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  • The Top 10 Georgia health care stories of 2021

    The Top 10 Georgia health care stories of 2021

    Close to 20,000 new Covid scenarios (such as positives from antigen tests) had been claimed in Georgia on the very last Wednesday of 2021, as new day by day point out information are being established. On the point out virus map, metro Atlanta was lined by a deep, harmful crimson colour, signifying significant costs of an infection. Individuals were being scrambling to get Covid checks, and lots of were forced to rethink their New Year’s strategies. 6 healthcare facility systems in the metro Atlanta area jointly declared Wednesday that have experienced 100 to 200 p.c increases in Covid hospitalizations in the earlier 8 days, with the extensive majority of inpatients remaining unvaccinated.

    Pretty much two many years into the pandemic, Covid continued to dominate headlines . . . and it dominates our checklist of the Major 10 Georgia health treatment tales of 2021.

     

    Vaccines grew to become a crucial weapon. Matching the startling velocity of Covid vaccine development, drug makers manufactured and shipped millions of doses to the country in 2021. Georgians from the outset commenced acquiring in line for photographs, and investigate showed that vaccinated folks experienced a considerably greater possibility of escaping hospitalization and demise. Still at the finish of the year, just hardly in excess of 50 p.c of Georgians ended up completely vaccinated, even as booster shots have been remaining presented to maximize immunity.

     

    Point out map of Covid scenarios Dec. 29.

    The virus adapted. Right after the initially months of the pandemic, variants of Covid began to arise, highlighting the disease’s complexity. Ga experienced this year via a deadly surge pushed by the Delta variant. As that subsided, a new variant, Omicron, emerged toward the close of the yr. Omicron assisted fuel a every day document of Covid conditions staying documented, equally in the U.S. and in Ga. Hospitals all over again had been seeing their selection of virus individuals increase.

     

    Covid made extra wellbeing employee shortages. Nursing staffs in hospitals shrank as RNs still left for fewer perilous perform environments and even retired. Hospitals started presenting unparalleled bonuses to entice nurses. Covid also compelled shortages of caregivers for persons with disabilities finding house care. And condition-run psychiatric hospitals faced alarming shortages of staff.

     

    Kemp waivers ran into issues. Immediately after the Biden administration took office environment, the federal Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Companies commenced questioning the function requirements in Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposal for growing Medicaid enrollment in Ga. Then, shortly just before Xmas, the agency turned down individuals eligibility restrictions. Meanwhile, CMS also questioned tough questions about the GOP governor’s other waiver ask for, to change health care.gov with an insurance coverage portal privately operate by insurers and brokers.

     

    ACA marketplace enrollment soared. Federal wellbeing officers introduced file enrollment in federal government-affiliated marketplaces that let individuals acquire overall health protection. That high mark that was partly fueled by jumps in indicator-ups in Ga and the 11 other states that had not expanded Medicaid underneath the Reasonably priced Treatment Act. Ga described a history 653,000 enrollees, as the number of insurance options improved, buttressed by much more support from ACA counselors (“navigators”) and increased discounts for some marketplace clients.

     

    Abrams entered gubernatorial race. Democrat Stacey Abrams, who narrowly misplaced to Republican Brian Kemp in 2018, declared she was running for governor again in 2022. With Abrams’ advocacy of Medicaid growth and other insurance policies that Gov. Kemp and his GOP allies have rejected, this signaled that health and fitness treatment could be a pivotal problem in the contest.

     

    Expired contracts and disappointed prospects. More contracts concerning huge insurers and hospital devices nationally were currently being severed with no a renewal agreement, and individuals disruptions performed out in Georgia as effectively. Wellstar’s agreement with UnitedHealthcare ended in Oct, and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield was heading for a Jan. 1 breakup with Northside Hospital.

     

    The former Stewart Webster Healthcare facility

     

    Rural health and fitness troubles persisted. Extra Covid funding served stave off closures of rural hospitals across the country, but there were quite a few pockets in Ga exactly where health-related services remained scarce. Some communities began hunting to establish stand-by itself rural emergency hospitals to fill the holes still left by shuttered hospitals.

    Floyd Health care Centre

    Clinic consolidation resumed. Piedmont Health care extra 4 Georgia hospitals, acquiring them from HCA. Piedmont also began closing in on University Healthcare facility in Augusta. Meanwhile, in Rome, Atrium Wellness took over Floyd Health care Center, even though AdventHealth obtained Redmond Regional Medical Center. This sort of moves included bargaining clout to healthcare facility programs seeking better reimbursements from well being insurers.

     

    Pieces of slag made up of guide in westside Atlanta yard

     

    EPA widened probe of direct in Atlanta soil. The federal EPA expanded its investigation of a big swath of the reduced-earnings English Avenue community for lead in the soil. Meanwhile, a Georgia Home analyze committee manufactured a series of suggestions to beef up state law aimed at protecting persons from direct poisoning.

     

    Monkeypox scare strike Ga. Public Wellbeing officers documented that 43 men and women in Ga were monitored in July for monkeypox. They had been exposed to an air traveler infected with the unusual condition whilst the man or woman was flying from Nigeria to Atlanta and then to Dallas. None of the Georgians turned out to be infected. Monkeypox originates in a variety of wild animals, not only monkeys, and can be transmitted if a particular person comes into get hold of with the virus from an infected animal, an contaminated particular person or contaminated components.

  • Georgia helps drive record enrollment in ACA health insurance

    Georgia helps drive record enrollment in ACA health insurance

    By Phil Galewitz and Andy Miller

    A document 13.6 million Individuals have signed up for overall health coverage for 2022 on the Economical Treatment Act marketplaces, with approximately a month remaining to enroll in most states, the Biden administration declared Wednesday.

    President Joe Biden’s prime well being advisers credited the amplified authorities subsidies, which decreased out-of-pocket fees, for the surge in enrollment. They also claimed enhanced private guidance and outreach helped link a lot more people to health coverage programs.

    Some of the biggest increases are in Florida, Texas, Ga and nine other states that have not expanded Medicaid below the Economical Care Act.

    The former marketplace enrollment document was 12.7 million in 2016, the final year of President Barack Obama’s administration. Enrollment largely stagnated below President Donald Trump, who slash tens of thousands and thousands of pounds in funding for navigators, who aid persons indicator up for coverage.

    Open enrollment for the marketplace or trade commenced Nov. 1 and ends Jan. 15.

    Via Dec. 15, enrollment in Florida had soared to 2.6 million individuals, up from 2.1 million in the same period of time a year previously.

    “This is a really massive offer as it means we have produced a dent in the uninsured pool and we are not only insuring folks but trying to keep people signed up,” stated Jodi Ray, software director for Florida Covering Youngsters & Family members.

    Ray has utilised federal grants to support Floridians sign up for private coverage on the market for several years. In the course of the Trump presidency, she claimed, she could enable individuals in only 50 percent the counties in the state simply because of funding constraints. “You simply cannot forget about the effects that one particular-on-one support has in obtaining folks through the procedure,” Ray stated.

    Enrollment has jumped more in states that have not expanded Medicaid for the reason that they have a lot more uninsured inhabitants than expansion states. In enlargement states, persons with incomes from 100{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} to 138{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the federal poverty level — about $12,880 and $17,770 for an individual — can enroll in Medicaid. In states that have not expanded the method, they can get subsidies to enroll in non-public plans via the Reasonably priced Care Act marketplaces.

    Ga enrollment jumped to 653,990 from about 514,000 the previous yr.

    “That’s the most we’ve ever experienced enrolled,’’ said Laura Colbert, executive director of the client advocacy group Georgians for a Nutritious Long term. She claimed the enrollment spike assists show that Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s system to scrap health care.gov and substitute it with a privately operate portal isn’t desired.

    The Biden administration is examining that proposal.

    “Hundreds of countless numbers of Georgians nonetheless opt to continue to be uninsured relatively than shop on the federal system,” Kemp spokesperson Katie Byrd claimed Wednesday. “This indicates that the one-sizing-matches-all solution by the federal government is not performing for Ga.”

    The 13.6 million enrollment range incorporates individuals who utilized state-run marketplaces, in addition to all those who enrolled by the federally run healthcare.gov portal that handles indicator-ups for far more than 30 states.

    Texas’ enrollment rose to 1.7 million from 1.3 million.

    Texas, Georgia and South Dakota each individual showed gains of at the very least 20{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}, explained Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Facilities for Medicare & Medicaid Companies. None of those states has expanded Medicaid below the Reasonably priced Care Act.

    In non-growth states, “our outreach initiatives have been so robust this yr,’’ Brooks-LaSure explained to reporters during a press phone. The federal federal government is making use of four situations the number of navigators, or coverage counselors, to assist persons sign up for insurance policies, claimed Xavier Becerra, secretary of the U.S. Section of Well being and Human Companies.

    The huge driver powering the enrollment gains is new bargains on premiums.

    Becerra

    As part of a Covid-19 aid invoice passed this year, Congress greater the subsidies customers get when they enroll in wellbeing insurance coverage by means of the market. CMS mentioned 92{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of people in healthcare.gov states will get the tax credits for 2022 coverage. Becerra stated that for 4 in 5 enrollees, month-to-month premiums price $10 or a lot less, which he mentioned is “less than heading to a motion picture.”

    But conservatives chafe at the plan of better subsidies. Brian Blase, a former Trump adviser and president of the conservative imagine tank Paragon Health and fitness Institute, pressured that the federal authorities is paying out 85{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of people’s month-to-month insurance coverage rates.

    “People will purchase some thing that supplies them with very little value if the just after-subsidy selling price is zero or close to zero, and that’s what is frequently taking place right here,” Blase claimed. “Ultimately, the big winners are the well being insurance policies corporations that are getting billions of bucks in further government subsidies.”

    Yet another driver of enrollment is that some men and women might have missing task-centered coverage for the duration of the pandemic and are in search of insurance policy on their own.

    The marketplaces also offer shoppers a lot more possibilities than in previous years. The regular buyer now has in between 6 and seven insurers to opt for from, up from four to 5 in 2021, federal officers reported.

    Phil Galewitz is a reporter for Kaiser Well being News 

  • A Rural Georgia Community Reels After Its Hospital Closes

    A Rural Georgia Community Reels After Its Hospital Closes

    Andy Miller

    CUTHBERT, Ga. — Lacandie Gipson struggled to breathe.

    The 33-yr-outdated girl with various wellness ailments was in respiratory distress and awaiting an ambulance. About 20 minutes just after the emergency phone, it arrived.

    The Cuthbert property in which Gipson lived was a lot less than a mile from Southwest Georgia Regional Clinical Center, but the ambulance could not get her to the one particular-tale brick medical center since it had closed three months earlier, in October 2020.

    Instead, the EMTs loaded Gipson into the ambulance and drove her additional than 25 miles to the hospital in Eufaula, Alabama, exactly where she was pronounced lifeless.

    “They explained it was a heart attack,” mentioned Keila Davis, who, together with her partner, lived with Gipson. “If the clinic was nonetheless open up, it could have saved her.”

    The Cuthbert medical center was one of 19 rural hospitals in the U.S. that closed in 2020. That is the most significant quantity of these kinds of amenities to shut down in a solitary yr because 2005, when the Cecil G. Sheps Centre for Overall health Expert services Investigate at the College of North Carolina commenced tracking the info.

    In the past 10 several years, 8 rural hospitals have shut down in Ga only Texas and Tennessee have experienced much more closures. The center’s information displays that 86 of the 129 hospitals that closed in that time have been in Texas and the Southeast.

    Wellbeing care industry experts and the latest scientific studies say Medicaid enlargement will help maintain hospitals afloat mainly because it improves the range of adults with minimal incomes who have health and fitness insurance policies. None of the eight states with the most rural healthcare facility closures since 2014, when Medicaid enlargement was initial implemented via the Inexpensive Care Act, experienced picked to develop the coverage application by the start out of 2021. In numerous of those states, which include Georgia, Republican-led governments have claimed this sort of a move would be much too pricey.

    Georgia’s inaction on Medicaid expansion “hurt us possibly extra than any one else,” explained Cuthbert Mayor Steve Whatley, a Republican who dropped his reelection bid in the town of about 3,400 people today in November.

    A medical center closure could be felt additional in some communities than others. The one in Cuthbert, Whatley said, “is unbelievably impactful.” Not having an unexpected emergency room nearby suggests that each and every reaction by an ambulance usually takes it offline for two to 3 hours, reported Whatley, who is also the chairman of the Randolph County Clinic Authority.

    Clifford Hanks, 78, of Cuthbert experienced to push to Eufaula’s ER recently when he was going through sharp again suffering. “The ambulance is way too sluggish and not available,” Hanks reported although sitting in a store on the Cuthbert square. The generate, he explained, was rough.

    Numerous aspects have contributed to the medical center closures nationally, according to the Sheps Center. Battling rural hospitals address superior quantities of uninsured clients and men and women with persistent disease, mentioned George Pink, a senior analysis fellow at the heart. “They have a significant amount of uncompensated treatment,” Pink stated, and not plenty of sufferers with personal insurance policies, which reimburses hospitals at higher prices than Medicaid and Medicare do.

    The populace in rural spots tends to be older as effectively, which would lead to improved costs of treatment.

    Pink also reported that recruiting medical professionals to rural counties, many of which have shrinking populations, is tough. And a lot of of the hospitals that have shut have been experiencing infrastructure issues as money for preserving structures and gear declined.

    “These hospitals have been getting rid of funds for decades,” Pink stated.

    University of Washington scientists have discovered that rural healthcare facility closures led to amplified mortality for inpatient stays in that area, whilst urban closures experienced no measurable result. Amongst the good reasons they cited had been the maximize in the time people had to vacation to get hospital care and that some health care providers leave communities when hospitals close.

    Federal covid relief funding has tempered the fee of medical center closures this calendar year, according to Brock Slabach, main operations officer at the Nationwide Rural Health Affiliation. Nonetheless, the group estimates that 453 rural hospitals, or about a quarter of the overall, are at risk of closure.

    “We could see eight to 10 rural hospitals near in Ga in the coming a long time,” explained Jimmy Lewis, CEO of HomeTown Wellbeing, a rural healthcare facility affiliation in Georgia. “They’re heading to run out of money.”

    Nationwide, rural hospitals that serve communities with massive Black populations are more possible than rural hospitals general to be economically distressed, according to the Sheps Center’s North Carolina Rural Overall health Exploration Method. And among the monetarily distressed rural hospitals, the program’s analysis shows, those people serving regions with larger Black and/or Hispanic populations are extra probable to near. (Hispanics can be of any race or combination of races.)

    The Cuthbert hospital’s closing has severely afflicted the region’s Black populace.

    Extra than 60{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of Randolph County citizens are Black, and the encompassing counties, whose people utilised to journey to Cuthbert for healthcare facility treatment, have Black populations of 47{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} or previously mentioned.

    In the region, Black People, specifically older individuals with diabetic issues and large blood pressure, are pretty concerned about the clinic closing, said Charisse Jackson, an staff at the CareConnect well being center across the road from the hospital.

    The group hopes to get some health care care back again, if not a total revival of the medical center. The hospital authority, locally dependent Andrew College or university and a Mississippi management agency are working with each other on a bid for U.S. Department of Agriculture grants of $1 million and $10 million. The vision is to have a stand-alone crisis area with a handful of beds. The hospital authority, Whatley said, still has “a pair million dollars” to assist the funding if it is authorised. “Fifteen million bucks would do it,” Whatley mentioned.

    U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) has taken an desire in the health treatment vacuum in Randolph County and is serving to recognize non-public- and public-sector prospects to restore additional healthcare services in the area. “The difficulties the folks in Randolph County have are equivalent to troubles throughout rural health and fitness treatment,” Ossoff reported.

    In downtown Cuthbert, the background of Southwest Georgia Regional Professional medical Middle unfurls in a mural on the walls of Randolph County’s previous courthouse, which now properties the Randolph County Chamber of Commerce.

    Area pharmacist Carl Patterson’s family members launched the healthcare facility in 1916 as Patterson Hospital. Right after the facility’s closure, Patterson said, Randolph County does not have a medical professional in entire-time exercise.

    Supporting the healthcare facility economically was generally difficult. It required $10 million in updates, and surgery, a financially rewarding company at some facilities, was not performed there.

    “Our hospital was not the best, but it was a means to get you stable. It served a good deal of folks,” said Brenda Clark, who was born at the hospital and now is effective in a Cuthbert wellness centre across the road from the shuttered facility. More mature people who will need treatment “can’t get into their vehicles and generate to Eufaula or Albany,” she mentioned.

    The hospital closure has been “devastating” for organizations, said Rebecca White, govt director of the county chamber of commerce. About 25{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of Randolph County people currently lived below the poverty line.

    “No doubt in my intellect, that healthcare facility was a lifesaver,” mentioned Dr. A.S. Ghiathi, a household physician who labored at Southwest Georgia Regional Healthcare Centre for much more than 20 yrs. Ghiathi, 64, nonetheless lives in Randolph County but functions generally at a Mercer Medication clinic in close by Clay County’s Fort Gaines. That county also has no clinic.

    The closure of the Randolph County medical center “was like a loss of life,” he claimed. “People grieved more than this loss. We required to pass this medical center on to the subsequent technology.”

    Some citizens of Randolph County say the loss of the hospital has been a component in professional medical tragedies, these kinds of as the death of Lacandie Gipson, and could induce many others.

    Jeanette Enjoy, 67, who lived in the Randolph County city of Shellman, died when waiting around for an ambulance, her sister Susie Jackson stated. It experienced been known as simply because Appreciate was obtaining a tricky time breathing.

    The Randolph County ambulance was tied up, Jackson mentioned, so one particular from an additional county had to be dispatched to choose up Adore, who had serious obstructive pulmonary sickness and diabetic issues. The hold off grew longer when that ambulance went to the incorrect address.

    “It took an hour and a 50 percent or for a longer time,” Jackson reported. 

    “It’s about 15 to 20 minutes to Cuthbert,” explained Jackson, who drove from her property in Shellman to Love’s home that July day to help her. “I experienced a auto. I could have taken her to the medical center. She may perhaps have been saved.”

    As an alternative, even though the sisters waited, Jackson stated, Love “sat by me, laid her head on my shoulder and died.”

    On the clinical circumstance in Randolph County, Jackson said, “We are superior than this.”

    KHN (Kaiser Overall health News) is a nationwide newsroom that makes in-depth journalism about health challenges. Jointly with Plan Evaluation and Polling, KHN is one of the a few important functioning programs at KFF (Kaiser Family members Basis). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization supplying details on health and fitness challenges to the nation.

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  • A less risky Thanksgiving | Georgia Health News

    A less risky Thanksgiving | Georgia Health News

    This year’s Thanksgiving holiday features one enormous difference from last year’s:

    Vaccinations.

    Fortunately, the Covid-19 vaccine became available earlier this year, and by now, about half of Georgians have received the shots.

    Vaccinations have significantly lightened the mood around the country in regard to the virus, though Covid cases have begun to rise again.

    Two-thirds of Americans plan to see family or friends from outside of their household for Thanksgiving, regardless of vaccination status, according to this week’s Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

    Credit: Kaiser Health News

    Less than a third (31{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) consider seeing friends or family for Thanksgiving as a large/moderate risk, compared to 64{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} this time last year, the poll found.

    The nation’s top infectious disease expert has weighed in the new, less dangerous climate.

    If you and your family members are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, it’s OK for you to ditch the masks this holiday season when you’re around each other, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN Sunday.

    Fauci

    But Fauci also said that if you are traveling or are unaware of the vaccination status of the people around you, then you should wear a mask in those situations.

    Still, there are many families navigating tough personal decisions around the topic of vaccines.

    A recent survey by the Harris Poll found that 42{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of vaccinated respondents had canceled at least one event or travel plan they had with people because they weren’t inoculated, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Times article also said that in a recent discussion on Twitter about banning unvaccinated relatives from holiday gatherings, several people declared themselves staunchly “no vax, no snax.”

    For those planning a Thanksgiving gathering, experts advise that when it comes to people with young children not yet eligible for the vaccine, you can reduce the risk by making sure those around the kids are vaccinated.

    Also, if you’ve in public indoor places and not vaccinated fully, wear a well-fitting mask over your nose and mouth, according to the CDC and the Georgia Department of Public Health. People who are fully vaccinated should wear a mask in public indoor settings in communities with substantial to high Covid transmission.

    Other tips include:

    ** Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water aren’t available.

    ** If you are sick or have symptoms of Covid-19 or the flu, don’t host or attend a holiday gathering.

    ** Get tested if you have symptoms of Covid-19 or have had close contact with someone who has the virus.

    ** If you are not fully vaccinated for Covid and must travel, follow the CDC’s recommendations.

     

    How about the bird?

    For those of you, like me, who plan to fry a turkey for Thanksgiving, here are some safety tips from experts (I don’t count myself one, though it’s a family tradition).

    On the safety checklist is setting up the fryer far enough away from the house. Another big safety reminder is making sure that the turkey isn’t frozen when it descends into bubbling peanut oil.

    But there are plenty of other potential pitfalls. Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve.

    The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences points out that some of the most serious injuries are caused by faulty or misused equipment, like unstable fryer stands, uninsulated pot handles and/or fry pots that have been overfilled with oil.

    Filling the pot too full of oil can cause the oil to spill over when the turkey is placed in the pot. In addition to creating an oily mess, spillovers at cooking temperatures can cause severe burns.

    Whole turkeys require about 3 minutes per pound to cook. To be sure your bird is safely cooked, the temperature must reach at least 165 degrees in the thickest part of the breast. Some cooks prefer the innermost part of the thigh to reach 180 degrees.

    You may be nervous about lowering a 12-pound turkey into 8 gallons of bubbling oil in a pot suspended over an open propane flame. That’s understandable. Fortunately, there are now electric fryers available that take some of this guesswork out of the process.