USDA Announces Additional Food Purchase Plans

Posted on by lad3

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced details of $470 million in Section 32 food purchases to occur in the third quarter of fiscal year 2020, in addition to purchases previously announced, which will enable USDA to purchase surplus food for distribution to communities nationwide. These Section 32 purchases will provide additional support for producers and Americans in need, in response to changing market conditions caused by the COVID-19 national emergency.

Using these available funds, USDA plans to purchase 100 percent American-grown and produced agricultural products totaling $4.89 billion for the remainder of this fiscal year in support of American agriculture and people in need:

Support Program for Farmers- $573.6 million

COVID-19 Resources for Farmers & Ag Workers with Disabilities & Health Conditions

Posted on by lad3

The National AgrAbility Project has for assembled a page of resources, referrals, and links related to COVD-19 to support the farmers, agricultural workers, and the professionals who are working with them during this pandemic. It is a great place to find specific information connected to the work of farmers with disabilities or health conditions.

COVID-19 Resources

Please share additional suggestions for this page to: agrability@agrability.org

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act, Title V)

Posted on by lad3

Last week, states received a minimum of $1.25 billion from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act, Title V) to use at their discretion to address issues related to the pandemic. These dollars may be used to fund necessary COVID-19-related expenses that have not been addressed in their most recently passed state budgets and are limited to expenses that occur between March 1 to Dec. 30, 2020.

To make funding decisions amid many competing priorities, states could benefit from a snapshot showing all federal coronavirus relief funds that have already been received by hospitals and their affiliates within their states. It remains unclear if and when the federal government will make such information available and whether that data will be by hospital.

The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), in consultation with state officials, has drafted a template that states can use or revise to seek timely information detailing which hospitals are already receiving federal coronavirus relief funds. The template seeks information about hospitals and their affiliates, which can include labs, physician practices, rural health and behavioral health clinics, surgery centers, and nursing homes.

Read more.

Knocking Down the Barriers to Health Care for Rural Sexual Assault Victims

Posted on by lad3

The Penn State College of Nursing’s SAFE-T Center team, led by assistant professor and center director Sheridan Miyamoto, is working to address barriers to health care for rural sexual-assault victims with their new telehealth solution, the SAFE-T System.

According to the center, there are more than 284,000 victims of sexual assault across America every year. Victims require timely, skilled, and compassionate health care to address injuries, risk of pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections. Additionally, forensic evidence must be collected accurately and methodically to aid in the successful prosecution of perpetrators. Current technology used to aid in magnification, image capture, and secure storage is expensive and requires substantial technical expertise to administer.

Unfortunately, most U.S. hospitals lack both the adequate equipment to photo-document evidence of assault and the needed expert sexual assault health care providers; nor do they have access to peers who can review findings. In these underserved settings, providers either use hand-held cameras without magnification or forego photo-documentation completely, resulting in inadequate evidence for successful prosecution of perpetrators.

Currently, the SAFE-T Center pairs existing commercial products with custom telehealth solutions and extensive added security protections and deploys the technology suite to rural partner hospitals, enabling a local nurse and victim to receive assistance from an off-site expert, a sexual assault nurse examiner (teleSANE), in real time, as if the expert were present in the room. The technology also has the ability — with the patient’s consent — to enable the on-site nurse to talk with an on-screen forensic nurse, and together, they support the patient. The teleSANE can also see the live exam in progress to help see that compassionate, person-centered care is delivered and evidence collection adheres to best practices.

SAFE-T System — the next generation, improved visualization and telehealth device and platform — aims to provide better visualization of injuries and allow for enhanced security during these sensitive exams at a substantially reduced cost. Miyamoto said she believes that providing nurses with mentoring, live-guidance and advanced telehealth equipment will help provide sexual assault victims with enhanced confidence in their care, a first step toward healing.

Read more.

Challenges Increase for Rural Maternal Care 

Posted on by lad3

New reporting dives into how the coronavirus is exacerbating challenges in rural maternal health care. Prior to the virus, women in rural areas lacked access to maternal care as hospitals and obstetric units across the country closed. Already traveling long distances to receive care, women may find these rural hospitals overwhelmed by patients. The more the virus spreads into rural communities, the further people will have to travel to receive essential, everyday care. In addition to being far from their communities, women are also isolated from the support of their families due to hospital policies to limit visitors in an effort to prevent virus spread. As stated in the article, “people should get the care they need, no matter who they are or where they live.”

Rural Areas Dealing with Long Distances to Care 

Posted on by lad3

A recently released online, interactive graphic highlights the areas of the United States that are more than 30 minutes away from the nearest hospital. The article contends that the 8.6 million people living in these rural areas are less likely to seek care, making them more at risk to spread to coronavirus to others. If these rural hospitals become overwhelmed, patients will have to travel even further for treatment. In Navajo County, Arizona, where cases have quickly increased, the smaller tribal clinics have begun transferring patients to hospitals in Flagstaff and Phoenix. The CEO of North Country HealthCare, Anne Newland, says “it’s not just the distance, it’s that people are afraid.” The article also covers the stories of Florida farmworkers and Washington hospitals, where people live far from care.

Pennsylvania Is the State with the 5th Most Coronavirus Restrictions – WalletHub Study

Posted on by lad3

With some states beginning to open up for business and relax limitations put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States with the Fewest Coronavirus Restrictions, as well as accompanying videos.

To identify which states have the fewest coronavirus restrictions, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 9 key metrics. Our data set ranges from limits on large gatherings to the presence of a “shelter-in-place” order and whether restaurants and bars have reopened. Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A.

Coronavirus Restrictions in Pennsylvania (1=Fewest, 25=Avg.):

  • 31st – Requirement to Wear a Face Mask in Public
  • 29th – Travel Restrictions
  • 39th – Large Gatherings Restrictions
  • 24th – “Shelter in Place” Order
  • 35th – Reopening of Non-Essential Businesses
  • 18th – Reopening of Restaurants and Bars

Note: Rankings are based on data available as of 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday, May 4, 2020.

For the full report, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-fewest-coronavirus-restrictions/73818/

Pennsylvania Governor Provides Business Guidance as Counties Move to Yellow Phase on May 8

Posted on by lad3

To continue to limit the spread of COVID-19, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf today provided guidance that details procedures businesses must follow to conduct in-person operations in counties slated to move to the yellow phase of reopening on May 8. All businesses, including non-profits, permitted to conduct in-person operations are subject to this guidance. This guidance is based on the building safety and business safety orders, under which nearly all life-sustaining businesses have been operating during the red phase.

Under the yellow phase of reopening, life-sustaining businesses that could not conduct either all or part of their operations via telework will continue to conduct their operations in-person, and many non-life sustaining businesses will be permitted to restart their in-person operations through the loosening of some restrictions under the stay-at-home and business closure orders.

In counties that have been designated as in the yellow phase, all businesses, except those categories specifically listed as remaining closed in the governor’s Plan to Reopen Pennsylvania, are permitted to conduct in-person operations, as long as they strictly adhere to the requirements of the guidance.

The guidance includes specific information on cleaning and disinfecting premises, limiting the number of employees in common areas and customers on premises, providing masks and sanitizing supplies for employees, installing shields or other barriers at registers and checkout areas to physically separate cashiers and customers, and creating a plan in case a business is exposed to a probable or confirmed case of COVID-19, among other provisions.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans Being Available to U.S. Agricultural Businesses Impacted by COVID-19 Pandemic

Posted on by lad3

SBA announced that agricultural producers, for the first time, are now eligible for the Small Business Administration (SBA)’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance programs.

SBA’s EIDL portal has been closed since April 15. However, the Agency is able to reopen the portal today, in a limited capacity, as a result of funding authorized by Congress through the Paycheck Protection Program and Healthcare Enhancement Act. The legislation provided additional critical funding for farmers and ranchers affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In order to help facilitate this important change to EIDL Loan and EIDL Advance assistance eligibility, SBA is re-opening the Loan and Advance application portal to agricultural enterprises only. For agricultural producers that submitted an EIDL loan application through the streamlined application portal prior to the legislative change, SBA will move forward and process these applications without the need for re-applying. All other EIDL loan applications that were submitted prior to April 15 will be processed on a first-in, first-out basis.

The application is available at www.SBA.gov/Disaster or here.