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Harris Announces $1.5B Investment in Health Care Workforce
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris announced Monday that the Biden administration is investing $1.5 billion from the coronavirus aid package to address the health care worker shortage in underserved communities.
The funding will go to the National Health Service Corps, Nurse Corps and Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery programs, all federal programs that offer scholarship and loan repayments for health care students and workers if they pledge to work in underserved and high-risk communities.
“Our nation must invest in a health care workforce that looks like America, and provide access to equitable health care for all Americans,” Harris said.
The money, which includes funds from the American Rescue Plan and other sources, will support more than 22,700 providers, marking the largest number of providers enrolled in these programs in history, according to the White House. It comes in response to recommendations laid out earlier this month by the White House’s COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, which issued a report outlining how the administration could address systemic inequality in the health care system.
The COVID-19 pandemic has both highlighted and exacerbated health care disparities for minority and underserved communities. According to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, over the course of the pandemic, minority Americans have seen higher numbers of cases and higher rates of death than their white counterparts.
“COVID-19 did not invent health disparities. Just ask any healthcare professional and she will tell you: Health disparities existed long before this virus reached our shores. Health disparities stem from broader systemic inequities,” she said.
It’s just the latest investment from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, passed in March of this year, aimed at addressing health disparities among minority and underserved communities. Earlier this month, the White House announced an additional $785 million in funding for federal programs aimed at improving diversity in the public health workforce and supporting people with disabilities.
During the Monday event, Harris pushed for passage of President Joe Biden’s nearly $2 trillion social safety net and climate change package, which would provide funding to temporarily close the Medicaid coverage gap and expand access to health insurance marketplace subsidies through 2025.
Harris said the package would also make a historic investment in maternal health “to address the tragedy of black maternal mortality in America.”
Black women in the U.S. are about three times as likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause as others, partly because of racial bias they may experience in getting care and doctors not recognizing risk factors such as high blood pressure. |
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Home-Based Care Advocates Celebrate Build Back Better Plan’s House Passage, Urge Senate to Follow Suit
Home Health Care News | By Andrew Donlan
The Biden administration’s Build Back Better plan – which includes an array of support for home-based care and senior services – took a significant step Friday.
A $1.9 trillion bill got the necessary amount of votes to make it through the U.S. House of Representatives. The next stop will be the Senate.
“Today’s historic vote of support for home care comes at a time when the country needs it more than ever,” National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) President William A. Dombi said in a statement shared with Home Health Care News. “Health care at home is widely recognized as high value, high quality and highly preferred.”
Most notably, $150 billion will be dedicated to reducing waiting lists for in-home care services and improving pay for low-wage in-home care professionals.
But the Build Back Better plan will also include $150 billion to increase the supply of affordable housing, $130 billion to provide tax credits for uninsured people in states that have not expanded Medicaid benefits, $1 billion for direct care workforce competitive grants, and $20 million for hospice and palliative nursing programs.
“From pediatric nursing care to home care aide services for those with multiple chronic illnesses as they age, this legislation will provide improved access to home care,” Dombi said. “We now look to the Senate to complete the work to protect our families and friends who need this essential care.”
Originally, the plan included $400 billion for home- and community-based services (HCBS), but it was eventually trimmed as Democrats and Republicans bargained for their respective side’s wishes.
Even the lesser version won’t be a shoe-in to get through the Senate, though advocates are arguing relentlessly on its behalf. The Senate is expected to consider the bill in the coming weeks, with the hope that a decision will be made before Christmas.
Read Full Article |
The Big Picture: NAHC President Bill Dombi Shares 2022 Outlook & Predictions
December 2, 2021 (9:00 a.m. MT)
Cost: Free
In this in-depth webinar, NAHC President Bill Dombi will present his expert insight and discuss the big issues impacting home care and hospice now and in the future. Joined by Netsmart SVP, Post-Acute Strategy, Mike Dordick, these two healthcare leaders will help you plot the turns ahead in our constantly changing industry – something you don’t want to miss.
Register Here
https://pages.ntst.com/NAHC-2022-outlook-and-predictions.html |
Data re: COVID-19 Vaccination Before or During Pregnancy
A recent CDC report indicated that risk of stillbirth was 90% greater for pregnant women with COVID-19 when compared to women without COVID-19. This risk was even higher during the period after the Delta variant was introduced.
Summary of Reported Findings
What is already known about this topic?
Pregnant women are at increased risk for severe disease from COVID-19, and COVID-19 is associated with an increased risk for adverse perinatal outcomes.
What is added by this report?
Among 1,249,634 delivery hospitalizations during March 2020–September 2021, U.S. women with COVID-19 were at increased risk for stillbirth compared with women without COVID-19 (adjusted relative risk [aRR] = 1.90; 95% CI = 1.69–2.15). The magnitude of association was higher during the period of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant predominance than during the pre-Delta period.
What are the implications for public health practice?
Implementing evidence-based COVID-19 prevention strategies, including vaccination before or during pregnancy, is critical to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on stillbirths.
Read the CDC MMWR report |
Investigation of the effect of a 15-degree tilt-in-space on the fluctuation of shear forces exerted on the buttocks when the back support is reclined
Kenichi Kobara, Yasuyuki Nagata, Daisuke Fujita, Hisashi Takahashi, Hiroshi Osaka, Tadanobu Suehiro
Abstract
[Purpose] This study aimed to investigate the effect of the combination of 15° tilt-in-space and recline angles on the fluctuation of shear forces exerted on the buttocks.
[Participants and Methods] The participants were 11 healthy adult males. The parameters of the shear forces were the parallel and perpendicular forces exerted on the buttocks as measured by a force plate. The two conditions tested were T0R100-130 and T15R100-130. The tilt-in-space angles were set to 0° and 15° in the T0R100-130 and T15R100-130 conditions, respectively. The reclining angles were determined to be 100° to 130° in both conditions.
[Results] Upon comparing the two conditions, the parallel and the perpendicular forces exerted on the buttocks in the T15R100-130 condition were significantly lower than those in the T0R100-130 condition in all positions of back support. Upon comparing the fluctuation values of the parallel and perpendicular forces, those applied in the T15R100-130 condition were significantly higher than those in the T0R100-130 condition.
[Conclusion] These results suggest that the fluctuation of shear forces exerted on the buttocks could be decreased by using a combination of 15° tilt-in-space and reclining functions.
Access Article: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jpts/33/11/33_2021-103/_article/-char/en |
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