Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Texas Academic Medical Center Links Many Health Workers' Illnesses To Community Contact, Not Workplace
UT Southwestern Medical Center, a leader in academic medicine, has reported a sharp rise in coronavirus cases among its employees, including 59 new cases in the past two weeks. Four of the infections came from contact with patients, about the same number infected by patients over the previous 3.5 months. But the vast majority of employee cases, over 84%, can be traced to the community, not the UT Southwestern campus. (Schnurman, 7/3)
When a Waldorf car dealership advertised discounts for medical workers battling the novel coronavirus, Latasha Currie hoped to eke out a hard-won benefit after months on the front lines. The medical assistant, 31, didn’t tell the salesman how her 10-year-old cried for days after patients with covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, began to roll into the D.C. clinic where she works. “She kept saying she didn’t want mommy to die,” Currie said. (Jouvenal, 7/4)
Elder is one of at least 22 nurses sued by Parkland since 2017 because they left too early or were fired. The hospital is seeking to collect up to $20,000 in damages from the former nurses, on the grounds that it’s entitled to recoup its investment in them. Most have either paid, settled or defaulted. (Krause, 7/3)
