Healthcare, News

Checking Up On Health: January 18, 2021

Life after COVID-19 for ‘long-haulers’ Medical Monday: A weekly post of healthcare- and technology-related policy news, views and commentaries. By Benita M. Dodd A dear young friend and colleague tested for COVID-19 around Thanksgiving and, after quarantining and treatment, he recovered from his mild symptoms. As too many Americans are discovering post-COVID, however,  recovering from the novel coronavirus doesn’t mean their health issues are over. Under the impression his acquired immunity and return to health meant all was well,  when he started feeling unwell early this year, he thought he … Continue Reading →

Foundation News, Healthcare

Checking Up On Health: January 11, 2021

Medical Monday: A weekly post of healthcare- and technology-related policy news, views and commentaries. Mutating virus: The first case of the U.K. coronavirus variant has been reported in Georgia, an 18-year-old man with no travel history, the Georgia Department of Public Health reported January 5. The state became the fifth to report a case of the variant, following New York, California, Florida and Colorado.   Resistant COVID-19: The lead researcher in Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine trials in South Africa told CBS that country has seen more than 13 coronavirus variants since the start of the … Continue Reading →

Healthcare, News

Checking Up On Health: December 14, 2020

Medical Monday: A weekly post of healthcare- and technology-related policy news, views and commentaries. COVID-19 vaccine arrives: Frontline healthcare workers in New York became the first to receive Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine today, just a day after Pfizer began shipping the first doses to hospitals December 13, The New York Times reported.The first vaccines arrived in Atlanta today but, according to 11Alive TV news, it was not clear whether Atlanta was a destination or distribution point for the vaccines. View Georgia’s official COVID-19 status report here. According to the draft plan … Continue Reading →

Healthcare

Checking Up On Health: December 7, 2020

Medical Monday: A weekly post of healthcare- and technology-related policy news, views and commentaries. The holiday season is upon us. It’s true that “Seasonal Affective Disorder” – appropriately, SAD – may have been somewhat debunked, but the fact is that depression and sadness will be especially widespread over Christmas as COVID-19 surges anew. Nursing home residents and rehab center patients must endure the holidays without family visits, in most cases, as must many hospital patients. Stressed-out medical professionals will be overwhelmed by patients and, perhaps, short on patience, short on … Continue Reading →

Healthcare, News

Checking Up On Health: November 30, 2020

Medical Monday: A weekly post of healthcare- and technology-related policy news, views and commentaries. Many Thanksgiving family gatherings were canceled because of COVID-19. Many relatives avoided gatherings to minimize the risk of infection. Some who attended social gatherings over the holiday are now in quarantine or worse – infected – because someone turned up asymptomatic but infected or now suspect they might be. Expect another surge in infections beginning this week. It hit close to home for us: My son and his family were unable to join us because a … Continue Reading →

Healthcare, News

Checking Up On Health: November 16, 2020

Medical Monday: A weekly post of healthcare- and technology-related policy news, views and commentaries. You can expect a lot of pushback as COVID-19 numbers climb around the nation. Before you panic, today Becker’s Hospital Review ranked the states where the novel coronavirus is spreading fastest and those where it’s spreading slowest. Do you know where Georgia ranks? Find out here. What are the odds? Assess your risk of contracting COVID-19 at an event this holiday season using a tool created by Georgia Tech researchers. The COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool examines … Continue Reading →

Healthcare

Checking Up On Health: November 2, 2020

Medical Monday: A weekly post of healthcare- and technology-related policy news, views and commentaries. COVID-19 has affected everything this year, including the election. To avoid the long lines and waits caused by pandemic precautions and a shortage of poll workers, many voters chose to vote absentee or early in-person. Georgia’s Secretary of State predicted the surge of early voting will ease lines on Tuesday. As of October 31, Georgia reported 3,902,961 voters had cast their ballots early in-person, while 1,215,438 absentee ballots had been returned. Georgia has 7.6 million registered … Continue Reading →

Healthcare

Checking Up On Health: October 26, 2020

Checking Up On Health: October 26, 2020 Compiled by Benita M. Dodd A Medical Monday post of healthcare- and technology-related policy news, views and commentaries. Prevention vs. cure. As someone who lives with vitiligo and must avoid the sun, Vitamin D3 is an essential daily supplement for me. For all others, exposure to about 15 minutes a day of sunlight synthesizes D3 – “the sunshine vitamin” –  naturally. But there has been a growing deficiency, especially in the developed world, among those who are older, those spend most of their time … Continue Reading →

Healthcare

Checking Up On Health: October 19, 2020

Checking Up On Health We’re back! After a three-year hiatus, “Checking Up On Health” is returning to the Foundation’s pages as part of Medical Monday. Look for our weekly healthcare- and technology-related policy news, views and commentaries. Looking back: President Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis, treatment and apparent speedy recovery have been in the spotlight, especially amid the heated upcoming presidential election. This president isn’t the first to have to deal with illness during his term. Today, everyone knows about FDR’s polio, but it wasn’t common knowledge among voters then. Did you … Continue Reading →

Foundation News, Healthcare

Foundation Signs National Letter on Healthcare Reforms

The following is an open letter published September 23, 2020, to the American people from 68 leaders participating in the Health Policy Consensus Group. The full list of signatories, who include Kyle Wingfield and Chris Denson, follows the letter. What’s Needed for Health Care Reform: Personalized Care That Puts You and Your Doctor in Charge The nation faces a clear choice between two paths for America’s health care future: One path is largely controlled by the government, where you get few choices and no options to escape. The other is controlled by you … Continue Reading →

Healthcare, In The Press

On COVID-19, Don’t Let the Perfect be the Enemy of the Good

This commentary by Dr. Gary Voccio, Director of Public Health for Northwest Georgia, was published May 3 in Hometown Headlines of Greater Rome and is excerpted with permission. By Dr. Gary Voccio Are we ready to open up? Doesn’t matter. We’re going to; we can’t exist otherwise. The real question is how we reopen in a way that gives us our best chance to stay open. If we do it wrong, the pandemic will speed up again, our hospitals will get overrun again, and we’ll need to go into lockdown … Continue Reading →

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Friday Facts, Healthcare, Taxes & Spending, Transportation

Friday Facts: October 11, 2019

It’s Friday! Events November 15: The agenda is online for the 2019 Georgia Legislative Policy Forum, which features nearly two dozen policy experts and leaders on issues affecting Georgia: education, healthcare, opportunity, regulation and transportation. Registration is $100 for the daylong event on Friday, November 15, at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly. The theme: “Wisdom, Justice, Mobility.” Read about it here; register here. Quotes of note  “Americans chose a free enterprise system designed to provide equality of opportunity, not compel equality of results. And that is why this is only place … Continue Reading →