Category: Health Care
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COVID19 Testing: Tennessee Versus Virginia
Much has been written about the paucity of COVID-19 testing in Virginia. One place where the shortfall is most evident is in Bristol, a city bifurcated by the Virginia-Tennessee state line. On the Tennessee side of the border, anyone who wants a COVID-19 test can get one, reports the Roanoke Times. On the Virginia side,…
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Virginia Hospitals Have Capacity to Spare. Time to Rethink Elective-Surgery Restrictions.
Virginia is “pivoting away” from setting up field hospitals to handle the hospital overflow of COVID-19 patients, Danny Avula, director of the City of Richmond and Henrico County health departments, said in a Friday press conference. Although sites had been selected in Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads, Avula said he saw less need to…
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COVID-19 Update: Hospitalizations, Deaths Still Rising
For what it’s worth, the number of new COVID-19 cases reported by the Virginia Department of Health this morning was 453, about the same level as it was two weeks ago. The official total now stands at 8,990. But with scarcity of testing supplies and delays in reporting, that figure isn’t worth much. As much…
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COVID-19 Update: Hospitalizations Way Up
Another day, another increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations. The Virginia Department of Health data indicated that 126 patients were hospitalized yesterday — a one-day record in the Old Dominion — bringing total hospitalizations to 1,422. According to Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association (VHHA), there are now 820 patients in hospitals confirmed to have COVID-19, while another…
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Wyoming Is Not New York. Why Should their Social Distancing Measures Be the Same?
As the nation starts to roll back the social distancing measures that have dampened the spread of the COVID-19 virus, it is useful to remember that the United States is a big, diverse country, and measures that make sense in one place might not be suitable for another. This table, supplied by reader James Young,…
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Canterbury Needs a Federal Audit
by James C. Sherlock The patient population of the Canterbury Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, site of nearly 50 COVID-19 deaths, consists primarily of Medicaid recipients. The facility recently changed ownership and was previously known as Lexington Court Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center. Nursing Home Compare Five-Star Quality Rating System A nursing home is a place for…
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Unexpected Bonus: No Flu
by James A. Bacon The verdict is still out on how well Virginia’s social-distancing measures are working to contain the COVID-19 virus, but it’s sure working against the flu. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) tracks the spread of influenza in order to “provide situational awareness, inform prevention strategies, and prepare for a potential pandemic.”…
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Uh, Oh…
by Dean Wortmier Because the panacea bonfire of the “New Abbott Labs Test” is being stoked, I have been forced to revive some brain cells that have been comfortably soaking up rum for the past 8 years. How much help is testing for CoV2 going to be in deciding to ‘Open Up’ Virginia? Let’s use…
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COVID-19 Update: Time to Re-Evaluate Usefulness of “Confirmed Cases” Statistic
by James A. Bacon The latest Virginia Department of Health (VDH) data continues to look alarming: 562 new reported cases yesterday, 75 new hospitalizations, and 27 new deaths. However, I’m sticking by my argument that the epidemic in Virginia is close to peaking. Here’s the nub of my argument, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases…
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VDH Responsibilities Regarding Nursing Homes
by James C. Sherlock I have been asked an excellent question: What are the Virginia Health Commissioner’s responsibilities under federal and state law to regulate nursing homes? I will provide what I hope is a sufficiently complete answer. The question is relevant because we need to ensure that episodes like the Canterbury Rehabilitation tragedy don’t…
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Why Was Canterbury Short of Staff?
by James C. Sherlock The image above captures financial information about Canterbury Rehabilitation (known as Lexington Court until new ownership this year) published on the Virginia Health Information website for the fiscal year ending Oct. 31, 2018. That is the most recent data available to the public. Canterbury, to refresh your memory is the privately…
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COVID-19 Update: Don’t Panic!!
The number of COVID-19 confirmed new cases and hospitalizations spiked higher yesterday, based on the latest Virginia Department of Health data. New cases marked a record for Virginia at 601, while one-day hospitalizations also hit a high. But these numbers are volatile, often due to reporting delays, and yesterday’s jump was not sufficient to change…
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Nursing Home Horror
by Kerry Dougherty One of the saddest aspects of what’s being called the “new normal” is that nursing homes are closed to visitors. It’s necessary, of course, to keep COVID-19 away from the elderly. But it is wrenching for families. I have a friend whose mother is on the first floor of a local nursing…
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A National Strategy for COVID-19 Testing
By Dick Hall-Sizemore The President does not seem able to formulate a national strategy for COVID-19 testing. So, I am proposing one: Say to Abbot Laboratories, “Here is $1 billion. Turn over the rights to your new testing machine to the government.” Say to Abbot Laboratories, “Here is $100 million. Train an army of technicians…
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The Canterbury Tragedy and the Failed Virginia Department of Health
by James C. Sherlock One of the issues we are facing with the decline of regional newspapers is the decline of investigative reporting. The few reporters left in Virginia covering the Northam administration are printing press releases as stories and reporting press conferences for what is said, not what is unsaid or wrong. The national…