Newswire Archives
The first monthly COVID-19 survey by the American Council on Education of college and university presidents finds their most pressing concerns are focused on financial impact, remote learning, and student mental health.
Survey results can be obtained at https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Presidents-Respond-COVID19-April2020.pdf.
With COVID-19 closing down campuses in the Spring, higher education institutions face the difficult decision of how or when to re-open in the Fall. Colleges are weighing options of having Fall 2020 online only; face-to-face instruction with limitations based on age and vulnerability to COVID-19; and waiting until Spring 2021 to re-open. Many colleges are facing pressure from current and prospective students to make a decision.
Click here to read the full article on Inside Higher Education.
A new analysis from the Commonwealth Fund highlights the impact of COVID-19 at the county level, indicating that communities of color have been hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
The analysis can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/covid-19-more-prevalent-deadlier-us-counties-higher-black-populations?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Delivery%20System%20Reform.
The House of Representatives approved and sent to the president today the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, a COVID-19 relief package. The $484 billion bill, which the Senate approved unanimously two days ago, replenishes two depleted small business-relief programs, offers additional assistance to hospitals, and funds an expansion of testing capacity nationwide. The bill had strong bipartisan support, passing 388 to 5.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response (ASPR) released a new toolkit to help state and local health care decision makers maximize workforce flexibilities when confronting 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in their communities.
The toolkit can be viewed at https://asprtracie.hhs.gov/Workforce-Virtual-Toolkit.
Today, negotiators have reached a deal on roughly $484 billion in new Coronavirus pandemic related relief funding. The agreement will provide more than $320 billion in addition funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, $60 billion for disaster loans and grants, $75 billion for reimbursement to hospitals and healthcare providers, and $25 billion related to COVID-19 testing. The Senate is expected to take up the legislation later today, and the House is expected to take up the bill on Thursday.
HHS Summary
Bill language
Paycheck Protection Program Increase Act of 2020 Section-by-Section
The Department of Education held a briefing on their implementation of CARES Act provisions. Secretary Betsy DeVos opened the call with praise for higher education officials and reviewed the steps the Department has already taken, such as federal student loan relief, opening of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund-Student Portion (HEERF), and collaboration with accreditors. Acting undersecretary for postsecondary education Diane Jones followed Secretary DeVos with HEERF clarifications found in the Department’s FAQs documents: Student Portion FAQs and Institutional Portion FAQs. Assistant Secretary Bob King shared that institutions may now apply for the Institutional Portion of HEERF at this link.
Additional information and documents about HEERF can be found on the Department’s website.
Next week, four webinars will highlight IPE and the COVID-19 Pandemic. The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education hosts the following:
Interprofessional Teaching and Collaborative Practice During COVID-19: A Community Conversation, Thursday, April 23, 2020, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern
The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education hosts the following:
Improving Health Access for Public Housing Residents: Washburn University’s Nexus Team, Tuesday, April 21, 3:00pm Eastern
Living in the Nexus: Leadership Discussions to Advance IPE, Wednesday, April 22, 1:00pm Eastern
Taking it Statewide: Online IPE and Assessment in a Pandemic, Thursday, April 23, 2:30pm Eastern
The FDA provided an update on a potential treatment called convalescent plasma and is encouraging individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate plasma to help others fight this disease. This plasma is an antibody-rich product made from blood donated by patients who have recovered from the disease caused by the virus. The agency also launched a new webpage to guide recovered COVID-19 patients to local blood or plasma collection centers to discuss their eligibility and potentially schedule an appointment to donate.
The update can be obtained at https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-encourages-recovered-patients-donate-plasma-development-blood?utm_campaign=041620_PR_Coronavirus%20%28COVID-19%29%20Update%3A%20Daily%20Roundup%20April%2016%2C%202020&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua and the webpage can be obtained at https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/donate-covid-19-plasma?utm_campaign=041620_PR_Coronavirus%20%28COVID-19%29%20Update%3A%20Daily%20Roundup%20April%2016%2C%202020&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua.
The MIT Technology Review considers academic proposals, hurdles, and various paths forward in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The article may be accessed here.
In the context of the coronavirus, a post from the Commonwealth Fund discusses why the 14 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid would benefit immensely from doing so, now more than ever. Medicaid expansion could provide an urgent source of federal funding for states to pay health care providers and ensure their residents receive coronavirus treatment.
The post can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/covid-19-crisis-giving-states-havent-expanded-medicaid-new-reconsideration.
Based on review of available evidence, FDA has concluded that using an infusion pump connected to a nebulizer for tracheal delivery of nebulized medications allows for prolonged treatment with these medications, while risks to patients are the same as for other routes of administration.
Additional information can be obtained at https://www.fda.gov/media/136894/download.
The National Institutes of Health launched a study to determine the number of adults in the U.S. without a confirmed COVID-19 history who have antibodies to the virus. By collecting blood samples from volunteers, researchers hope to model the degree to which the virus spread undetected in this country.
More information can be obtained at https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-begins-study-quantify-undetected-cases-coronavirus-infection.
A new paper from the Commonwealth Fund discusses America’s capacity to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic compared to other high-income countries, including those that have had high numbers of coronavirus cases, like China, Italy, and South Korea.
The report can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/how-us-compares-other-countries-responding-covid-19-populations-risk-health-system?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=International%20Health.
Today, Secretary DeVos allotted $6 billion in emergency financial aid to institutions directed to be utilized by students for technology, course materials, food, shelter and health care. In order to receive this aid, institutions must sign an attestation this funding will be used for students in accordance with the law. Department officials do not plan to specifically direct how institutions allocate the funding among their students but it was designed to target students based on need.
DeVos indicated that she will provide information to institutions regarding the $6 billion in CARES Act funding targeting the institutions themselves in the next two weeks.
A copy of the letter to college and university presidents can be found here The allotments to individual institutions are found here
According to a report from Gallup, the vast majority of Americans report their lives have been disrupted by the coronavirus situation, and an increasing proportion expect those disruptions to continue for an extended period.
The report can be obtained at
As part of the over $2 trillion relief bill passed by Congress last month, about $14 billion for higher education is to be distributed to institutions based upon the number of enrolled students eligible to receive Pell Grants, and based on enrollment numbers of full-time students, regardless of Pell eligibility. Advocates have voiced concern that such a funding system may slow the time in which institutions receive these funds.
Inside Higher Ed provides an overview of this issue here.
Washington State reported the first COVID-19 case in the United States in January. A new issue brief outlines major initiatives taken and lessons learned over the past six weeks.
The brief can be obtained at
ASAHP joined over 200 organizations requesting the White House to take action to provide additional ventilators and personal protection equipment (PPE) for health professionals. Additionally, ASAHP signed another letter to Congress recommending $4.5 billion in additional annual funding for CDC, state, local, tribal and territorial core public health infrastructure to pay for such essential activities as disease surveillance, epidemiology, laboratory capacity, all-hazards preparedness and response; policy development and support; communications; community partnership development; and organizational competencies.
Letters can be found below:
