UAB To Open New Coronavirus Facility For Elderly Patients
The University of Alabama at Birmingham announced Wednesday it is creating a specialized skilled nursing facility for some COVID-19 patients in Jefferson County.
The 25 bed unit will be in a wing of the Aspire Physical Recovery Center in Hoover, off Interstate 65 and Highway 31. It will care for elderly patients who have tested positive for the virus.
“Either they started in the hospital and are now ready to transition to receive rehabilitation or, perhaps, their COVID-19 symptoms never required hospital-level care, but they do require a place where they can be isolated and receive care on this designated unit,” said Dr. Kellie Flood, an associate professor with UAB’s Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care.
The goal of the new facility is to free up hospital beds by moving non-critical elderly patients to the facility. They also hope to alleviate pressure on nursing homes, which have seen an influx of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began in late March.
“A lot of the hospital systems and skilled nursing facilities have all been in a very reactive mode,” said Nick Beckham, with NHS Management, which operates Aspire. “This unit allows us to decant our hospital beds so that the most critical are able to be seen in the appropriate places.”
Beckham says the specialized facility is the first in the nation and that they plan to use it as a model for possible expansion in other areas of the state. To be eligible, patients must be referred by one of UAB’s hospital partners. The facility will be funded by a portion of the funds Jefferson County received from the CARES Act, a federal coronavirus relief measure.
Currently, patients older than 65 make up 18% of all coronavirus cases in Alabama. Nearly 2,500 residents in long-term care facilities across the state have tested positive for the virus. But Dr. Rachael Lee, an epidemiologist at UAB, said everyone, regardless of age, is at risk of contracting the virus.
As of Wednesday morning, UAB was caring for 84 COVID-19 patients, the highest number since the pandemic began. This is an increase of 20 patients since last Wednesday. Lee said these patients are in the intensive care and acute care units.
“We continue to hourly monitor our patient flow to make sure that we can accommodate these patients, in addition to accommodating the other patients that we care for on a daily basis,” said Lee.
Lee said Children’s of Alabama has also seen an increase in the number of infants to teenagers hospitalized with COVID-19. In the last month, cases among 5 to 24-year-olds have doubled. She says face masks and social distancing remain the best methods to prevent spreading the disease.
Editor’s Note: UAB holds WBHM’s broadcast license, but our news and business departments operate independently.
Ivey, Ledbetter go to court to try and allow voucher students to participate in athletics
Gov. Kay Ivey and House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter filed the complaint in Montgomery Circuit Court against the Alabama High School Athletic Association. They are asking a judge to block the association's ruling on eligibility and pave the way for the students to participate in athletics this year.
The world’s oldest and largest iceberg will soon be no more
The iceberg, known as A23a, has been on a journey following the current into warmer waters for months. Now, it has begun the predicted and natural process of breaking apart, and eventually melting.
Etsy sellers are being hit hard by tariffs and the end of the de minimis rule
For years, the U.S. was essentially "an extension of our domestic market," says an Etsy seller in Canada. But now the rules and costs are far more imposing.
What ICE agents can and cannot legally do during arrests
Tactics by immigration agents attempting to arrest undocumented immigrants have shocked the public and led to protests. But what is, and isn't, allowed by law when it comes to ICE arrests?
Trump’s D.C. takeover has led to more arrests. NPR looks at cases of those swept up
NPR combed through court records and other data related to Trump's takeover of D.C. police to get a better understanding of who has been swept up in the federal surge and what charges they are facing.
Who did a Fox News executive call a ‘reckless maniac’? Find out in the quiz
This week, we have monopolies (not the game), casting decisions and fashion passings. Plus a new Stephen King book! Have you been paying attention?
