Hospitals getting millions in relief
AdventHealth has received a total of $75 million and Orlando Health more than $50 million from the federal government as part of COVID-19 relief funds distributed to health systems and providers.
The Department of Health and Human Services has been distributing $50 billion to Medicare providers, $12 billion to high impact areas and the $10 billion to rural providers as part of the CARES Act.
About $30 billion of the funds were distributed in April to providers and facilities that cared for the Medicare population.
HHS also distributed the $12 billion to 395 hospitals in the nation that have been heavily impacted by COVID-19 and have cared for 100 or more patients through April 10, including AdventHealth, which received $40 million that’s included in the $75 million total.
With $40 million, AdventHealth received the secondlargest amount of high-impact federal funding behind Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, which received close to $50 million. The third-largest recipient was Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Fla., with nearly $26 million.
On Friday, HHS also announced the distribution of more than $217 million to 602 nursing facilities affected by COVID-19 in Florida. Each facility will receive a fixed distribution of $50,000, plus a distribution of $2,500 per bed, according to the HHS.
Half of U.S. counties lack testing sites: More than half of U.S. counties don’t have coronavirus testing sites, according to a report by Castlight. The health software company analyzed its COVID-19 test site finder and found that testing sites are distributed unevenly within each state, “leaving wide swaths of citizens vulnerable.”
The report showed that about 40% of metro counties and nearly 70% of rural counties do not have testing sites.
In Florida, 55% of the counties had a testing site, according to the report. A cluster of 10 counties between Jacksonville and Tallahassee had no testing facilities, leaving about 270,000 people without access to testing for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus that has gripped the world this year.
On May 19, HHS also announced the distribution of more than $420 million in Florida to expand testing. To receive the money, the governor will have to submit a plan for COVID-19 testing, including goals for the remainder of the year. On May 20, the Department of Health and Human Services announced nearly $8 million to fund 158 rural health clinics in Florida for COVID-19 testing.
In brief …
■ COVID-19 isn’t stopping local health systems from moving their construction projects. On May 14, AdventHealth poured the foundation for its future inpatient tower in Winter Garden. The sevenstory building will have 100 beds and will be added to an existing 24-bed emergency room and a medical office building.
AdventHealth broke ground on the 300,000-square-foot tower in March, which is expected to create 700 hospital jobs.
■ The AT&T Foundation has donated $25,000 to Orlando Health Team Member Relief Fund, which supports front-line health workers. The grant will help provide stipends for living expenses such as rent and utilities.
■ Florida Blue, the largest health insurer in Florida, has provided $100 million in health-care cost relief to its members by extending premium payment deadlines, increased funding for and expanding its Better You Strides reward program. It also has waived costshares for in-network primary care office and telehealth visits.