We ensure quality care through
Interim Management, Skilled Monitoring, and Reinvention
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Greetings!
We welcome you back for a new year of curated health news and we are excited to start 2021 with some of the best stories we have offered. The U.S. and European data is highlighted immediately below. Because of the terrible surge in the U.S., we suggest that you jump to The New York Times’ excellent presentation of the data.
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On Jan. 4, 2021 in the U.S., there were 190,165 new cases with a total of 21,353,651 cases; on the 4th there were 1,987 deaths and the U.S. death total has reached 362,123.
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In Italy on Jan. 4, there were 10,797 new cases and on that day Italy had 348 deaths, (75,600 total Covid-19 deaths). These numbers are approximately the same as our report two weeks ago.
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In France on Jan. 4, there were 4,022 new cases, with a total of 2,659,750 total cases. There were 453 deaths on the 4th with a total of 65,862 Covid-19 deaths in France. In comparison to data reported two weeks ago, France had approximately 25 percent fewer new cases and 25 percent more deaths.
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Germany on Jan. 4, reported 12,056 new cases; there have been 1,796,216 total cases. There were 877 deaths (35,982 total Covid-19 deaths in Germany). In comparison to data reported two weeks ago, Germany had approximately 35% fewer new cases and 334 more deaths.
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On Jan. 4, the United Kingdom had 58,784 new cases and 2,713,563 total cases. There were 451 new deaths, increasing the UK’s Covid death total to 65,862. The UK has moved to fifth (behind the U.S., India, Brazil, and Russia) on the worldwide total cases’ list. The number of new cases and new deaths are approximately double what we reported two weeks ago and, as a result, the UK is now in a nation-wide lockdown.
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On Jan. 4, Canada, with a total population of 37,848,178, had moved from 30th in early December to 25th on the worldwide total cases list. Canada had 49,761 new cases; 611,424 total cases. On Jan. 4, Canada had 209 deaths for a total of 16,074 deaths.
As to California, Victoria Colliver, Politico’s California health care and politics reporter, offers some of the best reporting on and analysis of the California Covid-19 surge. Our teaser quote offers us a key insight, “Andrew Noymer, a University of California, Irvine associate professor of population, health, and disease prevention, said people often look to California’s status as a deep blue state to suggest that left-leaning residents uniformly agree with lockdown protocols and believe in staying home. But that ignores a large share of residents who feel otherwise, even if they aren't a majority. ‘In politics, 40 percent doesn't carry the day, but 40 percent can drive the epidemic,’ Noymer said. ‘California is deep blue, but … from the virus’s perspective, we're a lot more purple than people give us credit for.’”
We stay in California for a New Yorker article whose author Jay Caspian Kang is a neighbor of Ms. Colliver (and other favorite contributors and readers) in the neighborhood surrounding College Ave., a street that runs from Berkeley to Oakland. Looking back at the AIDS pandemic, historical and current community organizing, and the role of public health programs in the Bay area, Kang documents: “What the San Francisco Bay Area can teach us about fighting a pandemic.” Please use our links to these two cannot-miss articles.
The Economist offers a brief look at “The World in 2021: What to expect in year two of the pandemic.”
We conclude with a deep dive (both as to the critical looks offered and the exposure of evil) into long term care. Five articles on skilled nursing and assisted living are divided into two topics. For the initial look at the Skilled Nursing Industry, we turn to the two leading industry publications Skilled Nursing News (SNN) and McKnight’s Senior Living for a look at challenges that the industry faces. Alex Spanko, one of the two lead reporters at SNN, offers “Regulatory reform, quality of life: The top nursing home trends of 2021.” Alex tells us that “Covid-19 completely wiped out the predictions we had made for 2020.” Yet, even with a reticence to make predictions as to what could happen, Spanko offers the following insight into what should happen: “What should be the most obvious trend to anyone who has followed the sector this year, regulatory changes at all levels of government will – and must – begin to reshape nursing home care across the country.” Shorter and equally important to read is McKnight’s effort at bringing us the bad news both first and second in “$3 billion addition to Provider Relief Fund ‘falls woefully short,’ provider groups say” and “Pandemic may put 56 percent of assisted living operators out of business in a year.” If you have not already, sign up for the daily – no cost newsletters from these great publications.
Always a key topic and a focus of your Curators’ professional practice is crime and lack of punishment in and among long-term care providers. Over the almost year of Revitalize, we have read hundreds of articles; E. Tammy Kims’ “This is why nursing homes failed so badly” is one of best in painting a complete and accurate picture of the Covid-19 impact on skilled nursing.
The Washington Post’s “How Brius, California’s largest nursing home chain, amassed millions as scrutiny mounted” offers a look at California’s largest nursing home chain. Both our sponsor and our publisher have had a front-row seat in the many years battle over the Rechnitz family empire that have involved federal and state regulators, resident rights/protection organizations, many many attorneys – and lots of excellent reporting.
From our virtual offices in Culver City, the many great now take-out-only cafes and restaurants on College Avenue, two different publications in Chicago and suburbs, and reporters and researchers across the world, this is Revitalize for Jan. 6, 2021. :
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Revitalize: The week in health-care news you need
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Locked-down California runs out of reasons for surprising surge.
What the San Francisco Bay Area can teach us about fighting a pandemic.
The World in 2021: What to expect in year two of the pandemic. Vaccines and cheap, rapid tests should make a difference.
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Some health care workers refuse COVID-19 vaccine, even with priority access. Doubts among healthcare workers could have serious implications for public health, say experts.
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The vast majority of nursing home residents remain unvaccinated.
America's vaccine rollout: What went wrong.
Regulatory reform, quality of life: The top nursing home trends of 2021. Each January, SNN predicts the trends that will sweep the industry. In 2021, the task has never been harder. Covid-19 completely wiped out the predictions for 2020, a year that began with the looming specter of clawbacks related to the Patient-Driven Payment Model.
$3 billion addition to Provider Relief Fund ‘falls woefully short,’ provider groups say.
Pandemic may put 56 percent of assisted living operators out of business in a year: survey
This is why nursing homes failed so badly. The first coronavirus outbreak in the United States happened in a nursing home in February. Since then, it’s only gotten worse.
How Brius, California’s largest nursing home chain amassed millions as scrutiny mounted.
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Jerry Seelig, CEO
Fax: 310-841-2842
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