Chris Comisac
HARRISBURG A recent report by the New York Times showing Pennsylvania has six of the top 10 nursing homes with COVID-19 deaths has Republican state lawmakers calling on Gov. Tom Wolf and his administration to make good on its promises to protect the vulnerable long-term care facility population.
“The data and information available suggest the Wolf administration has not taken its pledges to protect nursing homes and long-term care facilities and their residents seriously enough,” said state Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair, who chaired the Senate Aging and Youth Committee during the 2019-20 legislative session.
According to the Times report, the national average for nursing home deaths due to COVID-19 is 38%, but in Pennsylvania it’s 60%, which is the sixth-highest percentage in the nation. Additionally, of the top 10 facilities for virus deaths, six are Pennsylvania-based facilities, with Fair Acres Geriatric Center of Lima, Pa., the site with the most deaths in the
MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG Nearly a third of the $110 million that Pennsylvania spent on personal protective equipment and ventilators in the early months of the pandemic went toward face shields, a relatively niche item for which there wasn’t as much demand as for other kinds, according to an Associated Press tally.
In part, the state spent so much money on face shields because that’s what was available amid the national rush to find medical equipment, officials said.
A survey of state agencies found Pennsylvania paid more than $35 million for the clear plastic face shields, which must be used in tandem with cloth or N95 masks to be effective. Spending on N95 respirator masks and other types of masks, for which there was much greater need, was just over $22 million during the same period.
Dec 19, 2020
HARRISBURG (AP) Nearly a third of the $110 million that Pennsylvania spent on personal protective equipment and ventilators in the early months of the pandemic went toward face shields, a relatively niche item for which there wasn’t as much demand as for other kinds, according to an Associated Press tally.
In part, the state spent so much money on face shields because that’s what was available amid the national rush to find medical equipment, officials said.
A survey of state agencies found Pennsylvania paid more than $35 million for the clear plastic face shields, which must be used in tandem with cloth or N95 masks to be effective. Spending on N95 respirator masks and other types of masks, for which there was much greater need, was just over $22 million during the same period.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed 9,834 additional positive cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the statewide total to 548,489
There are 6,147 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. Of that number, 1,232 patients are in the intensive care unit with COVID-19.
Most of the patients hospitalized are ages 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older.
Statewide percent positivity for the week of December 4 - December 10 stood at 16.2%.
As of 11:59 p.m. Friday, December 18, there were 217 new deaths reported for a total of 13,825 deaths attributed to COVID-19.In nursing and personal care homes, there are 47,189 resident cases of COVID-19, and 8,616 cases among employees, for a total of 55,805 at 1,428 distinct facilities in all 67 counties. Out of our total deaths, 8,065 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities.
Pennsylvania spent $35 million on plastic face shields as coronavirus pandemic hit
Updated Dec 19, 2020;
Posted Dec 19, 2020
Toni Gomacki, L.P.N., 51, left, performs a COVID-19 test on Curtis Morrow, 60, of Erie, outside the John Horan Apartments on Sept. 29, 2020, in Erie, Pa. (Christopher Millette/Erie Times-News via AP, file)AP
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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Nearly a third of the $110 million that Pennsylvania spent on personal protective equipment and ventilators in the early months of the pandemic went toward face shields, a relatively niche item for which there wasn’t as much demand as for other kinds, according to an Associated Press tally.