News

Four health care leaders in rural Montana discuss how their organizations are adjusting their internal operations to accommodate COVID-19 patients; rallying their communities together and building new relationships; and rebuilding on the path forward.

With help from a health equity grant collaboration between the AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, UnityPoint launched its CenteringPregnancy Care to Mitigate Racial Disparities Program.

Thomas Yackel, M.D., president of MCV Physicians at VCU Health System, Richmond, Va., will chair AHA’s Committee on Clinical Leadership in 2021. Daniel Handel, M.D., vice president and chief medical officer for the south central region of Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, will serve as chair-elect.

Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released guidance on communication strategies to combat mistrust and build confidence in COVID-19 vaccines based on research on decision making, changing beliefs/attitudes, and reaching and engaging diverse audiences.

The AHA released its 2021 Advocacy Agenda, a forward-looking document designed to positively influence the public policy environment for patients, communities and the health care field.

Learn how hospital and health system leaders such as Heather Farley, M.D., chief wellness officer for ChristianaCare in Delaware, are supporting their clinicians to prevent burnout during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Biden announced an executive order directing federal agencies to review the Trump administration’s public charge rule, among other recent immigration policies.

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing to examine the distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines. Testifying at the hearing were public health officials from Illinois, Michigan, West Virginia, Louisiana and Colorado.

President Biden announced details on several initiatives designed to combat COVID-19. The administration is expanding the supply of vaccines, upping the number of weekly allocated doses to 10.5 million.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced they have filed a joint budget resolution for fiscal year 2021 giving Congress an additional legislative tool to potentially pass COVID-19 relief legislation that enacts President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.

Not-for-profit organization the Ad Council is providing a trove of market research designed to understand and effectively message to Black, Hispanic, young adults and others who have expressed hesitancy with getting vaccinated against COVID-19. 

The Department of Defense awarded Ellume USA $231.8 million to ramp up domestic production of its COVID-19 diagnostic test, the first test users can perform fully at home without a prescription.

About 12. 9 million people received at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines between Dec. 14 and Jan. 14, the first month of the U.S. COVID-19 vaccination program, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

The AHA voiced support for the Medicare Sequester COVID Moratorium Act (H.R. 315), legislation that would eliminate Medicare sequester cuts during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Ten Republican senators released highlights from their $618 billion COVID-19 relief proposal, outlined Sunday in a letter to President Biden. The proposal includes $35 billion for the Provider Relief Fund, with 20% set aside for rural hospitals; $20 billion for vaccine efforts; and $50 billion for testing, among other provisions.

Mentorship has been incredibly important in the career development of most health care leaders, including me. Learning from mentors and colleagues has helped me grow personally and professionally.

The Department of Health and Human Services amended its declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act to permit physicians, registered nurses and practical nurses whose license or certification has expired in the past five years to prescribe, dispense and/or administer COVID-19 vaccines in any state or U.S. territory.

In this third webinar in a series from AHA, the Hospital at Home Users Group and American Academy of Home Care Medicine, panelists will discuss technology decisions that hospital-at-home programs must make and how they will affect program efficacy and patient care.

Johnson & Johnson provided a concrete look at its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, revealing that its efficacy is expected to be sufficient to pursue an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration.

Our country is ready, eager and hopeful this year for at least a partial return to the pre-COVID-19 world. Everyone has a role to play in getting there.