Healthcare Roundup: Hospitals Allowing COVID-19-Positive Staff to Stay on Job, Health-Heavy 2022 Ballot in CA & More

Hospitals Allowing Staff Infected with COVID-19 to Keep Working:

Health authorities in California announced last week that nurses and other hospital staff who test positive for COVID-19 but are asymptomatic can stay on the job. The state’s Department of Public Health stipulated that infected workers have to wear N95 masks and should be assigned to patients who have already tested positive for COVID-19. Some hospitals in Arizona and Rhode Island have also told employees than can continue working if they are infected but have mild or no symptoms.

The extraordinary moves are a reaction to the severe staff shortages and exploding patient caseloads being caused by the Omicron variant, which has pushed the average number of new cases nationwide up over 700,000 a day. (MODERN HEALTHCARE)

CA Voters Will Likely Weigh Multiple Health-Related Issues in 2022:

Later this year California voters will consider whether to overturn a state law banning flavored tobacco products, thanks to an initiative backed by Big Tobacco that has qualified for the state’s Nov. 8 ballot. Supporters of another proposed ballot measure that would increase the cap on medical malpractice awards have collected enough signatures to qualify it as well, but the secretary of state’s office has not officially done so.

Other proposals that could appear on the ballot include those seeking to effectively legalize psychedelic mushrooms, regulate dialysis clinics, tax the state’s wealthiest residents to fund an institute for detecting disease outbreaks, and limit the ability of government officials to close businesses and schools during public health emergencies. (KAISER HEALTH NEWS)

Medicare to Provide Only Limited Coverage of Controversial Alzheimer’s Drug: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it will only cover treatment with Biogen’s $28,000-per-year Alzheimer’s treatment, Adulhelm, for patients with early-stage symptoms who are enrolled in a clinical trial. The drug has come under intense scrutiny since its controversial approval by the FDA this past summer. (STAT)

CA Gov Seeks $2.7B for COVID-19 Response:

A budget proposal California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will send to state lawmakers this week calls for $2.7 billion in COVID-19-response efforts, including assistance to hospitals. “Our proposed COVID-19 Emergency Response Package will support our testing capacity, accelerate vaccination and booster efforts, support frontline workers and health care systems and battle misinformation,” the governor said in a written statement. (LOS ANGELES TIMES)

Hundreds of Employees Test Positive for COVID-19 at MI Health System:

Almost 700 employees of the Henry Ford Health System have tested positive for COVID-19 within the span of a week. That number represents about 2 percent of the roughly 33,000 people employed by the Michigan health facility, which was the first in the state to announce a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its workers. (DETROIT FREE PRESS)

Union Sues Dialysis Center Operator Over Discriminatory Treatment:

The Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West has filed a lawsuit against DaVita, Fresenius Medical Care and Satellite Healthcare alleging that Latino and Asian patients at the companies’ California centers are administered hemodialysis at higher speeds than white patients, making them more prone to adverse symptoms. The companies operate over 70 percent of the dialysis facilities in California and about 83 percent of the facilities nationwide. (MODERN HEALTHCARE)

Biden Sending Military Medical Personnel to States Hit Hard by Omicron Surge:

In response to the coronavirus surge driven by the Omicron variant, President Biden announced last week that he would be sending 120 military medical personnel to six states where hospitals have been overwhelmed by new cases. The states are: Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island. (NEW YORK TIMES)

Healthcare Boards Lack Diversity:

While racial and ethnic minorities comprise almost 40 percent of the U.S. population, they make up only 21 percent of board members at 25 health systems representing over 400 hospitals surveyed executive by search firm WittKieffer and the Health Management Academy. Women, who constitute over half of the population, hold only 27 percent of board seats at those companies. The number of female and Black board members, however, did increase 6 percent and 7 percent, respectively, from 2019 to 2021. (MODERN HEALTHCARE)

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK