June 10, 2020 From Judge Chad Sims– Today we have NO new positive cases of COVID-19 in Harrison County but we do have 6 recoveries to report!

Total Positive Cases – 260
Total Fatalities – 26
Total Recoveries – 160
Total Active Cases – 74

Cases are still on the rise in Texas as a whole. Particular hotspots include meat-packing plants and prisons. Simple logic tells us to avoid crowds and confined spaces. So the opposite is also true: we should enjoy some time outside and stay out of jail. Don’t forget to wash your hands frequently and be mindful of our elderly population.

 

From Johns Hopkins

     1. Gilead’s Remdesivir Prevents Lung Damage in COVID-19 Study on Monkeys (Reuters) Gilead Sciences Inc’s (GILD.O) antiviral drug remdesivir prevented lung disease in macaque monkeys infected with the new coronavirus, according to a study published in the journal Nature on Tuesday.

 

     2. Sustaining Rural Hospitals After COVID-19: The Case for Global Budgets (JAMA) The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a financial stress test for US hospitals. Revenues have declined from the suspension of elective procedures and nonessential services, and many hospitals have experienced a surge of critically ill patients. These circumstances have created an unprecedented challenge for rural hospitals, many of which entered the crisis in poor financial condition due to the loss of patients to regional referral centers and rural depopulation. (MORE ON THIS BELOW)

 

Rural hospitals provide a public good. These facilities are often the principal source of acute care for communities that have substantial public health challenges, including an aging population, poverty, and the opioid epidemic, and are often an important component of the economy of rural communities.6 The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of financing these hospitals on a fee-for-service model. The long recovery from the pandemic is likely to prompt reconsideration of how the US finances rural hospital care. With thoughtful planning and implementation, global budgets may have an important role in preserving rural hospitals and positioning them to adapt to changing community needs.

 

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a financial stress test for US hospitals.1,2 Revenues have declined from the suspension of elective procedures and nonessential services, and many hospitals have experienced a surge of critically ill patients. These circumstances have created an unprecedented challenge for rural hospitals, many of which entered the crisis in poor financial condition due to the loss of patients to regional referral centers and rural depopulation.3 Of the 4663 acute care hospitals in the US, approximately 47% are located in rural areas across 49 states.4 The added financial strain of COVID-19 has the potential to accelerate the closure of rural hospitals, draining health care resources and jobs from rural communities that have lost 130 hospitals since 2010.5,6

 

…Consequently, a hospital operating on this payment model might be more willing to invest in low-margin services that yield substantial public health benefits (eg, treatment for individuals with substance use disorder, obstetrical care) compared with a hospital operating on a fee-for-service model. A global budget may also relieve pressure on hospitals to make investments in high-margin elective services, such as orthopedic surgery and cancer surgery, that they may consider necessary for short-term survival, but could undermine long-term sustainability as patients increasingly migrate to high-volume referral centers for care. Now, COVID-19 has substantially reduced any near-term prospects of profitability from these services.

 

 

 

3 PUNS FOR A SLOW NEWS DAY:

 

1. A backward poet writes inverse.

 

2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall.
One turns to the other and   says, ‘Dam!’

 

 3. A crazy wife says to her husband that moose are falling from the sky. The husband says, it’s reindeer