By Brianna Bailey
Eight nurses are the overwhelming majority of employees who remain at Haskell County Community Hospital in Oklahoma. The future of the 25-bed hospital, which has been whittled down to operating only an emergency room since 2019, is increasingly grim.
By Bryce Oates
Recreation counties’ reliance on tourism and outdoor recreation may pose an existential threat to some of their publicly funded healthcare systems.
By Brian Whitacre and Roberto Gallardo
A new dataset gives researchers a different way to measure internet use. What they’ve found is that when the number of “online ventures” goes up, so does the county’s prosperity.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has published new respirator information and guidance:
For more information, please visit the COVID-19 webpage. To stay up to date on new developments, sign up for the COVID-19 newsletter.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has published resources for businesses and specific industries.
General Business Frequently Asked Questions
CDC has provided answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) that build on the Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers and Guidance for Critical Infrastructure Workers. Answers address suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19, reducing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace, healthy business operations, cleaning and disinfection, and critical infrastructure. These FAQs are not intended for healthcare facilities; CDC has provided separate Guidance for Healthcare Settings.
Industry Specific Resources
CDC has published several fact sheets for workers who may be at risk for exposure to COVID-19. New fact sheets are now available for these specific groups:
For more information, please visit the COVID-19 webpage. To stay up to date on new developments, sign up for the COVID-19 newsletter.
On April 17, USDA Secretary Perdue announced the purchase of up to $3 billion in agricultural commodities for interested farmers, food processors, food banks, and other interested partners.
The Agricultural Marketing Service’s Commodity Procurement Program will procure an estimated $100 million per month in fresh fruits and vegetables, $100 million per month in a variety of dairy products, and $100 million per month in meat products. The distributors and wholesalers will then provide a pre-approved box of fresh produce, dairy, and meat products to food banks, community and faith-based organizations, and other non-profits serving Americans in need.
Pennsylvania and its residents need you to participate now, more than ever. By participating in this program, you will get your products to market, help those in needs, and protect Pennsylvania’s agricultural economy. It is vital that you partner with organizations near you that can be found in the State Food Purchase County Lead Agency Directory or The Emergency Food Assistance Program County Lead Agency Directory.
Penn State Extension is also giving information on how to apply.
USDA is moving quickly on this program, applications are due by May 1st, 2020.
Below are the links to the RFP application and other important documents:
President Trump has signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act into law. The bill provides $310 billion in funding for the Paycheck Protection Program and makes agricultural enterprises eligible for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
However, we expect this funding to run out quickly, as it is first come-first served. While we have not yet seen a formal announcement, we expect these applications to open as early as beginning of next week and that the funds will be exhausted in a matter of days. Below, we have provided the links to apply to these grants and we encourage farmers and other small businesses to establish a relationship with an eligible banking or crediting institution to begin the process.
Please note that unlike PPP, applications for the EIDL program are made directly to SBA.
As a direct result of agriculture and the entire food supply chain being life sustaining, combined with hot spots of COVID-19 in processing facilities, any symptomatic adult working in agriculture – including but not limited to those working in processing and manufacturing facilities, food warehouses, groceries stores, and on-farm labor (seasonal farm labor and H2A workers included) – is approved to receive priority testing if they live and/or work in Montgomery County or northeast Pennsylvania.
Members of Pennsylvania’s agriculture workforce who find themselves symptomatic for COVID-19 are encouraged to follow the steps found in the attachment to this email for priority testing if they live and/or work in Montgomery, Susquehanna, Wyoming, Luzerne, Carbon, Monroe, Pike, Wayne, or Lackawanna counties. There is no cost for testing at these sites, since the test is completed at the PA state public health laboratory.
Those working in agriculture outside of these prioritized regions who are showing symptoms for COVID-19 are encouraged to visit any other approved testing site in Pennsylvania. A full map of locations can be found on the Department of Health’s website.
Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and diarrhea. Symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure.
Pennsylvania Governor Wolf’s administration announced the launch of an online portal for individuals, corporations or community organizations to inform the commonwealth of critical medical supplies available for donation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A new series of policy briefs coauthored by National Rural Health Association member George Pink examines the geographic variability in profitability of urban and rural hospitals; rural hospitals with long-term unprofitability; profitability of urban and rural hospitals by Medicare payment classification; and the broader context of rural hospitals and profitability. Another policy brief coauthored by NRHA members Xi Zhu and Keith Mueller looks at rural hospital participation in Medicare accountable care organizations, summarizing national and regional rates of rural hospital participation and identifying factors associated with ACO participation. Finally, new research coauthored by NRHA member Mark Holmes examines patterns of hospital bypass and inpatient care seeking by rural residents, as hospital bypass, or the tendency of local rural residents to not seek care at their closest hospital, is thought to be a contributing factor for rural hospital closure.
