KMA and the Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) have released a 30 second joint public service announcement encouraging patients to continue to seek necessary care from physicians and hospitals and educating them on some of the changes they may experience as the healthcare system reopens.
“The New Normal” advises Kentuckians that while telehealth will still be the preferred method of receiving non-urgent/emergent care, patients shouldn’t put off in-person visits to their physician or hospital if their needs require it. The PSA also describes some of the logistical changes that are being put into place for their health and safety, including social distancing and virtual or “parking lot” waiting rooms.
The PSA is being distributed statewide and is available for viewing and download here.
Clarification to Earlier Alert: Healthcare Phase II Reopening
Earlier today, KMA issued a clarification to yesterday’s Member News Alert regarding the reopening of Healthcare Phase II, which began today.
The list of services that may resume that was included in yesterday’s communication was intended to be representative, not comprehensive. Outpatient/ambulatory procedures/surgeries in general are permitted as long as they follow the Healthy at Work guidelines.
Public Health Commissioner Steven Stack, M.D. has outlined guidance for those facilities resuming operations. These include but are not limited to:
- Outpatient gastrointestinal procedures
- Radiology procedures (invasive and noninvasive)
- Diagnostic non-urgent cardiac procedures
- Outpatient orthopedic procedures
- Outpatient ENT procedures
- Outpatient dental procedures
These services must follow the 10 rules required for Healthy at Work:
- Telework when possible
- Phased return to work
- Onsite temperature/health checks
- Universal masks and PPE
- Close common areas (waiting rooms, break rooms, cafeterias, etc.)
- Social distancing
- Limit face-to-face meetings
- Sanitizer/hand wash stations
- Special accommodations
- Testing plan
Dr. Stack also encouraged facilities to utilize the Battelle CCDS (Critical Care Decontamination System) in Louisville to assist with the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). The Battelle CCDS will provide healthcare facilities a process to decontaminate N95 or N95-equivalent respirators for reuse up to 20 times without degrading the respirator’s performance. The system can decontaminate up to 80,000 N95 respirators a day. Deployment includes a complete system, logistic planning, and an onsite Battelle CCDS team to operate the system.
For more information, and to register, please visit the website: Battelle CCDS
Healthcare facilities will be provided with a procedure to collect used masks, properly bag masks, and track masks in process. This process is available to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, physician offices, dental offices, and others. Additionally, physicians may use this for healthcare facilities in an operational unit, even if across state lines.
Battelle CCDS, through a federally awarded contract, will provide N95 respirator decontamination at no charge to healthcare providers.
A letter regarding this opportunity from Commissioner Steven Stack, M.D. is available here, and a slide with more information is available here.
