Census Bureau: Community Resilience Estimates
The U.S. Census Bureau has developed a tool using newly developed experimental estimates that will help measure the degree of a community’s resilience in the face of disasters and other emergencies.
As post-acute providers continue to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing for the impending flu season, it's important to remember that other disasters or emergencies can also effect our patient populations at home.
The Census Bureau is using a new Community Resilience Estimates tool that will allow you to see the capacity of individuals and households that may endure and recover “from the health, social, and economic impacts of a disaster” such as a pandemic or a heatwave. The tool includes many filters such as state, counts or percentages, or population range. We hope that you will find this tool valuable as you continue to monitor the effects of the pandemic, and other occurrences, on your respective communities. |
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Red Cross Emergency Preparedness
Dealing with unexpected natural disasters and even the anticipated challenges such as flu season during a pandemic can be challenging. The Red Cross wants to help arm you with online preparedness resources to help facilities like yours prepare for disasters during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Red Cross website features a “Red Cross Interactive Map” which will identify likely or potential disasters in your area. Also included on the website is the “Red Cross Emergency Library”. This Library can be a go-to resource for your patients and your facilities to reference to stay safe. The Library includes safety tips regarding the flu, floods, hurricanes, heat waves, food safety, and many other potential events. Our SWHR Post-Acute team encourages you to familiarize yourself with these safety tips, and also educate our patients on what they can do at home to prepare for any of these events.
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Social Determinants of Health Reminder
In our last issue, we introduced our Social Determinants of Health program. Please reach out to our team if you find that one of our patients is struggling with issues such as medication, transportation, and eviction notices so that we might help. As a reminder, this program is not available to patients on service with Hospice.
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7 Promising Signs Amid the Pandemic
Last week, UT Southwestern Medical Center published an article outlining seven signs to watch that could point toward the end of the pandemic in DFW. Among the most promising of the signs are research efforts, which include more than 180 investigational studies, biomedical research, and clinical trials being conducted at the university.
UTSW also noted that testing has become more readily accessible in the DFW market and doctors are seeing more treatment therapies working within the hospitals. To read the full list of encouraging signs, please visit https://utswmed.org/medblog/covid-19-positive-signs/
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VNA Meals on Wheels
This week, we would like to recognize one of our partners, the Visiting Nurse Association, and their volunteer Meals on Wheels program. This has been an important program for our patients that they are happy to announce is back in action! Thank you VNA for your continued dedication to improving the health and happiness of your patients during this challenging time!
If any of our home health or hospice partners has a positive, uplifting story to share, please contact our Post-Acute team to be featured in a future newsletter. Click "reply" to this email or use the Contact Us button below!
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NOTE FROM MICHELLE MIRKOVIC
It is with mixed feelings that I announce I will be taking on a new role with SWHR. I have truly enjoyed my time as one of the first Post-Acute Engagement Specialists as well as my past year as Manager of the UM Team. I am sad to leave my current team, I but look forward to my new position as Program Director for Regulatory and Value-Based Care. At SWHR, we are committed to population health in the DFW market and continuing to discover new ways to improve the health and well-being of our members in this community. I know that I am leaving the Post-Acute Engagement Team in good hands with Mike Beaty! He has been an excellent addition to this team and will continue to improve the JOC processes even further. Barb Gardetto is still the supervisor for the Home Health UM Team and will continue to be your home health contact and advocate. Thank you all for your continued partnership!!
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Your feedback matters! Please let us know how we can help provide the most pertinent and helpful information for your business and your patients by clicking the button below. |
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To ensure you continue to receive these communications to your inbox, rather than spam or junk folders, please add swhrnews@southwesternhealth.org to your email contacts. For additional information contact:
Mike Beaty, Network Engagement Specialist
Barbara Gardetto, Supervisor of Home Health UM and DME Team
817-614-8105 | Barbara.gardetto@southwesternhealth.org
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