�������ýҕ�l

As the pandemic continues to grow, the state of Alaska is currently seeking to fill dozens of positions related to its COVID-19 response, including public health nurses, data analysts, administrators and contact tracers. That’s according to a social media post shared by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services on Thursday announcing the positions, with a link to the state’s website. “We need smart, committed people who want to help solve a pandemic with us,” said Dr. Anne Zink, the state’s chief medical officer, during a media briefing on Thursday. (Berman, 12/3)

Facing a nursing shortage even before the pandemic, nurses and educators said Thursday they met with Stitt administration officials this week about recruiting more nurses and imposing a mask mandate.State officials were receptive to the idea of a state-sponsored marketing campaign to recruit former nurses back into the workforce, according to Cathy Pierce, chief nurse executive for OU Medicine. The nurses have also proposed using federal coronavirus relief money to fund refresher courses and educate more nursing students. Pierce said they also proposed the state contract with a staffing agency with experience recruiting healthcare professionals. (Casteel, 12/4)

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, the demand for more people certified to provide medical technical and therapeutic support is growing in the Texas Medical Center. Allied health care professionals, which include medical assistants, anesthesiologists, clinical laboratory technicians, radiologists and paramedics, among other roles, are in high demand to alleviate some of the burden on doctors and nurses, said Dr. Himesh Lakhlani, president of The College of Health Care Professions’ new Med Center Campus at 2616 South Loop W. (Dellinger, 12/3)

Many infection preventionists working at hospitals and other healthcare organizations claim frontline workers are reusing personal protective equipment as surges of COVID-19 occur across the U.S. A survey released Thursday by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology found of the 1,083 infection preventionists who responded, 68.7% reported extended use or reuse was being applied to surgical masks while 73% said the policy was used for respirators. Additionally, 43.8% said isolation gowns and 10% said gloves were being worn more than once or for an extended time period. (Castellucci, 12/3)

At Massachusetts General Hospital, the lobbies and atriums are dotted with small tables, about the size of school desks, where employees can eat lunch by themselves. The break rooms at Tufts Medical Center have stickers marking distances of 6 feet, so workers don’t have to guess how far apart they are when they remove their masks to eat a sandwich. And at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, plexiglass has taken over the cafeterias. (Dayal McCluskey, 12/3)

With few options left, overwhelmed doctors and other caregivers are appealing directly to governors for relief from the staggering increases in hospitalized covid-19 patients as the virus surges across the country. In Connecticut, Tennessee, Missouri and Mississippi, physicians have issued unusually public pleas for stronger responses to the pandemic as hospitals and their staffs near a breaking point. The number of hospitalized covid-19 patients surpassed 100,000 on Wednesday, placing enormous strain on the nation’s acute care hospitals, where there are roughly 730,000 beds. (Bernstein, 12/3)

Shannon Queen spends much of her 12-hour shifts at Baltimore’s Good Samaritan Hospital carefully putting on and removing gowns, masks and gloves so she can tend to COVID-19 patients that have pushed her unit to capacity in the past couple of weeks. There is a balance, the veteran nurse says, in protecting herself and providing care and support for patients. (Cohn and Miller, 12/3)

Dr. Lionel A. Desbordes, an obstetrician and gynecologist who delivered thousands of babies during a lengthy career, and who was among the founders of the Garwyn Medical Center, died of heart failure Nov. 27 at Brighton Gardens of Columbia. The longtime Forest Park resident was 97. (Kelly, 12/3)

KHN: What Happened When The Only ER Doctor In A Rural Town Got COVID

Kurt Papenfus, a doctor in Cheyenne Wells, Colorado, started to feel sick around Halloween. He developed a scary cough, intestinal symptoms and a headache. In the midst of a pandemic, the news that he had COVID-19 wasn’t surprising, but Papenfus’ illness would have repercussions far beyond his own health. Papenfus is the lone full-time emergency room doctor in the town of 900, not far from the Kansas line. (Daley, 12/4)