Numbers in Connecticut continue to trend well.
Hospitalizations are now at 66 statewide after hitting a peak of nearly 2,000
One more resident died of Covid-19, bringing our total to 4,372.
about 0.8% of the tests came back positive.
In other states of the south and west, the positive rate is running around 10%.
Be well.
Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Saturday, July 11, 2020
Healthcare racial disparity in Windham
As the Corona Virus
surges in 40 or so states, especially in the south and west, we end this week
with 77 people hospitalized in Connecticut, after reaching a peak of daily hospitalizations
of almost 2,000.
Also on Friday, no one died of Covid.
We've lost 4,348
Connecticut residents since the first recorded death, 114 days ago.
A part of this has to do
with the fact that we experienced an onset of the virus earlier, but a part is
also due to what we have done. Although hospitals were slow to insist on
surgical masks for all patients, staff and visitors, and slow to allow the use
of N95 or better for staff caring for Covid or suspected Covid patients, our
members pushed back and pushed back strong on this. This fact, and the fact
that we advocated in the political sphere, made a difference. Additionally,
the closing of schools and businesses helped “flatten the curve” in
Connecticut. For this, Governor Lamont, his staff, and the staff of state agencies like the Dept of Education, DPH, DDS and others, deserve credit.
Mostly, our healthcare, education and state employee members deserve a
lot of credit. It has been their steadfast insistence for the health
of the community that played a large role.
in addition to the deaths and
illness this virus has brought and continues to bring to the world, it has also magnified a healthcare problem that has been with us for too long.
Racial inequality in
healthcare.
People of color have
been adversely affected by the virus. While it is more visible in this
pandemic, it is not new. Communities of color have long been neglected in
healthcare treatment. For instance, women of color are 3-4 more likely to die
from a pregnancy related death compared to white women.
That is why it was so
disheartening this week when Hartford Healthcare, one of the largest healthcare
systems in Connecticut, announced they will seek to discontinue childbirth
service at Windham Hospital.
Windham Hospital opened
on April 5, 1933 and immediately started delivering babies, and has
continuously done so since then. During the Great Depression,
community members scraped together dimes and nickels to the tune of $450,000 to
open this community hospital. At one point the hospital delivered as many as
500 babies a year, and as recent as 2014 delivered 386 babies/year.
Hartford Healthcare
projects that births will be under 100 this year and that this low rate of
deliveries and difficulty recruiting staff is the reason it must stop
delivering of babies at Windham.
386 babies in 2014 to
less than 100.
What happened?
Hartford Healthcare
acquired the community hospital.
A large OBGYN service
left the hospital for Manchester.
Hartford Healthcare did
not successfully recruit new doctors.
“High risk” deliveries
started to be transferred to other Hartford Healthcare hospitals.
Delivery numbers
dropped.
The Windham has
historically experienced high poverty (29.9%) which means a larger number of
Medicaid insurance patients. Medicaid does not pay as well as private insurance
carriers.
The Windham area has a
higher percentage of residents who speak Spanish as a first language, and it
has a higher percentage of people of color than most of the rest of eastern
Connecticut.
Now when an expecting
mother arrives at Windham, an ambulance will need to be called to come to the hospital and the mother and baby will
need to be transported to another hospital to deliver.
We need look no further
for one of the reasons for inequality in healthcare for people of color, than
our own former “community hospital.”
On June 1 of this year,
Jeff Flaks, the CEO of Hartford Healthcare, released a public message in
response to the racial disparity in this country. In it he states, “As leaders,
it would be too easy to avoid this crucial conversation. It would feel normal
to rest on our good works the “what” and “how” of what we do. It would seem
simple to ignore the “where” and “why” health disparities persist in the very
communities we have served for decades.”
On July 7, Hartford
Healthcare ignored the “what,” “how,” “where,” and “why,” and added to the
racial disparities in Windham.
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Corona Virus Update 7/7
The first Covid-19 death in Connecticut was reported on March 18th.
Today we had no deaths.
Be well,
John
Monday, July 6, 2020
Corona Virus Update 7/6
It's 117 days since our first confirmed case in Civid-19 in Connecticut.
Hospitalizations are down to 69 statewide.
4,338 Connecticut residents have died.
The rest of the country......that's another story.
Sections of the west and south are spiking, and I worry what happens as we open more, especially when school reopens.
As far as healthcare, I think 3 things:
1. We are still learning about this virus, but the more info that comes out, the more I am glad that we advocated on the side of precaution for our members.
2. Gains we have make on PPE precautions have come at least, if not more, from our members feeling empowered to say NO on the shop floor, as opposed to any high level talks with DPH or the governor's office, not that those haven't also played a role.
3. We need to continue to use that same advocacy to push for eventual return to "normal infection control practices." Reuse, extended use, or decontamination of "one time use" PPE should NOT become the normal.
Thank you for all you have done and continue to do.
Be well,
John
Hospitalizations are down to 69 statewide.
4,338 Connecticut residents have died.
The rest of the country......that's another story.
Sections of the west and south are spiking, and I worry what happens as we open more, especially when school reopens.
As far as healthcare, I think 3 things:
1. We are still learning about this virus, but the more info that comes out, the more I am glad that we advocated on the side of precaution for our members.
2. Gains we have make on PPE precautions have come at least, if not more, from our members feeling empowered to say NO on the shop floor, as opposed to any high level talks with DPH or the governor's office, not that those haven't also played a role.
3. We need to continue to use that same advocacy to push for eventual return to "normal infection control practices." Reuse, extended use, or decontamination of "one time use" PPE should NOT become the normal.
Thank you for all you have done and continue to do.
Be well,
John
Monday, June 29, 2020
Corona Virus Update 6/29
Today, on our 112th day since our first confirmed covid case in Connecticut, our hospitalizations dropped below 100 (99)
To date, 4,320 residents have died from this Virus
You have all done a great job in advocating for proper PPE to keep healthcare workers and patients safer. It has not been easy. Hospitals were quick to use the parts of CDC guidelines that suited them while ignoring the underlying message that Full Airborne protections should be utilized unless there was a shortage. Now that hospitalizations are down, let's advocate for a return to normal infection control practices that we have always adhered too before the pandemic. It might be just the thing to help prevent a second wave. Let's also push for adequate supplies on hand and for the President to order manufacturers to produce the PPE we will need for the second wave or whatever pandemic comes next.
Good news from Michigan!
Michigan Medicine Physician Assistants say ‘Union Yes’
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ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Statement by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and AFT Michigan President David Hecker following the announcement that the University of Michigan has officially recognized the AFT as the representative of the nearly 350 physician assistants employed at Michigan Medicine:
AFT President Randi Weingarten said:
“As the country faces unprecedented economic, health and racial justice crises, workers need job security, financial and health protections, and a voice on the job more than ever. Our frontline workers, like those at Michigan Medicine, show up for the people of Ann Arbor every day and have been on the frontlines of this pandemic—they protect us, and they deserve protections to keep themselves and their families safe.
“Today is a victory for close to 350 healthcare workers, but more broadly for the people of Michigan, who rely on Michigan Medicine for high-quality frontline care for their families. I want to give special thanks to the tireless work of AFT Michigan and the University of Michigan for working together to make this possible. As the university continues to navigate its response to the crises we face, they have shown that if we have decision-makers in the room who value worker dignity and voice, we can emerge stronger together.”
AFT Michigan President David Hecker said:
“The physician assistants on the United Physician Assistants at Michigan Medicine organizing committee did a solid job talking to other physician assistants and building consensus around the need for a union—the need to have a strong voice at the table. Organizing a union is always hard work, but doing it in the middle of a global pandemic is tremendous. We welcome UPAMM into AFT Michigan.”
###
Special thanks to Trung Le RN, from our UHP Local, who once again spoke up to tell his story of contracting Covid-19 while on the front line. Tonight he spoke to the DTC Platform Drafting Committee to help them prepare the platform that will guide the party.
John
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