Walgreens Boots Alliance said U.S. sales of health and wellness products jumped more than 30% in March, but stores are seeing “negative foot traffic” as the Coronavirus strain COVID-19 spreads around the world.
WASHINGTON — Rural hospitals nationwide are bracing for a wave of high-risk coronavirus patients that could break an already fragile healthcare system, one facing shortages of supplies and a scarcity of doctors so dire that some centers might have to shut down if a single physician contracts the disease.
Despite a flood of Covid-19 patients in some cities, systems are losing money from canceled visits and reducing staff, straining their ability to provide care.
HCA Healthcare Inc., one of the nation’s largest hospital operators, has closed clinics and outpatient facilities and cut employees’ hours. A family-medicine practice in Dallas furloughed a third of its staff. A major 48-hospital nonprofit system will put 700 workers on temporary leave.
Easton Hospital, owned by a portfolio company of Cerberus Capital Management, secured $8 million from the State of Pennsylvania in a last-minute bailout to keep the facility's doors open. Through June, the state funding commitment would total $24 million. Why it matters: It's very welcome news that a hospital won't close in the midst of a pandemic, but it also reflects pretty indefensible behavior by Cerberus.
Intermountain Healthcare — the largest medical provider in the state — will cut pay for physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants during the coronavirus outbreak, which an administrator said in a message sent to staff last week is financially necessary amid “the changing needs.”