As the Covid-19 patient load reaches 35–the hospital is licensed for 113 beds–Dr. Paul Mucciolo, AdventHealth Palm Coast’s ER medical director until last year, and the Chief of Staff since, details the hospital’s response and challenges to a record surge.
Health Care Business
Ask the Doctor: Securing Your 2nd Vaccine Dose, Why So Little Supply, Death or Adverse Reactions
Dr. Stephen Bickel answers questions about the short supply of Covid vaccines, the potency of the first shot and what happens if the second shot is delayed, where to get the second shot, and specific questions on the vaccine’s content, adverse reactions and other issues.
Ask the Doctor: Visions of Vaccines Dance In Our Heads
FlaglerLive today is fortunate and proud to be launching the “Ask the Doctor” column, by Dr. Stephen Bickel, the medical director at the Flagler and Volusia Counties Health Departments. You are invited to submit your Covid, vaccine and other medical-related questions. Dr. Bickel will answer them here on a regular basis.
Is the Hobbled Distribution of Vaccines the Biggest Trump Screw Up Yet?
Some 7.7 million first doses of vaccines have been shipped to date (two million shots have been given), with a target of 16 million by the end of the year. This is warp speed?
More Than 2,900 Health Care Workers Died This Year. The Government Barely Kept Track.
Fatalities from the coronavirus among health workers have skewed young, with the majority of victims under age 60. People of color have been disproportionately affected, accounting for about 65% of deaths. Yet disinformation continues to paint the wrong picture about who’s dying.
Going Against CDC, DeSantis Orders Vaccine Priority for 65 and Older, Not Teachers and Other Essential Workers
The DeSantis order contradicts Centers for Disease Control guidelines issued on Tuesday that recommend that, once health care and long-term care workers and residents have received the vaccine, the next groups should not be defined only by age, but also by critical front-line jobs, including teachers and school employees, and underlying conditions.
Covid-19 Vaccinations Begin at AdventHealth Daytona Beach
None of the vaccines are available to the general public yet because of limited supply, with some estimates predicting that it will be more available in the spring.
Stetson Student Bryson Pritchard of Ormond Beach a Finalist in 2020 Collegiate Inventors Competition
The Dyad Syringe is a two-compartment syringe where the rear is pre-filled with saline and the front is empty, which allows health-care professionals to administer a specific dosage of medication to a patient before attaching the syringe to a Luer lock on an intravenous line (IV).
Herding People to Slaughter: The Dangerous Fringe Theory Behind the Push Toward Herd Immunity
Contrary to the so-called Great Barrington declaration’s claims, a herd immunity strategy, according to the memo, will surely cause a huge number of preventable deaths, run the risk of triggering recurrent epidemics, and potentially “overwhelm the ability of healthcare systems to provide acute and routine care.”
If Trump Wins, Don’t Hold Your Breath Waiting for That ACA Replacement Plan
Trump needs a contingency plan if the Supreme Court accepts his argument that the ACA should be overturned. The justices are scheduled to hear the case the week after Election Day. Administration health officials have pledged to have an alternative if the high court does as they ask. But they have refused to publicly share any details.
Florida Fails to Attract Bidders for Canada Drug Import Program Trump and DeSantis Touted
No private firms bid on Florida’s $30 million contract to set up and operate a drug importation program. Bids were due at the end of September. The setback is likely to delay by at least several months Florida’s effort to become the first state to import drugs.
I Endorse Jacinda Ardern
What country of 5 million has 300 fewer overall coronavirus cases than Flagler County, seven fewer covid-related deaths and zero mendacious elected officials who pat themselves on the back in the face of infections, suffering and cavalier attitudes?
A Real Vaccine Before the Election? It Would Take a Miracle.
There is a small chance that Pfizer’s vaccine trial will yield results by Nov. 3. But it could still take weeks for FDA review. Here’s everything that has to happen and how to tell a political stunt from a real vaccine.
DeSantis Lifts All Restrictions on Restaurants and Businesses and Prohibits Local Constraints
DeSantis is decoupling for good the connection between science and public health on one hand and the economy on the other, opting exclusively for a focus on business measures in hopes of spurring consumer confidence. That confidence, however, continues to lag as individuals’ apprehensions continue to drive behavior.
How Misinformation, Federalism and Selfishness Hampered America’s Virus Response
The American response to the pandemic, many public health experts say, has been uniquely hapless, ineffective, undisciplined and selfish. By some measures, the United States has handled the health crisis as badly as any country has.
Scientists Rely on Unproven Methods to Create Covid Vaccines, But Fauci Sees Breakthrough
With millions of lives on the line, researchers have been working at an unprecedented pace to develop a covid-19 vaccine. But that speed — and some widely touted breakthroughs — belie the enormous complexity and potential risks involved.
When Is a Coronavirus Test Not a Coronavirus Test?
Coronavirus testing in the United States has been bungled in every way imaginable. Tests are now widely available in many places, but results are often taking so long to come back that it is more or less pointless to get tested.
As Long Waits for Results Render Covid Tests ‘Useless,’ Florida Among States Seeking Workarounds
Quest announced that turnaround times had slowed to a week or more, up from three or four days in June. It also said some patients may face wait times of up to two weeks. Quest officials warned this week that could get worse as flu season starts this fall.
For Covid Tests, the Question of Who Pays Comes Down to Interpretation
Who pays when all employees are required to have a negative Covid test in order to return to work? Or if a factory tests workers every two weeks? Or just because someone wants to know for their own peace of mind?
Before a Fast-Track Covid-19 Vaccine, a Series of Challenges, Risks and Pitfalls
Scientists have expressed skepticism at the breakneck timetable put forward by some Trump administration officials, who say that 100 million doses of a vaccine could be available by November.
AdventHealth Adds Third Drive-Up Covid-19 Testing Site
The Sanford testing site joins sites at the Daytona International Speedway and at the Mall at Millenia in Orlando. Each site’s hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Orlando site will also be open this weekend from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Flagler EOC Gets 500 Test Kits in Preparation for Drive-In Site at DSC Campus; County Cases at 35; Florida Deaths Near 300
Flagler County’s emergency management division secured the 500 test kits in addition to those at the health department, and it hopes to secure more. The drive-in location will still be by appointment, with a focus on first responders, health workers and those over 65.
HIPAA Heist: Lethal Privacy In the Age of Coronavirus
Misapplications and misinterpretations of the federal medical privacy law known as HIPAA are conspiring to kill more of us than otherwise would die from the coronavirus. And officials are taking advantage of the law to cloak their failures.
What Takes So Long? A Behind-The-Scenes Look At The Steps Involved In COVID-19 Testing
Even for people who are able to get tested for the coronavirus, and there’s still a big lag in testing ability in hot spots across the U.S., there can be a frustratingly long wait for results — not just hours, but often days. Here are some answers why.
CDC Bungling of Coronavirus Testing Likely To Haunt Nation For Months To Come
The CDC distributed just 200 tests roughly equally to 100 public health labs in all 50 states in early February. That decision presaged weeks of chaos, in which the availability of COVID-19 tests seemed oddly out of sync with where testing was needed.
Coronavirus Prevention Is Not Overreaction: Flagler Schools Should Extend Spring Break
With the coronavirus and its many knowns and unknowns, what may look like an overreaction today is the most effective form of prevention, and should not be given the chance to look like playing catch-up weeks from now.
How Kidneys, Hearts and Other Lifesaving Organs For Transplant Go Missing In Transit
In a nation where nearly 113,000 people are waiting for transplants, scores of organs — mostly kidneys — are discarded after they don’t reach their destination in time.
Palm Coast Unveils UNF’s Futuristic MedNex Foothold in Town Center as Officials Lobby Lawmakers
Renderings of UNF’s MedNex project in Palm Coast’s Town Center, along with a new infographic about the innovative plan, are part of a lobbying offensive planned for next week by Palm Coast officials to advocate for the initiative.
Diagnosed With Dementia, She Documented Her End-of-Life Wishes. Caregivers Said No.
Nursing homes where people with dementia live their final days may refuse to honor the patients’ wishes to withhold food if is required by law to offer regular daily meals, with feeding assistance–or force-feeding–if necessary.
Physician Assistants and Certain Nurses Could Practice Independent of Doctors Under Proposed Law
Bill sponsor Cary Pigman, R-Avon Park, said the proposal (HB 607) would go a long way toward improving patients’ access to primary-care providers, especially in medically underserved areas of the state.
Elizabeth Warren’s Medicare For All: Unfair and Irresponsible
Elizabeth Warren’s Medicare for all proposal is right in principle but is not realistic, fair or honest and it ensures that Warren’s candidacy will not succeed at a time when a door knob should have the capabilities of defeating Donald Trump.
Behind AdventHealth’s da Vinci Robot, Sharp Improvements in Patients’ Recovery and Lesser Pain
Dr. Steven Brown, a surgeon behind the da Vinci robot at AdventHealth Palm Coast, described the machine’s successes through 1,000 surgeries at a Common Ground breakfast presented by the Chamber of Commerce this morning.
UNF’s MedNex Plan With Palm Coast as Hub Creating “A Lot of Buzz” as Committee Deliberates
University of North Florida President David Szymanski this morning briefed a committee of the university system’s Board of Governors on UNF’s plans for an innovative “medical nexus” that would include Palm Coast and AdventHealth as key partners.
Obamacare Premiums Will Fall 4% and Number of Insurers Will Increase By a Third
The news comes despite the Trump administration’s persistent attempts to undermine the Affordable Care Act, which created the market with the goal of providing comprehensive health coverage at affordable prices and reducing the number of Americans without health insurance.
Think ‘Medicare For All’ Is The Only Democratic Health Plan? Think Again
If you tuned in for the first five nights of the Democratic presidential debates, you might think “Medicare for All” and providing universal care are the only health care ideas Democrats have. They’re not.
New Round of Medicare Penalties Hits 2,583 Hospitals, Including All Local Hospitals in 3 Counties
Although Medicare began applying the penalties in 2012, disagreements continue about whether they have improved patient safety. On the positive side, they have encouraged hospitals to focus on how their patients recuperate, and some now assist them in procuring medications and follow-up appointments.
Let Medicare For All End Cruelty of Using Health Care Coverage as a Bargaining Chip
If we already had Medicare for All, the United Auto Workers could be using their collective power to fight for higher wages and better benefits. Instead, GM gets to use the health of its employees as a bargaining chip.
AdventHealth Names Katie Palacios Director of Strategic Program Management
Katie Palacios has been selected to serve as the director of strategic program management for the AdventHealth facilities in Flagler, Lake and Volusia counties.
Millions of Americans’ Medical Images and Data Are Available on the Internet. Anyone Can Take a Peek.
Medical images and health data belonging to millions of Americans, including X-rays, MRIs and CT scans, are sitting unprotected on the internet and available to anyone with basic computer expertise. The records cover more than 5 million patients in the U.S. and millions more around the world.
UNF Pitches Medical Hub in Palm Coast’s Town Center in Major Partnership With City, Schools and AdventHealth
The University of North Florida is submitting a $23 million request to the State Board of Governors that includes Palm Coast’s Town Center as a hub of an innovative concept of medical higher education that ties directly to medical-sector jobs in Northeast Florida, a concept UNF calls MedNex.
Despite Repeated Calls For Unity, Democrats Throw Debate Punches On Health Plans
Unity was in the air on Thursday, as a trimmed-down cast of 10 Democratic presidential candidates met on the debate stage again and nodded to the stakes: the possibility of another four years of President Donald Trump.
St. Augustine’s Flagler Hospital Planning Medical Inroad in AdventHealth’s Palm Coast Backyard, on Matanzas Woods Parkway
Flagler Hospital–now Flagler Health Plus–has a contract to buy 4 acres on Matanzas Woods Parkway, where it would build a small medical-village type development, down the road from AdventHealth’s planned stand-alone emergency room.
Among Hurdles For Those With Opioid Addictions: Getting The Drug To Treat It
Among the barriers to buprenorphine access: too few medical providers are certified to write the prescriptions. But pharmacists are also a part of the problem. Because they fill the prescriptions, pharmacists are the gatekeepers for the drug, and not all of them are willing to take on that role.
No Medicare For All, But Biden’s ‘Incremental’ Health Plan Still Would Be A Heavy Lift
The former vice president has specifically repudiated many of his Democratic rivals’ calls for a “Medicare for All” system and instead sought to build his plan on the ACA’s framework.
‘Shared Savings’ By Shopping For Lower Health Care Costs? Ballyhooed Florida Plan a Bust
The idea of Florida’s ballyhooed shared-savings programs is to give policyholders an incentive to look for cheaper health services. Early results show no such benefits.
Why Some CEOs Are Figuring Out That ‘Medicare For All’ Is Good For Business
As health costs continue to grow, straining employer budgets and slowing wage growth, CEOs and others in the business community are beginning to take the Medicare for All option more seriously.
Floridians Have a Right To Access Medical Malpractice Records. Shands Sues to Prevent That.
Under Florida law, patients have the right to access adverse medical incident reports, which can play an important role in malpractice cases. UF Health Jacksonville says federal privacy law trumps Florida’s constitutional amendment.
A ‘Precedent-Setting’ Suit Puts Opioid Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson On Trial, Starting Today
Johnson & Johnson is accused of overstating the benefits of opioids and understating their risks in marketing campaigns that duped doctors into prescribing the drugs for ailments not approved by regulators.
Senate Approves Vast Deregulation of Hospital Expansions and Opens Way For Canadian Drugs
Under longstanding law, hospitals have needed to seek certificates of need from the state Agency for Health Care Administration to build facilities or to add certain services.THat would be eliminated.
Flagler’s Improved Health Ranking Masks Poor Access to Care and Persistent Obesity and Smoking
Flagler’s health ranking jumped to 9th best in Florida, from 14th last year, in the latest rankings, but the jump masks continuing problems with access to primary and mental health physicians, continuing obesity, smoking and sexually transmitted diseases.