During this critical time, Home Health Care News remains committed to bringing you all the essential news related to home-based care operations. At the same time, we also recognize the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to our regular content, we’ll continue to highlight industry-related developments and mitigation strategies in this rolling bulletin.

What you need to know from Tuesday (May 19)

— The Visiting Nurse Association Health Group announced that it has cared for its 600th COVID-19 patient since the beginning of the outbreak. New Jersey-based VNA Health Group is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit providers of home health, hospice and community-based care. It serves communities in both New Jersey and Ohio. “Right now, we’re seeing major stresses on home health agencies,” Dr. Stephen Landers, president and CEO of VNA Health Group, previously told HHCN. “We have the need to continue to ramp up training, supplies and equipment to protect our workforce. We’re trying to keep them safe from the coronavirus, in turn so they can keep our patients and clients safe.”

— Mental health ramifications continue to surface in COVID-19’s wake. Survivors of coronavirus are struggling with “post-intensive care syndrome,” which can lead to a combination of “physical, cognitive and mental health impairments following an ICU stay,” according to MedPage Today.

— The Advisory Board, a Washington, D.C.-based businesses consulting firm, has published four tactics for home health agencies looking to reduce exposure risks for their patients.

— It took 33 days for stocks to drop 34% — and three weeks to gain half of it back, according to a new story from Bloomberg. The report highlights the economic rollercoaster created by the coronavirus. The publicly traded post-acute care providers have not been immune to those ups and downs, though many of them — including Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED), LHC Group Inc. (Nasdaq: LHCG) and Encompass Health Corp. (NYSE: EHC) — reported solid Q1 financial results.

— More than 91,000 people in the U.S. have died from coronavirus, while roughly 1.5 million cases have been reported, according to the latest statistics from Johns Hopkins.

What you need to know from Monday (May 18)

— Medicaid providers have been put on the back burner when it comes to funding, according to a report from Kaiser Health News. In March, $100 billion was shelled out to health care providers, and the majority of that money has gone to Medicare beneficiaries, leaving the low-income Medicaid patients — and the providers that serve them — behind. “This needs to be addressed urgently,” Joan Alker, executive director of Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families in Washington, D.C., told Kaiser Health. “We are concerned about the infrastructure and how quickly it could evaporate.”

— A home health aide in New Jersey ignored a self-quarantine order after being tested for COVID-19. The aide then went to work without PPE, allegedly resulting in at least five additional COVID-19 cases and one death, according to a report from the Daily Voice.

— Three authors from the University of Toronto and Harvard laid out recommendations for fixing issues facing home-based care during and after the COVID-19 crisis in The Conversation. The recommendations included CMS expanding the definition of “home health” to include personal care, expanding the definition of “homebound,” and revitalizing the training and recruitment practices for new home-based care workers during COVID-19.

— An inspection found that nursing homes operated by Life Care Centers of America violated federal standards relating to infection control, according to the Washington Post. The report suggested that staff members were not adequately washing their hands or adhering to social distancing guidelines. “These deficient practices resulted in the high likelihood of spreading coronavirus and harmful pathogens,” the inspector wrote.

— CMS released new guidelines on reopening nursing homes on Monday, with parameters around testing requirements and visitation, reports Skilled Nursing News. CMS also emphasized that nursing facilities will be among the last institutions that can safely reopen as the country takes steps toward moving out of COVID-19 lockdowns.

For daily updates from the week of May 11, click here.

For daily updates from the week of May 4, click here.

For daily updates from the week of April 27, click here.

For daily updates from the week of April 20, click here.

For daily updates from the week of April 13, click here.

For daily updates from the week of April 6, click here.

For daily updates from the week of March 30, click here.

For daily updates from the week of March 23, click here.

For daily updates from the week of March 16, click here.

HHCN encourages you to reach out to us individually or at [email protected] for story ideas, tips or general feedback.