I just submitted this to the Omaha World-Herald editor:
(I wanted to keep it short, it's just 199 words. Not sure if it'll get published and I'm okay with it. Hospital administration is not my strongest subject. Here in Omaha the current hot button issue is an "emergency" mask mandate proclaimed by our County Health Director. She has no…
I just submitted this to the Omaha World-Herald editor:
(I wanted to keep it short, it's just 199 words. Not sure if it'll get published and I'm okay with it. Hospital administration is not my strongest subject. Here in Omaha the current hot button issue is an "emergency" mask mandate proclaimed by our County Health Director. She has no such legal authority. Thankfully most people are not complying. A legal hearing is set for Monday January 24th).
Topic: COVID-19 treatment in hospitals
My father-in-law was recently in the hospital. Twice. Neither hospitalization was for COVID-19.
My wife and I took our kids to visit him. The hospital was eerily quiet. Different than I remember.
It got me wondering about the way things have changed over these past two years.
Hospitals have received tremendous financial incentives during the pandemic. Did the financial incentives help?
In the beginning of the pandemic and during its height, a one-size fits all financially policy seemed to be appropriate. However, now that treatments exist and the dominant variant is less severe, what if state and federal hospital subsidies and reimbursements for COVID-19 treatment were tied to patient outcomes?
Why should hospitals receive financial incentives if a COVID patient dies? What if that deceased patient was fully vaccinated?
What if we ended state and federal subsidies for COVID and began treating it the same as the common cold or flu?
What if we simply stopped giving so much attention to COVID?
My questions might never be answered, but I have a feeling the less we talk about and the less we worry about COVID, it’ll eventually become just another type of common cold.
I just submitted this to the Omaha World-Herald editor:
(I wanted to keep it short, it's just 199 words. Not sure if it'll get published and I'm okay with it. Hospital administration is not my strongest subject. Here in Omaha the current hot button issue is an "emergency" mask mandate proclaimed by our County Health Director. She has no such legal authority. Thankfully most people are not complying. A legal hearing is set for Monday January 24th).
Topic: COVID-19 treatment in hospitals
My father-in-law was recently in the hospital. Twice. Neither hospitalization was for COVID-19.
My wife and I took our kids to visit him. The hospital was eerily quiet. Different than I remember.
It got me wondering about the way things have changed over these past two years.
Hospitals have received tremendous financial incentives during the pandemic. Did the financial incentives help?
In the beginning of the pandemic and during its height, a one-size fits all financially policy seemed to be appropriate. However, now that treatments exist and the dominant variant is less severe, what if state and federal hospital subsidies and reimbursements for COVID-19 treatment were tied to patient outcomes?
Why should hospitals receive financial incentives if a COVID patient dies? What if that deceased patient was fully vaccinated?
What if we ended state and federal subsidies for COVID and began treating it the same as the common cold or flu?
What if we simply stopped giving so much attention to COVID?
My questions might never be answered, but I have a feeling the less we talk about and the less we worry about COVID, it’ll eventually become just another type of common cold.