Halfway through another unusual week!
Here is your NCMS Morning Rounds!
March 25, 2020
Spread the Word About Campaigns to Help
The NCMS and many other organizations recognize the many sacrifices – personal and financial – many of you are making. We want to tell you about just two campaigns underway to help the public recognize your work.
In an effort to encourage the public to stay at home to slow the spread of COVID-19, we are offering you a special message to put out on your social media channels as many other health care professionals are doing.
Just print out this “I stayed at work for you. Please stay at home for me” sign, take a picture of you and/or your staff holding it and send it out via Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Be sure to tag @ncmedsoc.
This is one way to make sure the public is following the state and federal guidance about physically distancing themselves to slow the spread of the virus and help protect physicians and PAs like you who are on the frontlines treating those who are ill with non-Covid-19 related illnesses as well as those who are infected. You, our health care providers, are our most valuable resource during this pandemic.
The NC Healthcare Foundation (NCHF) has started a “Feeding the Soul” Healthcare Hero Response fund in which they partner with local restaurants to provide meals and thank those health care professionals who are on the frontlines caring for people during this pandemic.
This effort will both nourish the bodies and souls of physicians, nurses and other health care heroes and boost local economies during a time of acute need.
Learn more about the NCHF campaign.
Thank you for all you do!
NC Hospitals, National Health Associations Call for More Restrictions
The NC Healthcare Association (NCHA), which represents the state’s 130 hospitals and health systems, wrote to Governor Roy Cooper, called on him to “immediately issue an order to shelter in place in the interests of protecting the health and safety of all North Carolinians as much as possible.”
“We cannot afford to be led by a false sense of security created by a low number of confirmed cases. We do not have the luxury to think and act based in human time. COVID-19 follows its own timeline and pathway,” said Steve Lawler, President and CEO of the NCHA. “Because of limited availability of tests and high-throughput technology, we do not have the data to fully understand the magnitude or timing of the anticipated surge in patients at hospitals. We expect to see a continued multiplying effect until the state implements a Shelter in Place directive. It is imperative that we move quickly, as it will take at least two weeks after a Shelter in Place order is issued before we see a change in the trajectory of cases. Hospitals and physicians throughout the state believe this is the only resort left to immediately impact the growth and spread of the virus.”
The NCMS and the NCHA are both scheduled to testify before the NC House Select Committee on COVID-19 this week. The NCMS will provide a snapshot of the clinical and financial challenges you are currently dealing with as well as short and long term solutions legislators can implement. Watch your NCMS Morning Rounds for more on our advocacy work on your behalf.
The American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association and the American Nursing Association, also issued an open letter yesterday calling on the American people to stay home to help reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus and limit its long-term health effect on our country. Staying at home in this urgent moment is our best defense to turn the tide against COVID-19, they said. Read more about their message.
NCMS Offers Emotional Support Resources
Whether working on the frontlines of health care during this pandemic, working remotely from home and just dealing with the emotional and financial upheaval and uncertainty is causing heightened stress and anxiety to many.
We are committed to providing support for you and your family as we respond to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. We want to acknowledge the stress, fear, anxiety and other complex emotions that come with the work you do at the front lines of caring amidst an unknown, ambiguous and evolving landscape. Thank you all for the unprecedented collaboration and creativity you are showing as we develop ways to best help you support your patients, community and each other in the face of COVID-19.
Please visit our resource page for support during these challenging times. We will be updating this regularly, so stop by often.
In the News
CDC Coronavirus Testing Decision Likely to Haunt Nation for Months to Come, Kaiser Health News, 3-23-20
Learning Opportunity
‘Mental Health Systems’ Response to Public Emergencies,’ a webinar sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will be held Thursday, March 26 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Learn more and register.