COVID-19 Update – April 17, 2020
CDPH Updated SNF Transfer Guidelines, 20-21 State Budget, and County Masking Orders
As of April 17, there are 1,061 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alameda County and 40 deaths (including City of Berkeley information). As of April 17, there are 648 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Contra Costa County and 19 deaths. Please check
www.accma.org/COVID-19
for the latest updates.
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California Department of Public Health Releases All Facilities Letter to SNFs
On April 1, 2020, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) sent a letter to Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) regarding interim guidance for transfer of residents with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
This AFL (All Facilities Letter) clarifies CDPH expectations and provides interim guidance for skilled nursing facilities for transfer and continuity of care of residents with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection, including admission of COVID-19 positive residents following hospitalization who still require transmission-based precautions.
In cases of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 diagnosis, SNFs should only transfer residents to higher acuity healthcare settings when clinically indicated. Prior to transfer, SNFs must notify transport personnel and receiving facility about the suspected diagnosis. If clinically stable, residents with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 should remain at the SNF with appropriate infection prevention and control measures.
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Contact Legislators to Protect Physician Practices in 20-21 State Budget
CMA and ACCMA are asking physicians to
contact their local legislators today as they prepare to debate the 2020-2021 state budget. It is critically important that the legislature understands how the pandemic is impacting physician practice and their ability to serve their patients.
The California Medical Association (CMA) estimates that, statewide, more than 13 million people could lose access to their physician absent financial assistance to maintain the financial viability of physician practices. According to CMA’s statewide survey of physicians over the past week, 76% of physicians are extremely or very worried about their practices’ financial health due to the financial stress they are experiencing as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Virtually all practices (98%) report a substantial decrease in patient volume.
Should California lose these critical pieces of the health care infrastructure, we will be unable to meet the demand for medically necessary care that is building as the state's health care resources are currently focused on treatment of COVID-19 patients.
To protect physician practices and ensure California patients have timely access to medical care, CMA is urging the legislature to invest in the physicians of California, whose practices have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency and related orders to suspend elective surgeries and non-emergent services.
By acting quickly, California can ensure that medical practices remain financially viable during the pandemic and the economic aftermath.
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Contra Costa County Releases New Masking Order
Today, April 17, the Contra Costa County Health Officer released a new
"Cover Your Face" order, requiring that all individuals working at or visiting an essential business must wear face coverings to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. The order will be effective starting Wednesday, April 22.
T
he order specifies that Members of the public must mask when they:
- work at an essential business
- are inside an essential business, such as a grocery store
- visit a healthcare provider or facility
- wait in line for or ride public transportation
This comes directly after the City of Berkeley masking order, which was issued yesterday.
Effective April 17, 2020, The Health Officer of the City of Berkeley has issued an Order to certain licensed facilities requiring masking, temperature monitoring, self-evaluation of symptoms, cancellation of group activities, notification of transport, among other requirements. Full details of the City of Berkeley requirements and of the types of facilities affected can be found in the
order
.
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CMA Publishes COVID-19 Toolkit for Physician Employers
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a profound economic impact nationwide, many physicians are facing important questions related to their practices and their roles as small business employers. In recent weeks, new laws have been quickly enacted at the federal, state, county and city level that have expanded unemployment benefits, sick leave provisions, and family medical leave laws to help both employers and employees affected by this public health crisis.
To help physicians understand the rapidly evolving personnel and other employment-related issues during the COVID-19 public health emergency, the California Medical Association has published the
CMA COVID-19 Toolkit for Physician Employers
.
This resource is free to all and available on CMA’s COVID-19 resource page,
cmadocs.org/covid-19
.
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Alameda & Contra Costa County Recruiting Physicians for COVID-19
East Bay physicians can support COVID-19 response efforts through paid and/or voluntary service opportunities through the Alameda County, Contra Costa County, or the State of California. Please visit
accma.org/COVID-19 and scrolling to "COVID-19 Volunteer Opportunities" for application instructions.
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PPE and Supplies - County Request Forms
The following is information
about placing orders for PPE and other medical support through County resource allocation processes:
- Contra Costa County: All Resource Requests should be submitted using the attached “CCCHS Request Form”. If requesting PPE, must also complete attached “Medical/Health Items Provider Questionnaire" (found on the first page of the CCCHS Request Form). These forms should be submitted directly to the CCHS DOC Logistics Section at [email protected]. Per CCHS, you should first work within your vendors and systems first before sending requests to the DOC.
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Complimentary Peer Discussion Groups
RechargedMD
is offering ACCMA members
complimentary online peer discussion and coaching
specifically for physicians. With the guidance of a certified physician coach, physicians can receive and offer support, as well as learn from one another. Small groups will meet beginning on April 25 for 45 minutes per week for three facilitated sessions. Go to
rechargedmd.com/covid19support
.
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Tips for Physicians to Protect Themselves and Their Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Click here
for tips on what to do before going to work, at work, and after work/coming home to protect yourself and your family. Tips include how to create a hot zone (contaminated area) near your home entrance and how to take care of your skin. Courtesy of the TPMG Diablo Health and Wellness Team.
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ACCMA Resources Toolkit
The ACCMA has put together a
free toolkit of resources
that address the day-to-day needs of East Bay physicians of all career stages and in all modes of practice, from food and grocery delivery services to exercises that can be done at home.
Click here
to access and download the toolkit.
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Monday, April 20, 2020 | 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM | FREE
With the COVID-19 Emergency requiring physicians to adopt telehealth and position more of their staff to work from home, important patient privacy and security risks emerge. This webinar will address those along with practical tips for compliance.
To register
, please
click here
and complete the form at the bottom of the page.
Please note
that completion of the form will register you for the whole Telemedicine series, so if you are interested in attending more than one webinar, please only submit the form once.
Presenters:
David Ginsberg, co-founder and president of PrivaPlan Associates, Inc.
Allen Briskin, Senior Counsel, Pillbury Winthrop Saw Pittman LLP
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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 | 6:00 - 7:00 PM | FREE
This one-hour webinar led by Linda Hawes Clever, MD, MACP, will offer
practical, creative, and effective remedies
to deal with the crush on personal and professional lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will start with some
strategies, resources, and suggestions
and then quickly evolve to questions and answers, as we listen and see the ingenuity, guts, and devotion with which we are addressing the harrowing challenges we all face as a profession, community, and nation. Participants will discover how to r
educe personal stress and learn healthy ways
to contend with the impact of COVID-19.
You are encouraged to
submit questions in advance
to help her address the range of clinician concerns and responses to the crisis. And you can also briefly
share any personal tips
and practices that are helping you during this difficult time. Please send your questions and comments to
[email protected].
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Thursday, April 24, 2020 | 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM | FREE
Join a panel discussion with three physicians who successfully transitioned to using Telemedicine in their practices.
To register
, please
click here
and complete the form at the bottom of the page.
Please note
that completion of the form will register you for the whole Telemedicine series, so if you are interested in attending more than one webinar, please only submit the form once.
Panelists:
Marc Dean, MD
Uli K. Chettipally, MD
Richard Thorp, MD
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Questions/Concerns?
Please contact ACCMA at 510-654-5383 or
[email protected]
with any questions or concerns you have. Although we may not currently have an immediate answer to all questions, we want to know the information and resources that you need to continue to provide care for our community during this difficult time.
This information will also be posted online at
www.accma.org/COVID-19
and will be updated frequently. Please check the ACCMA website regularly for updates.
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