The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is strongly recommending medical practices go through the process of registering to be a COVID-19 vaccinator, regardless of whether the intention is to vaccinate patients. Being enrolled will allow small practices to have the option to vaccinate their own staff once the vaccine becomes available. The process to enroll can take time, so it is important not to delay. DPH has updated their vaccine enrollment instructions for interested practices. Read Vaccine Enrollment Instructions. For answers to questions please email COVIDVaccine@delaware.gov.

Governor John Carney, the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), and the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) have released the list of community testing sites throughout Delaware scheduled for next week, including pop-up and Curative trailer sites, as well as community sites hosted by New Castle County. View list.

The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) has reported the state’s first COVID-19 related death of a child since the start of the pandemic. The death involves a child under the age of 5 from New Castle County who had a significant number of co-morbidities. Additional details about the individual will not be provided to protect patient privacy.

Read more.

Additional demographic data on COVID-19 cases and deaths, including race/ethnicity, more age-specific data and COVID rate information by ZIP code, and information on Delaware's contact tracing efforts can be found on the Division of Public Health's My Healthy Community data portal. 

Governor John Carney today signed the fifth revision to the omnibus emergency order, continuing the restrictions, including the Stay-at-Home advisory and universal indoor mask mandate, to combat the increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations in Delaware. Beginning today, the 10 p.m. curfew at Delaware restaurants and bars will be lifted, but establishments still must have signage prominently displayed on the table stating that parties must be from the same household and share messaging on masking compliance. Read more.

Registration is now open for the annual DE Section of ACOG Maternal Health Awareness Day 2021. This year’s event will be held virtually and is scheduled for Saturday, January 23 at 9:00 a.m. The agenda will focus on addressing racial disparities in women’s health. Registration is free, but required. View agenda. To register.

Join us for the MSD Virtual Insurance Payer Workshop on Thursday, January 28, from 9:00 a.m. – noon. Learn the latest on changes and updates by the major insurance payers for 2021. Representatives from Aetna, AmeriHealth Caritas, Highmark, United Healthcare, and CMS are invited to participate. To register.

Beebe Medical Center has announced they were was notified by Blackbaud, a third-party data management company, that it had discovered and stopped a ransomware attack that occurred on February 7, 2020, and continued until May 20, 2020. In November 2020, Blackbaud provided additional notification that Beebe data was in fact contained within the impacted database. While Blackbaud prevented the cybercriminal from encrypting Blackbaud data, the cybercriminal was able to remove a copy of a subset of constituent data from several of Blackbaud’s clients, including Beebe Medical Center. No Social Security numbers or financial account numbers were impacted as a result of this incident. Read more.

The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) has released the 2020 Delaware State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP). The plan describes how DPH and the community it serves will work together to improve the health of Delaware's population. Communities, stakeholders, and partners can use the SHIP to set priorities, direct the use of resources, and develop and implement projects, programs, and policies. The four priority areas are chronic disease, maternal and child health, substance use disorder, and mental health. Read executive summary. Read full plan.

MSD's Membership Department is pleased to announce the newest members of the Medical Society of Delaware. Welcome to the third oldest medical society in the country!

If you know someone interested in joining the Medical Society of Delaware, please contact Michelle Seymour at 302-224-4905 or Michelle.Seymour@medsocdel.org.

MSD members are afforded a seven day review period from the date of this publication to comment regarding an applicant applying for membership. Please contact Mary LaJudice at (302) 224-5183 or Mary.LaJudice@medsocdel.org with any questions or concerns.