Posted on by: Jackie A. Thayer

Survey finds Americans may delay medical appointments, emergency care during pandemic

ORLANDO, Fla. — A new national survey by the Orlando Health Heart & Vascular Institute finds many Americans would delay doctor’s appointments and even emergency care when COVID-19 rates are high. The survey found 67 percent of Americans are more concerned about going to medical appointments when COVID-19 rates are high in their area and nearly three in five (57 percent) are hesitant to go to the hospital even for an emergency.

In a time when every trip out of the house and every person we come in contact with poses a threat of contracting COVID-19, it can be difficult

… Read More

Continue Reading
Posted on by: Jackie A. Thayer

California health system buckling under COVID-19 pandemic

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California’s health care system is buckling under the strain of the nation’s largest coronavirus outbreak and may fracture in weeks if people ignore holiday social distancing, health officials warned as the number of people needing beds and specialized care soared to previously unimagined levels.

Top executives from the state’s largest hospital systems —Kaiser Permanente, Dignity Health and Sutter Health, which together cover 15 million Californians — said Tuesday that increasingly exhausted staff, many pressed into service outside their normal duties, are now attending to COVID-19 patients stacked up in hallways and conference rooms.

The CEO of

… Read More

Continue Reading
Posted on by: Jackie A. Thayer

The latest news on the coronavirus pandemic

By The Associated Press

SEATTLE — Health officials in Washington state said the number of people who were hospitalized to receive treatment for the coronavirus has reached a record high.

KOMO-TV reports there were 762 people receiving hospital care for the virus in Washington as of Saturday.

At the Swedish First Hill campus of Seattle’s Swedish Medical Center, 10 coronavirus patients were admitted within a span of five hours Wednesday.

Leaders from hospitals statewide met last week to consider strategies to ensure they have room to care for COVID-19 patients as the hospitalization rate climbs.

Washington State Hospital Association CEO

… Read More

Continue Reading
Posted on by:

Rates of ‘broken heart syndrome’ are way up during the coronavirus pandemic, a study found

FILE - In this April 20, 2020, file photo, resident physician Leslie Bottrell stands outside a room at an Intensive Care Unit as a nurse suctions the lungs of a COVID-19 patient at St. Joseph's Hospital in Yonkers, N.Y. A U.S. government report says death rates are 12 times higher for coronavirus patients with chronic illnesses than for others who become infected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report Monday, June 15 highlights the dangers posed by these conditions. They include heart disease, diabetes and chronic lung ailments, such as asthma or emphysema. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
FILE – In this April 20, 2020, file photo, resident physician Leslie Bottrell stands outside a room at an Intensive Care Unit as a nurse suctions the lungs of a COVID-19 patient at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Yonkers, N.Y. A U.S. government report says death rates are 12 times higher for coronavirus patients with chronic illnesses than for others who become infected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report Monday, June 15 highlights the dangers posed by these conditions. They include heart disease, diabetes and chronic lung ailments, such as asthma or emphysema. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Associated Press

… Read More

Continue Reading
Posted on by: Jackie A. Thayer

As Industry Focuses On Pandemic, Will Vital Procedures Make A Comeback?

After a few years hanging out quietly on the sidelines, the Health Care sector roared back to prominence this year as COVID-19 ravaged the globe. Suddenly, vaccines and antibodies catapulted into the headlines, drawing attention to biotech and pharma amid a race to treat or prevent the virus.

While Health Care doesn’t lead the sector scoreboard this year, it’s holding its own. On one particular week in late June, four of the top-performing S&P 500 stocks were pharmaceutical or biotech companies.

The pandemic also upended the sector in other ways, with possible long-term impacts on everything from future merger and

… Read More

Continue Reading