Challenging times bring out the best of hospitals, and there has been no more challenging time than now for our hospitals. Health care heroes continue to provide excellent care to all Californians in very challenging circumstances that include a raging pandemic, a heroic but tired workforce, and significant wildfires.
The entire staffs of hospitals are dealing with the crush of things that we are facing — back-to-school issues, childcare, the disruption caused by wildfires, and of course, COVID-19. However daunting the issues are both individually and collectively, our hospital teams are dedicated to being there for those who need health care, whether it’s due to COVID-19 or other critical medical issues.
The Food and Drug Administration’s announcement earlier this week of full approval of the Pfizer vaccine comes at a crucial time in the state’s struggle to control the pandemic. It is a medical milestone that experts hope will pave the way for more people to get vaccinated.
As California ramps up its efforts to contain the virus and prevent hospitals from being overrun, the state has taken numerous actions. In just the last month we’ve seen:
- Testing and vaccine requirements for hospital and skilled-nursing facility visitors
- An All Facilities Letter (AFL) to clarify the hospital visitation order
- Consideration of team nursing program flexibility requests from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH)
- CDPH health order requiring notices, accepting transfers
- A new executive order that extends waiver authority for CDPH and the Emergency Medical Services Authority
- Vaccine mandate for certain health care workers
- AFLs that provide clarifications on the public health officer order
By some accounts, we won’t be back to “normal” until 2022 — with the situation likely to get worse before it gets better. That’s why CHA has been actively engaged with state leaders and CDPH, meeting with those at the highest levels to pursue much-needed flexibilities and clarifications for your hospitals. In recent weeks, CDPH and CHA have issued various FAQs to help hospitals more fully understand the state’s actions. They include:
- CDPH FAQs on visitation health order
- CHA FAQs on recent state health orders on vaccination
- CDPH FAQs on July 26 testing health order
The Hospital Council and CHA teams are also working tirelessly on your behalf. It is an honor and privilege to make sure that our elected leaders and government agencies understand that hospitals are vital to the economy, vibrancy, and most importantly, the health of California and Californians.
Other Items of Interest
- Interesting article in The Atlantic on how “we” could possibly “live” with COVID-19 in the future.
- A lot of information comes across our real or virtual desks every day — emails, webinar invites, newsletters, etc. COVID-19 has taught us that as new information is presented, how we process that information can change, augment, or confirm our original beliefs. I know that I must be willing to change my mind when new facts or new information are obtained. Through education, work, and almost 25 years of marriage, I must be willing to be wrong — a lot — to eventually be right. Here is a brief article that offers three questions to ask yourself to help learn something new.
- Having problems finding something on Netflix during your downtime? This Netflix cheat sheet helps you tap into Netflix’s code for categorizing its content, allowing you to find the things you want to watch, faster.
You are welcome!