Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

9 INFECTION CONTROL 66% of counties with most COVID-19 cases lack infectious disease physician By Mackenzie Bean A bout 208 million Americans are living in counties with no or very few infectious disease physicians, and many of these areas have been hit hardest by COVID-19, according to a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Researchers determined the density of infec- tious disease physicians in every U.S. county using 2017 Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data. ey also used aggregated data from the CDC and local public health agen- cies to plot the rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county as of May 12. Four study findings: 1. Of the 3,142 total counties in the U.S., 79.5 percent did not have a single infec- tious disease physician. 2. Among 785 counties with the highest burden of COVID-19 cases, 66 percent did not have an infectious disease physician working in the county. 3. About 9.9 percent of counties had an infectious disease physician density below the national average of 1.76 physicians per 100,000 population. 4. Only 10.5 percent of counties had an infectious disease physician density above the national average. "The deficits in our [infectious disease] physician workforce today have left us poorly prepared for the unprecedented demand ahead," study authors said, high- lighting telemedicine as a key strategy for expanding access to this speciality. n Michael Dowling on COVID- 19's resurgence: It's 'foolish' to assume prevention efforts will work perfectly By Mackenzie Bean A fter facing a major surge in COVID-19 cases this spring, New York City hospitals are reflect- ing on their processes and solidifying plans for a potential resurgence this fall, Northwell Health President and CEO Michael Dowling told The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Dowling said hospital leaders in the area have been in constant communication with each other about a second wave of infections. While leaders are hopeful that prevention measures like social dis- tancing will keep the pandemic at bay, "it would be foolish to assume that all the prevention would work perfectly," Mr. Dowling told WSJ. New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell is leaving med- ical tents set up outside some of its hospitals through the fall in case patient volumes increase, according to Mr. Dowling. The system will also rely heavily on telemedicine and allow up to 20,000 nonclinical em- ployees to continue working from home, which both proved successful during the pandemic's peak. Mr. Dowling said health systems still need to elimi- nate care disparities among minority populations and work on sourcing more personal protective equip- ment domestically. n California county health official resigns after receiving threats over face mask policy By Anuja Vaidya T he health officer of Orange County, Calif., resigned June 8 after receiving intense pushback for her order mandating that all residents must wear face coverings in public to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to the Los Angeles Times. Nichole Quick, MD, issued the order in late May, which was met with resistance from some residents and elected officials. She even received what officials deemed a death threat at a county Board of Supervisors meeting, resulting in the Orange County Sheriff's Department providing a securi- ty detail for Dr. Quick. At another county Board of Supervisors meeting, some coun- ty residents brought a poster with Dr. Quick's photo with a Hitler mustache and swastikas, the LA Times reported. County Supervisor Don Wagner also pushed back on the need for face coverings, saying at a board meeting that other regions in the country were not mandating the same. But he condemned the threats Dr. Quick received. Dr. Quick is the third county health official to leave during the pandemic. Clayton Chau, MD, director of the Orange County Health Care Agency, will replace her as interim county health officer. The county was in the process of searching for a long- term replacement in June. As of June 9, there had been 7,614 new coronavirus cases in Orange County and 185 deaths, the LA Times reported. n

• Cover