Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1293265
51 HEALTHCARE NEWS 'I'm fighting a war against COVID-19 and a war against stupidity,' says CMO of Houston hospital By Molly Gamble A fter two hours of sleep a night for four months and seeing a member of his team contract the virus, Jo- seph Varon, MD, is growing exasperated. "I'm pretty much fighting two wars: A war against COVID and a war against stupidi- ty," Dr. Varon, MD, CMO and chief of critical care at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, told NBC News. "And the problem is the first one, I have some hope about win- ning. But the second one is becoming more and more difficult." Dr. Varon noted that whether it's informa- tion backed by science or common sense, people throughout the U.S. are not listen- ing. "The thing that annoys me the most is that we keep on doing our best to save all these people, and then you get another batch of people that are doing exactly the opposite of what you're telling them to do." In an interview with NPR, Dr. Varon said he has woken up at dawn every day for the past four months and has headed to the hospital. There, he spends six to 12 hours on rounds before seeing new admissions. He then returns home to sleep two hours, at most. He said his staff is physically and emotion- ally drained. UMMC nurse Christina Mathers spoke with NBC News from a hospital bed in the seg- ment, noting that she had recently tested positive for COVID-19 after not feeling well during one of her shifts. "All the fighting, all the screaming, all the finger pointing — enough is enough," Ms. Mathers told NBC. "People just need to listen to us. We're not going to lie. Why would we lie?" Ms. Mathers has worked every other day since April 29, according to The Atlantic, which created a photo essay of Dr. Varon and the UMMC team at work. n Trump signs executive order to cement rural telehealth services: 3 things to know By Jackie Drees O n Aug. 3, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to expand access to telehealth services in rural communities and make certain services permanent once the COVID-19 public emergency ends. Three things to know: 1. To increase telehealth services and accessibility in rural hospitals, the order requires HHS to implement a new payment model tailored to the needs of rural communities, according to a news release. 2. Trump's order also calls for the federal government to deploy a joint initiative within 30 days focused on improving healthcare communica- tion infrastructure in rural areas. 3. The order will also extend availability of certain telehealth services after the pandemic ends, building upon CMS' previous expansions al- lowing physicians to provide telehealth services across state lines and boosting reimbursement rates. n Texas hospital exits $20M Cerner EHR contract By Jackie Drees N acogdoches (Texas) Memorial Hospital terminated a $20 million contract with Cerner this week, opting to instead remain using its current Cerner EHR rather than transitioning to the vendor's Community Works platform. e hospital had delayed finishing the new Cerner EHR system several times, most recently until this year or later, according to a July 29 Daily Sentinel report. While Nacogdoches Memorial will not move forward with the new EHR system, it will con- tinue using its Soarian EHR, which Cerner acquired as part of its Siemens Health Services acquisition in 2015. Nacogdoches accrued about $20 million in debt from the Community Works con- tract, which it settled for a $1.01 million termination fee and paid an additional $2.07 million, according to the report. In a July 30 memo emailed to Becker's, the hospital's IT director Norman Moore said: "e termination of the Cerner Community Works project was a tough decision for all parties involved. Cerner worked with us and allowed us out of the contract because of our great working relationship and we all felt it was best for our hospital at this time." Nacogdoches Memorial had entered the Cerner Community Works before the hospi- tal's previous CEO Scott Street resigned in 2017, according to KTRE news. "Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital remains a valued client and partner," a Cerner spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Becker's. "We look forward to continu- ing to work with them. While the hospital and Cerner reached an agreement to end one part of their contract, the hospital will continue to use Cerner solutions across their health system." n