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  • MUSC Health biweekly COVID-19 report (October 11) | MUSC

    MUSC Health biweekly COVID-19 report (October 11) | MUSC

    CHARLESTON, S.C. (Oct. 11, 2021) – At MUSC Health, the security of sufferers, family members, care group associates, learners, college and personnel stays the range a person priority. The MUSC General public Affairs and Media Relations (PAMR) office issues regular COVID-19 updates on Monday and Thursday of each week. If a federal or state holiday break falls on a Monday, then a report will be issued the adhering to day. Remember to read through the report in its entirety details can alter swiftly. 

    The Path Ahead / Recovery

    COVID-19 VACCINATION UPDATE

    MUSC Well being has vaccine appointments for all eligible individuals age 12 and up. Eligible men and women can visit muschealth.org/get-vaccine to make an appointment though appointments are encouraged, walk-ins are welcome at all MUSC COVID-19 vaccine clinic places. See information and a video clip with instructions on how to plan a vaccination appointment. The neighborhood is inspired to monitor muschealth.org for COVID-19 vaccine availability standards, updates and FAQs. 

    For a lot more data connected to public, community vaccination web pages operated by MUSC Well being during the point out, be sure to visit vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov/. Appointments are inspired, but walk-ins are welcome.

    Homebound folks who require in-home COVID-19 vaccination providers should really get hold of DHEC’s COVID-19 vaccine details line by contacting 1-866-365-8110. You should note that community associates should really not directly make contact with the vendors. All calls will have to be routed by means of the DHEC COVID-19 vaccine info line to obtain this method.  

    MUSC Health and fitness vaccination administration facts is available upon request. 

    MUSC Health COVID-19 Vaccination Expectation for all care crew users

    All MUSC Health leaders and care workforce customers are now expected to have the COVID-19 vaccine. Spiritual and healthcare exemptions could apply for some care workforce users. All new treatment group users should really obtain a single dose vaccine prior to starting off get the job done or the initial dose of a two-dose vaccine prior to beginning perform. The 2nd dose ought to be finished in just three months as a affliction of employment. As of July 1, additional than 99.9{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of MUSC Overall health treatment team members have complied with this coverage. MUSC Wellness has set up this coverage for the security of our care group, our sufferers and patients’ families and website visitors.  

    FOR Current Information:

    COVID Update

    “Numbers are coming down, but do not get way too energized because it’s nonetheless rather significant,” scientist says. Are we in for an additional winter season surge?

    The MUSC COVID-19 Epidemiology Intelligence Project is a digital dashboard that supplies main indicators associated to the COVID-19 epidemic to help educated selections. Existing circumstance assessments for MUSC Wellbeing – Charleston (Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties), MUSC Health Florence, and MUSC Wellness Lancaster divisions are obtainable on this website. 

    Helpful World-wide-web Hyperlinks FOR THE Normal Public: 

    Basic information

    Normal info

    Info about screening solutions

    MUSC Digital Urgent Treatment

    COVID-19 vaccination

    MUSC COVID-19 cell diagnostic testing 

    MUSC Health and fitness provides COVID-19 screening in healthcare facility, clinic and other areas. Sufferers are inspired to talk with their providers as a result of MUSC MyChart ought to they need to have screening providers. Present-day turnaround time is somewhere around 24 hours for take a look at outcomes. A complete record of tests facts is out there at this web site: musc.co/screening.

    MUSC Health, in partnership with the condition legislature, is also rotating cell screening and assortment sites in rural and underserved regions through the point out, for each walk-up and drive-via sufferers, which are marketed domestically in partnership with municipalities, neighborhood organizations and companies. Prescreening is not required and there is no price tag to sufferers. Individuals will be contacted in just two days with the success of their take a look at, if not quicker. Individuals are requested to deliver photograph identification and an insurance plan card if they have a person. The CARES Act requires MUSC to monthly bill insurance policies providers if people do have coverage. Individuals could email [email protected] if they have thoughts concerning their final results. If they do not have an email deal with, they may possibly phone 843-985-8888.

    Websites may perhaps close early or function with decreased hrs if weather conditions conditions develop into unsafe for treatment workforce customers or if volume exceeds site security ability. 

    Details connected to Balanced Me — Wholesome SC absolutely free, statewide cellular testing web-sites for each individual week can be found here.

    COVID-19 linked stories for comply with-up

    Funding File

    The Health-related University of South Carolina sets extramural funding report with support of COVID-similar funds.

    Vaccinating Young children

    “It is genuinely remarkable, but it was a really preliminary stage. It was not an acceptance.” What skilled would like mothers and fathers to know about vaccine for young children.

    COVID in Little ones

    Any person who thinks COVID doesn’t actually have an affect on young ones demands to know what is been going on in faculties and hospitals, infectious ailment pediatrician says.

    ECMO in COVID

    A machine she’d by no means read of prior to, ECMO, served maintain a Conway woman’s 10-12 months-previous daughter alive as she battled COVID.

    Basic stats / COVID-19 constructive cases 

    Earlier described details details, these kinds of as the complete range of  COVID-19 group screening assessments accomplished by MUSC Wellness- Charleston and the selection of constructive instances established by using all those tests, the selection of  telehealth screenings, whole amount of specimens gathered at many cell internet sites, or the variety of COVID-19 beneficial MUSC treatment workforce associates are out there upon ask for. Data similar to vaccinations is at the top rated of this launch.

    • Full selection of COVID patients (MUSC Wellbeing – Charleston): 51
      • MUSC Overall health monitors these variety to determine that we have present and potential capability in conditions of health care companies, materials, ventilators and PPE. Documented figures are steady with the modeling and expectation that MUSC Well being will have suitable methods to regulate these sufferers. 
      • Of the 51 COVID-relevant inpatients now in the MUSC Wellbeing-Charleston location, 20 are in MUSC Well being COVID-19 intensive treatment, with 16 of the 51 whole inpatients presently receiving ventilator treatment for sickness progression.
      • Of the 51 inpatients at the MUSC Health and fitness – Charleston location, 5 pediatric clients are in the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Medical center. A few pediatric people are in pediatric intensive care with 2 of all those clients acquiring ventilator care for ailment development.
      • Unvaccinated vs. vaccinated inpatient standing update: Approximately 79{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of current inpatients ended up unvaccinated on admission. 

    For precise details about MUSC Wellness Florence or Marion Health-related Facilities, make sure you call Kim Geiger at [email protected]. 

    For information and facts about MUSC Health and fitness Chester or Lancaster Healthcare Centers, you should call Ashley Shannon at [email protected]. 

    For facts about MUSC Wellbeing Columbia Professional medical Facilities Downtown or Northeast and MUSC Overall health Fairfield Unexpected emergency and Imaging, make sure you make contact with Amber Fields at [email protected]. 

    For info about MUSC Overall health Kershaw Medical Center, be sure to contact Karlin Ferguson at [email protected]. 

    ###

    About MUSC 

    Launched in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is residence to the oldest medical college in the South as well as the state’s only built-in academic well being sciences middle, with a special demand to serve the condition via education and learning, investigation and affected individual care. Every single year, MUSC educates and trains additional than 3,000 learners and approximately 800 residents in 6 schools: Dental Medicine, Graduate Scientific studies, Health Professions, Drugs, Nursing and Pharmacy. MUSC introduced in much more than $271 million in biomedical exploration funds in fiscal year 2020, continuing to lead the condition in acquiring Countrywide Institutes of Health funding, with a lot more than $129.9 million. For information and facts on academic packages, go to musc.edu.

    As the clinical health and fitness process of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Overall health is committed to offering the optimum high-quality and harmless client treatment though training generations of compassionate, competent wellness care suppliers to provide the people of South Carolina and further than. Close to 25,000 care crew members provide treatment for patients at 14 hospitals with about 2,500 beds and 5 supplemental medical center places in progress, more than 300 telehealth websites and virtually 750 treatment locations positioned in the Lowcountry, Midlands, Pee Dee and Upstate areas of South Carolina. In 2021, for the seventh consecutive year, U.S. Information & Environment Report named MUSC Overall health the No. 1 healthcare facility in South Carolina. To understand extra about clinical individual providers, go to muschealth.org.

    MUSC and its affiliate marketers have collective yearly budgets of $4.4 billion. The additional than 25,000 MUSC crew associates include things like entire world-class school, doctors, specialty suppliers and experts who deliver groundbreaking instruction, investigation, technology and individual treatment.

  • South Africa: Eastern Cape Health Services Hamstrung By Staff and Medicine Shortages, Report Finds

    South Africa: Eastern Cape Health Services Hamstrung By Staff and Medicine Shortages, Report Finds

    Findings of a clinic monitoring report released last week, again highlighted how delivery of health services in the Eastern Cape are hamstrung by staff and medicine shortages.

    The COVID-19 pandemic compounded these challenges.

    This, the report says, also has far-reaching consequences for the province’s HIV and tuberculosis (TB) programmes.

    The report is based on community monitoring conducted at 45 healthcare facilities across the Eastern Cape between April and June, with some additional monitoring in August and September. It is the latest in a series of such provincial monitoring reports published by Ritshidze, a community-led health service monitoring initiative. Spotlight previously reported on Ritshidze reports from the Free State, Limpopo, and the Northwest.

    Not enough staff

    The report found 133 vacancies in 28 clinics. According to facility managers interviewed as part of the monitoring, the most commonly understaffed categories were professional nurses, enrolled nurses, cleaners, doctors, enrolled nurse assistants, and assistant pharmacists.

    Among the worst-performing clinics where patients and facility managers indicated there were not enough staff include Qumbu Community Health Centre, Mqanduli Clinic and Butterworth Gateway Clinic.

    The report also notes a shortage of community health workers (CHWs) in some facilities and recorded challenges for CHWs to perform their duties. About 77{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the facility managers interviewed cited lack of transport for CHWs as a major problem. “Of the facility managers reporting that transport was available, just five said that the transport was reliable,” the report states.

    Since CHWs primarily work in communities outside the facilities, the report notes that “these findings reveal an important barrier to the efficacy of the CHW programme in the province”. Other challenges flagged were safety concerns for CHWs working in communities, not enough phones and that patients give wrong numbers. The CHWs are crucial in tracing people living with HIV and TB who have interrupted treatment.

    A need for male nurses and councillors

    The report also flagged a shortage of male nurses and counsellors at many facilities and that male-specific health services were limited – factors thought to contribute to men being less likely to seek healthcare services.

    The Ritshidze data found that only 61{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the monitored facilities reported having male nurses, counsellors, or healthcare workers at the facility. “Of that 61{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}, only 27{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of facilities said they had male outreach services and 9{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of facilities said they had no male-specific services at all,” the report states.

    One healthcare user, Nkosekhaya Gidi from Motherwell, tells Spotlight, “As men, we have that problem of thinking that clinics are meant for women. Men by nature are not willing to share their medical issues with women because when growing up [they’re made to believe] men are always strong. There is no need to see a doctor or a nurse even when one has pain [because] that pain will improve on its own.”

    Gidi says having male nurses will definitely help.

    A community healthcare worker at Motherwell Clinic suggested that people must forget about the older generation of men and shift the focus to the young people to educate them about the importance of visiting clinics.

    “The first thing is to visit boys at primary schools to change their mindset and encourage them to share and open up about their feelings. We all need to address the stigma associated with men visiting clinics, not to mention the pressure of a man that they are always strong. The department needs to strengthen campaigns towards men and must visit their workplaces to talk about these health issues,” the community health worker said.

    At Motherwell, the CHW says they have one male nurse and one male CHW serving the area.

    Mkhululi Ndamase, spokesperson for Eastern Cape Health MEC Nomakhosazana Meth, tells Spotlight there are “mechanisms [already in place] to respond to many of the issues highlighted in the Ritshidze report. This, he says, includes programmes where the department is taking health services directly to where people live, work, and spend recreational time.

    “This is to encourage men to look after their health.”

    Big asks but little money

    According to Ndiphiwe Bekwaphi, a Ritshidze District Organiser from the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), these factors along with medicine stockouts “directly contribute to people living with HIV starting and staying on treatment, and can be linked to the province only attaining 72{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of people living with HIV who know their status on treatment”.

    The report argued that “ensuring access to quality healthcare services and ensuring everyone living with HIV and TB gets access to medicines and care, depend mainly on having enough qualified and committed staff” so, “ensuring that 80{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of vacancies at facilities are filled by March 2022, must be a priority in this province”.

    But in July this year, the now-suspended spokesperson for health in the Eastern Cape Sizwe Kupelo cited budget constraints preventing the department from appointing the much-needed staff. Kupelo then said a recruitment process was at “an advanced stage for [appointing] 86 frontline workers”. “These are professional nurses, enrolment nurses, and assistant nurses. They will be placed on a needs basis with clinics and hospitals in desperate need of more workers,” he said.

    The superintendent for health in the province, Dr Rolene Wagner this week in an interview with ENCA again cited budget constraints that are now also affecting paying for the basics in goods and services needed at health facilities.

    Spotlight asked the department about its plans to address staffing challenges in primary healthcare facilities but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

    Medicine shortages

    The report also found that in many facilities, patients arrive early in the morning and many would spend the entire day waiting, but are often forced to go home empty-handed. According to the report, this is a consistent and significant cause of dissatisfaction among healthcare users at these facilities.

    “Ritshidze monitoring reveals ongoing complaints regarding stockouts and shortages of medicines, and medical tools at sites across the Eastern Cape,” the report notes. Across the facilities monitored, data shows “9{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of people left, or knew someone who left a clinic without the medication that they needed”. “Stockouts and shortages of ARVs, TB medicines, contraceptives, and other medicines,” the report states, “cause disruption, confusion, cost, and can detrimentally affect treatment adherence.”

    The most commonly reported medicine shortages cited by patients included contraceptives, HIV medicines, and pregnancy tests. Facility managers interviewed also noted the most common stockouts were of contraceptives and HIV medicines. Almost two-thirds said in case of stockouts they provided patients with alternative medicine, 9{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of them were forced to send people away empty-handed, and 24{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} gave patients a shorter supply.

    Among the worst medicine stockout challenges were flagged in OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo Districts. Clinics monitored in these two districts with low scores for medicine stock include the Matatiel, Qumbu, Ngangelizwe, and Maluti Community Health Centres. In July, the Daily Dispatch reported that the province was running out of medicine supplies due to the non-payment of suppliers. It was reported that Sanofi, a pharmaceutical company that supplies the Eastern Cape with essential medicines, including TB, epilepsy, anti-psychosis, and diabetes medication, suspended its supply to the province in March due to non-payment.

    But according to Ndamase, the department remains committed to ensuring that there’s enough stock of essential medicines for HIV, TB, and other medications. “Government has prioritised the budget for medicines because it is one of the ‘non-negotiable’ budget lines. This means the budget for medicines has been ring-fenced and cannot be used for other services.”

    Ndamase says in the 2019/20 financial year, the budget for ARVs and drug-susceptible TB was R936 700 000, in 2020/21 it dropped to R907 323 000, and in this financial year the department allocated R1 278 700 000 for ARVs and TB medicine.

    “When supply shortages do arise, they were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that caused disruptions of global supply chain systems, with local manufacturers struggling to source raw materials from international markets. This was out of our control,” said Ndamase.

    Impact on HIV

    The report highlights the risk of having people living with HIV spend an extended time at a clinic simply to collect ARV refills. This, it states, increases the risk of people disengaging from care.

    At Motherwell Community Health Centre, it is reported that patients spent on average seven hours, including waiting for it to open, only to be seen for a very short consultation.

    A community healthcare worker (CHW) at Motherwell Community Healthcare Centre agrees that the facility often experiences very long waiting times.

    Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the CHW says, “The issue of long queues is caused by an increase in population and is worsened by some people who prefer this facility while leaving their clinics where the situation is worse. The clinic is too small to serve the growing number of patients. The department needs to take into consideration that Motherwell is fast-growing,” says the CHW.

    “The waiting time and patient flow can be managed if the department could strengthen its chronic disease management plans. This involves empowering individuals to take responsibility for managing their own conditions and increasing awareness of chronic diseases. There should be a strengthening of support systems and structures outside the health facility process to ensure a fully functional and responsive healthcare system.

    “Health education and health promotion at the household level will reduce the need for clinic visits and lessen pressure on clinics. If the department could convert these vaccination campaigns into chronic disease campaigns, we will see fewer people visiting clinics.”

    Multi-month dispensing

    The report found that although “61{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of people living with HIV reported receiving two month ART refills, only 15{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} reported three month ART refills, which is low as the country aims to move towards longer multi-month dispensing”. Further, “21{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of people living with HIV still reported refills of one month — which is very problematic considering that South Africa’s national policy standard is for two months,” the report states. “It is also worrying during the period of COVID-19 when refills should be longer to ensure people living with HIV can make fewer trips to the clinic.”

    The report notes that all the facilities monitored reported having internal pickup points available and 91{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} had external pickup points for people living with HIV.