Hospitals cut elective surgeries

Rising coronavirus cases threaten ability to handle extra patients

Major South Florida hospitals announced plans Wednesday to restrict elective surgeries, as the resurgence of coronavirus dashed hopes that the state had come through the worst of the epidemic.

Jackson Health System, Memorial Healthcare and Baptist Health said they will limit in-patient elective surgeries, as rising coronavirus caseloads threatened to put pressure on their ability to handle more patients.

“As Jackson Health System continues to see a steady increase in the number of COVID-19 patients being admitted to our hospitals, we will limit inpatient surgeries and procedures to emergency and urgent cases only, effective next Monday, July 6,” Jackson Health said in a statement. “Our clinical leadership has been working diligently throughout this pandemic to ensure that safety of our patients and employees is paramount.”

The decisions illustrate the darkening picture of the disease in Florida, where steps to reopen have run up against a series of record one-day totals for new cases over the past week. Attempting to slow the disease before it pushes hospitals to their limits, authorities took action this week to pull back, announcing a series of moves designed to limit opportunities for people to congregate at bars, restaurants

partments and health care facilities should be aware that people who are homeless are a particularly vulnerable group” to becoming infected by the coronavirus. That’s because homeless services are provided “in congregate settings, which could facilitate the spread of infection.”

In addition, many of the homeless are older adults or have underlying medical conditions.

Florida is in the midst of a monthlong surge in COVID-19 cases. On Wednesday, the state added 6,563 new coronavirus cases, for a total of at least 158,997.

Even without the extended moratorium, many renters would have been shielded from evictions in many instances because they receive U.S. government subsidies or their apartments were purchased with the help of federally back loans.

A federal moratorium against evictions started March 27 and will remain in force through July 25. Landlords of covered properties are barred from sending three-day notices of non-payment and from filing new eviction cases during the period. They also may not charge fees or interest for late payments. After July 25, landlords may serve 30-day notices and file evictions.

According to the Miami justice project, properties covered under the federal moratorium include:

■ Those with federally backed mortgages (FHA, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, VA, HUD, USDA);

■ Properties receiving low-income housing tax credits;

■ Public housing;

■ Section 8 housing (vouchers and projectbased units);

■ Properties providing housing for the elderly, people with disabilities, homeless and people with AIDS with support from federal programs

■ USDA and rural housing programs under the Department of Agriculture, including rural housing vouchers.

Judges in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties have affirmed federal protections for as many as 250,000 tenants in South Florida who have failed to pay rent.

The orders require landlords seeking evictions for nonpayment to disclose to the court whether their tenants receive federal rent subsidies or whether the apartments are being purchased by the owners with federally backed mortgage loans.

Bradley Hunter, South Florida analyst for the real estate services firm RCLCO, said most of the renters behind on their monthly payments are lower income workers in hospitality and other service industries.

“You have a lot of people who are hourly workers or service workers — people who work in the hospitality industry or restaurant and tourist-related activities are a large section of the population and they are ones most at risk,” he said.

Even though many are receiving an $600 a week in federally funded unemployment benefits, that money will expire at the end of July and it is uncertain whether Congress will agree to extend the payments or create a new program.

“That money might not be in the same amount,” he said. “That could mean people who are avoiding delinquency on the rents are going to start missing payments … and getting evicted.”

Although the state’s economy has been reopened since May, the pace of recalling laid-off workers has not been fast enough for a number of families and individuals. They need to assemble cash quickly to catch up and stay current with monthly payments for a roof over their heads while also keeping cars on the road and food on the table.

Part of the pressure on the renters and homeowners is driven by a continued weakness in the small business labor market, where job retention is spotty because loan money from a federal payroll protection program is running out.

A survey of members released Wednesday by the Florida arm of the National Federation of Independent Business shows that owners are trimming payrolls as Paycheck Protection Program loans come to the end of their eight-week forgiveness period and sales have not rebounded.

Forgiveness terms for the loans generally require owners to keep payrolls at pre-crisis levels except under certain circumstances, but many owners received their loans in April and could not afford to keep workers past June.

In addition, a massive flood of unemployment claims that overwhelmed the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity has prevented many people from acquiring vital temporary financial relief from the state and federal governments.

The state’s unemployment rate for May soared to 14.5%, the highest for any month in years. Broward County’s rate was a stunning 16% while joblessness in Palm Beach and MiamiDade counties exceeded 11%.

The DEO, however, has paid out more than $8.2 billion in state and federal benefits to more than 1.5 million people who have been unemployed statewide since mid-March, according to the agency’s own figures. The benefits payments along with federal grant and loan programs propping up businesses during the pandemic may have combined to play a role in abating the filings of personal bankruptcies since March. According to figures compiled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Florida, the number of filings in April and May of 2019 exceeded those filed during the same months of this year by roughly 2 to 1.