dental Guidance: June 3, 2020
The Pennsylvania Department of Health issued updated guidance for dental providers in the state on Wednesday, June 3.
The CDC’s Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) call last week focused on “Guidance for Dental Settings During the COVID-19 Response.” The call provided a great overview of the CDC guidelines for infection control in the dental office.
Click here to view the 6/3 PA DOH guidance.
Click here to watch the CDC COCA recording.
Pennsylvania Governor’s Administration Approves $10.8 Million in New COVID-19 Working Capital Access Program Funding
On behalf of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Dennis Davin announced that 133 companies have been approved for funding in the final disbursement of the COVID-19 Working Capital Access Program (CWCA). The latest cohort of businesses to receive funding includes chiropractors, restaurants, breweries and wineries, salons, fitness facilities. Over the course of the program, nearly $61 million was awarded to businesses across Pennsylvania.
In total, 745 businesses were approved for loans totaling $60,722,641.
A list of approved projects can be found on the website. New projects are highlighted in yellow.
DCED continues to update its website with financial and other resources.
HRSA Announces Black Lung Clinic Program Awards
The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) has awarded over $11.2 million to 15 recipients for the 2020-2025 Black Lung Clinics Program (BLCP). The purpose of this program is to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with occupationally-related coal mine dust lung disease through the provision of quality medical, outreach, educational, and benefits counseling services for active, inactive, retired, and disabled US coal miners. In an effort to address current disease trends, the program includes an emphasis on Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis & Progressive Massive Fibrosis.
Additionally, one cooperative agreement has been awarded to the University of Illinois at Chicago for the Black Lung Data and Resource Center (BLDRC). The purpose of this program is to strengthen the operations of BLCP recipients through programmatic assistance and improved data collection and analysis related to the health status and needs of U.S. coal miners.
Some Temporary Telehealth Provisions Will Become Permanent, CMS Chief Says
Becker’s Hospital Review
The number of CMS beneficiaries has grown from 12,000 weekly telehealth visits to “well into six figures” during the pandemic, and both President Donald Trump and CMS Administrator Seema Verma aim to continue those benefits.
Kellyanne Conway, assistant to the president and senior counselor, and Ms. Verma spoke at a recent news teleconference and discussed, among other topics, their efforts regarding telehealth. During the pandemic, CMS has expanded access to telehealth visits so all beneficiaries are covered for audio and video visits during the pandemic. The agency also updated coverage rates to pay the same rate as in-person visits for the duration of the crisis. Previously, telehealth visits had lower reimbursement rates.
Ms. Conway said that the president would like telehealth access to continue “long after the virus is completely vanquished.” Ms. Verma echoed that sentiment, saying that the president “has made it clear that he wants to explore extending telehealth benefits more widely.” She also said that the administration had made strides toward expanding access to telehealth before the pandemic.
“We had increased the amount of services that qualify for telehealth and even provided small, kind of, short visits over the phone or through Skype, even before the coronavirus,” she said. “So we’re looking at all of the waivers that we provided. We’re evaluating them to determine whether they should be extended past the coronavirus.” She also said that the agency is in the process of rulemaking and she expected some provisions that had been extended during the pandemic temporarily to become permanent.
HHS Announces New Laboratory Data Reporting Guidance for COVID-19 Testing
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced new Guidance that specifies what additional data must be reported to HHS by laboratories along with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) test results. The Guidance standardizes reporting to ensure that public health officials have access to comprehensive and nearly real-time data to inform decision making in their response to COVID-19. As the country begins to reopen, access to clear and accurate data is essential to communities and leadership for making decisions critical to a phased reopening.
Pennsylvania Is Sitting on Billions in Coronavirus Relief Money. What’s the Holdup?
Spotlight PA from the Philadelphia Inquirer
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and PennLive/Patriot-News. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.
Update, May 28: Lawmakers on Thursday approved the use of $2.6 billion in discretionary federal stimulus dollars for a variety of purposes including providing relief to counties and hard-hit long-term care facilities.
HARRISBURG — After enduring more than two months of the coronavirus pandemic, and with state revenues continuing to tank, Pennsylvania has yet to spend a dime of $3.9 billion in discretionary federal stimulus dollars intended to aid in the relief effort.
The pot of money is by far the largest available to the state, and the most valuable. And while it currently cannot be used to make up for lost revenues — projected to be as much as $5 billion by next June — there is hope in some corners the rules could change.
Online Grocery Purchasing for Pennsylvania SNAP Recipients Now Available, Retailers Encouraged to Join Program
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) announced that the system changes necessary to implement the pilot program that lets recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) purchase groceries online through participating retailers have been completed, and online grocery purchasing is now active at approved retailers.
The Future of Rural Value-Based Health Care and Surge Capacity
Healthcare service demands consequent to the COVID-19 pandemic have challenged preconceived rural value-based priorities such as inpatient-care reduction and just-in-time inventories. Thus, rural healthcare organizations may struggle with conflicting demands for surge-ready healthcare infrastructure and value-oriented business processes. This Rural Health Value commentary outlines questions for consideration about the future of rural value-based care and payment.
Link: https://ruralhealthvalue.org/files/Future%20of%20Rural%20VBC%20and%20Surge.pdf
Top resources on the Rural Health Value website:
- Value-Based Care Assessment – Assess capacity and capabilities to deliver value-based care. Receive an eight-category readiness report.
- Physician Engagement – Score current engagement and build effective relationships to create a shared vision for a successful future.
- Board and Community Engagement – Hold value-based care discussions as part of strategic planning and performance measurement.
- Social Determinants of Health – Learn and encourage rural leaders/care teams to address issues to improve their community’s health.
Contact information:
Keith J. Mueller, Ph.D., Co-Principal Investigator, keith-mueller@uiowa.edu
Rural Health Value helps create high performance rural health systems by building and offering an actionable knowledge base through research, practice, and collaboration. Visit www.ruralhealthvalue.org.
Developed with funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $250,000 with 0% financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the authors(s) do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
The Federal Reserve Wants to Hear from You
In early April, the Federal Reserve System conducted a survey to better understand the range of challenges facing underresourced and low-income communities as an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings are available in Perspectives from Main Street: The Impact of COVID-19 on Communities and the Entities Serving Them and helped us understand how this crisis is impacting organizations, like yours, supporting community needs.
We are committed to fielding this survey every eight weeks to report on how the effects of COVID-19 are changing within communities over time. Please help us by taking this survey today.
The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. If you have received the invitation to complete the survey from another Federal Reserve entity, please only take the survey once. If you are an organization whose members work in low-income communities, we encourage you to forward the survey link to others who have unique knowledge of what is happening in their communities.
Please use this link to access the survey.