CDC has published an Agricultural Employer Checklist for Creating a COVID-19 Assessment and Control Plan. To prevent and slow the spread of COVID-19, agricultural employers can use this checklist to create a COVID-19 assessment and control plan for applying specific preparation, prevention, and management measures. This checklist has been developed based on the Agriculture Workers and Employers Interim Guidance from CDC and the U.S. Department of Labor.
New Rural EMS Collection of Resources Published
Currently, the health care industry is undergoing profound change, moving away from dependency on fees assessed for the volume of services provided and toward a people-centered, value-based operation that rewards positive patient outcomes. Transformation to a next evolutionary stage is necessary if EMS is to thrive and play an integral part in the changing health care system. This collection of key resources is intended to help rural EMS adapt and become a more integrated part of the evolving health care system.
The National Rural Health Resource Center has published a new set of resources that can be accessed here.
Community Paramedicine Impact Reference Guide Published
The National Rural Health Resource Center and the Paramedic Foundation have released a new guide for those intending to research, plan, implement, evaluate, or otherwise consider community paramedicine (CP) systems.
This resource includes a compilation of cited references that describe the impact of previously implemented CP initiatives. References include both the impact that CP has the potential to have or has been demonstrated to have on patients, health care systems, payers, health care provider organizations, health care practitioners, and others. It also reflects the impact that policy and health and medical practices have the potential or have been demonstrated to have on CP and its stakeholders.
Use this guide to review results as applicable to the initiative being considered and use the information to inform implementation.
The guide can be accessed here.
SBA Releases Updated Forgiveness Application
The SBA has issued an updated forgiveness application and instructions including an easy” form for selected organizations. The applications and instructions are attached and are available using this link: www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/…
HHS Releases Rural and Underserved Health Workforce Awards
On June 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is announcing awards totaling $107.2 million to 310 recipients to increase the health workforce in rural and underserved communities. Recipients across 45 states and U.S. territories received funding to improve the quality, distribution and diversity of health professionals serving across the country.
“Supporting a strong health workforce is essential to improving health in rural and underserved communities,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “We’ve seen stark disparities in health and healthcare access contribute to the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the Trump Administration’s work to address health disparities, these grants provide support for the training of healthcare workers in rural and underserved communities.”
These programs provide financial and professional support to physicians, faculty, dentists, nurses and students as they pursue careers in health care settings. Awardees will be able to develop and retain clinicians in high-need areas to meet the vital health needs of the most disadvantaged communities.
For funding details and to read the entire press release, please visit the HHS website.
Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency Announces Applications for CARES Assistance for Renters & Homeowners – Available Soon
Applications for CARES financial assistance for renters and homeowners will be available June 29; application submissions can begin July 6.
People who lost income due to the pandemic-related economic slowdown may be eligible for rent or mortgage assistance to help them stay in their homes.
Renters and homeowners who were financially impacted by the economic slowdown related to the coronavirus pandemic will be able to access applications for rent and mortgage relief starting June 29. At that time, applications will be easily accessible from a red banner on the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency’s website at www.PHFA.org. PHFA is administering both programs.
Pennsylvania Governor Signs Law to Help Prepare for the General Election
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed into law House Bill 2502, now Act 35 of 2020, that requires the Department of State to publish a report on the June 2, 2020, primary election. The report will help identify any necessary changes to the Pennsylvania Election Code before the general election in November.
The report will include a series of data points for each county relating to the reforms of Act 77 of 2019 and Act 12 of 2020, including the numbers of mail-in ballots that were applied for and received, the number of new voter registrations received, and what time each county began to pre-canvass and canvass absentee and mail-in ballots.
The primary election was the first time Pennsylvanians could vote by mail-in ballot without having to provide an excuse. Nearly 1.5 million mail-in or absentee ballot were cast, 17 times the number that voted absentee in the 2016 primary, when approximately 84,000 absentee ballots were cast.
To help counties with the surge of mail-in ballots and to reduce delays in reporting election results, the department supports a proposed legislative change to allow counties to begin processing mailed ballots in the weeks before election day. Under current law, counties cannot begin to pre-canvass these ballots until 7 a.m. on election day.
The final 22 counties also debuted new voting systems in the primary, completing a two-year initiative to bring state-of-the-art voting systems to all 67 counties.
Fighting Food Insecurity in Pennsylvania with Harvest 2020
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) believes all people can play a role in combating food insecurity. PHS is launching Harvest 2020, a multi-faceted initiative aimed at mobilizing 100,000 gardening enthusiasts and other individuals in the Greater Philadelphia region to grow food for themselves in their individual gardens, share food grown within their communities and with local hunger relief organizations, donate funds for food gardening education, or to help supply gardening resources to people in underserved communities. The initiative is timely with the food growing season underway, along with the increased demand for fresh food during the COVID-19 crisis. The expected collective action from Harvest 2020 will bring at least five million pounds of fresh produce to Philadelphia-area kitchens and food banks, supporting the health and well-being of communities across the region.
Partners are welcome to participate in Harvest 2020 by providing donations to support the initiative. Sponsors are also invited to participate, with a number of opportunities available to help PHS amplify its food growing/sharing message across Greater Philadelphia. Potential partners and sponsors should contact Jimmy Owens, VP Business Development, at jowens@pennhort.org.
In Pennsylvania, Mask-Wearing is Required, Critical to Stop COVID-19 Spread
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf reminded Pennsylvanians that mask-wearing is required when entering any business in all counties in the state in both yellow and green phases of reopening. Masks are considered critical in stopping the spread of COVID, now and in preparation for a possible resurgence of the virus in the fall.
The mask requirement is part of Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel’s Levine’s order, “Directing Public Health Safety Measures for Businesses Permitted to Maintain In-person Operations,” which pertains to all counties regardless of the phase of reopening.
“In yellow and green counties, it is required that masks are worn when visiting businesses to protect employees, employees’ families, and communities as a whole,” Gov. Wolf said. “Mask-wearing has proven to be an important deterrent to the spread of the virus, and as more counties move to green and more things reopen, we need to be vigilant in our efforts to continue our mitigation efforts.”
A recent study from Cambridge and Greenwich universities in the United Kingdom found that cloth masks, “even homemade masks with limited effectiveness can dramatically reduce transmission rates if worn by enough people, regardless of whether they show symptoms.”
Peer-reviewed studies published in scientific journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine corroborate the need for masks and the U.S. Surgeon General said that wearing a mask doesn’t impinge on our freedom – it gives us more freedom from unknowingly spreading COVID-19.
The state’s business guidance outlines mask-wearing requirements and additional safety parameters for both employees and customers.
Read more on Gov. Wolf’s Process to Reopen PA here
In Case You Missed It: CMS Released Weekly Update of Nursing Home COVID-19 Data as of June 7, 2020
CMS Released Weekly Update of Nursing Home COVID-19 Data as of June 7, 2020
In case you missed it, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) posted the second set of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) nursing home data today available here: https://data.cms.gov/stories/s/bkwz-xpvg
The data will be updated weekly going forward; for more information on nursing homes, including a link to the COVID-19 nursing home data, visit Nursing Home Compare.
CMS also released additional frequently asked questions on the nursing home COVID-19 data available here: https://data.cms.gov/api/views/b62a-ieuz/files/e883f38f-77da-4f58-975f-390b858ccf9f?filename=NH%20COVID-19%20data%20FAQ%206-18-2020.pdf