Becker's ASC Review

44 HEALTHCARE NEWS A case against using the term 'second wave' now: 5 takeaways from leading national health experts By Morgan Haefner W hile some experts say a second wave of COVID-19 is taking hold in the U.S., others are say- ing we're not in a second wave, but stuck in a long first wave. Here are five takeaways on the case against the current use of the term "second wave": 1. Questions around whether the U.S. is in a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic are being sparked aer several states, including Arizona, Utah, Texas and Florida, have seen an uptick in daily cases. 2. Nationwide, average new daily cases of COVID-19 peaked April 10 at about 31,000. at number dropped to around 22,000 on average by mid-May, but has stayed near steady through the middle of June, according to NPR. More than 800 Americans are dying each day from the disease. 3. Social distancing and stay-at-home orders helped push COVID-19's reproduction number — or how many people an infected person could infect — just below 1. Any- thing above 1 will spread exponentially. Still, because the reproduction number is still close to 1, cases are more in a plateau than a downward spiral, and the reproduction number is even creeping above 1 as states reopen. 4. is plateau has led some experts to believe the U.S. never made it out of its first wave of COVID-19. Ashish Jha, MD, a professor of global health at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., told NPR, "We really never quite finished the first wave. And it doesn't look like we are going to anytime soon." 5. A "true" second wave may come later in the year, as more evidence is indicating that seasonality may be a big driver of a CO- VID-19 resurgence. Chris Murray, MD, the head of the University of Washington's Insti- tute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, told NPR: "We start to see a powerful increase that will be driven by seasonality starting in early September and these numbers will intensify through till February. So seasonal- ity will be a very big driver of the second wave." n HCA Healthcare to sell hospital, exit Mississippi By Ayla Ellison N ashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare has entered into an agreement to sell Garden Park Medical Center in Gulfport, Miss., to Singing River Health System. Pascagoula, Miss.-based Singing River Health System announced June 15 that it has entered into an asset pur- chase agreement to acquire the 130-bed hospital from HCA. The transaction, subject to customary approvals, is expected to be finalized this summer. Singing River Health System is acquiring the hospital after the two worked together on several initiatives, including the health system's cardiovascular program. "Garden Park is an outstanding facility, and we are excited for their strong team to join the Singing River Family," CEO Lee Bond said in a news release. "This is a natural next step for us because we have already worked to- gether on quality initiatives, we have likeminded service cultures and both share an unwavering commitment to excellence in all that we do." If the deal closes, HCA will no longer operate any hospi- tals in Mississippi. n Mass General Brigham cuts exec pay, projects $2B in losses By Ayla Ellison B oston-based Mass General Brigham, formerly Partners HealthCare, has cut executive pay, frozen wages for other workers and suspended retirement benefits to help offset financial damage linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Boston radio station WBUR. The health system has received $314 million in federal grants to help cover lost revenues and expenses caused by the pandemic, but it still predicts it could lose up to $2 billion by the end of the year. To help offset the projected shortfall, top Mass General Brigham executives will have their pay cut by 25 percent for one year, beginning July 1. Other leaders, including senior vice presidents, will have their pay reduced be- tween 5 percent and 20 percent, according to the report. The health system is also suspending retirement ben- efits and freezing wages for most employees. The health system's roughly 20,000 workers who make less than $26.50 an hour are exempt. The health system has also suspended capital projects and limited other spending to help avoid layoffs or furloughs. n

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