Elephant in the room.

[tugboat95]

Working in health insurance industry for a regional health insurance company in PNW.. We had a round of furloughs as nobody is going to the doctor to have their hips replaced, or chiropractors, or physical therapists, or acupuncturists, or doing general immunizations, or the like. Not even urgent care- mostly ER visits and a small handful of CV related. So with the reduced number of people visiting their practitioners we don't have the work load for reviewing and processing claims. I wasn't cut in the first round but there will likely be more.

Yeah our local hospital just announced massive layoffs and everybody else including executives are taking a big pay cut.

89 Comanche
Eliminator
2wd
4.0L
5 speed PukeGoat
Factory Original

[Smokeyyank]

11 hours ago, Oceanic815 said:

Working in health insurance industry for a regional health insurance company in PNW.. We had a round of furloughs as nobody is going to the doctor to have their hips replaced, or chiropractors, or physical therapists, or acupuncturists, or doing general immunizations, or the like. Not even urgent care- mostly ER visits and a small handful of CV related. So with the reduced number of people visiting their practitioners we don't have the work load for reviewing and processing claims. I wasn't cut in the first round but there will likely be more.

 

My hospital is on the flip side. They are getting ready to reopen for elective procedures next week. Already have most of the OR time booked for surgeries. They are expecting to be back to mostly normal operation by mid May. We didn't have to furlough anyone be reallocated resources to other areas. I reopened my jobs reqs as I need to get some more people hired. 

[AMCJeepMJ]

24 minutes ago, Smokeyyank said:

 

My hospital is on the flip side. They are getting ready to reopen for elective procedures next week. Already have most of the OR time booked for surgeries. They are expecting to be back to mostly normal operation by mid May. We didn't have to furlough anyone be reallocated resources to other areas. I reopened my jobs reqs as I need to get some more people hired. 

Yep, we have done the reallocation as well; once elective surgeries and individual practices get rolling again in the upcoming weeks it will get back to 'normal'.

[Pete M]

the SciShow youtube channel has been doing a great job of breaking down of the Covid stuff including why and how the various fixes might work.  

 

 

[Manche757]

On 4/10/2020 at 4:41 PM, Pete M said:

this is hitting too close to home.  My grandma's nursing home (only 1/4 mile from where I sit) 

How is grandma?

[Pete M]

hanging in there.  20 people from the nursing home have died now. 

[Pete M]

one of my parents' friends is now on a ventilator.  Him and his wife hadn't left the house in over a month which means the virus was brought to them somehow.   

[thecodemonk]

2 minutes ago, Pete M said:

one of my parents' friends is now on a ventilator.  Him and his wife hadn't left the house in over a month which means the virus was brought to them somehow.   

 

Yikes, that sucks.  Either family visiting or delivery infection of some kind? (package driver, uber eats, etc)

[Pete M]

no one dares ask her at this point in time.   

[Eagle]

This is what scares me. I've been basically self-isolated in my house since early or mid-March. I go out on Saturdays to take my trash to the transfer station. I have been blessed by having two good friends who take care of grocery shopping for me, so I haven't starved. They leave the bags outside the garage door, then I bring the stuff in one item at a time, wiping down each item before it comes into the house. If that sounds paranoid ... it is. But remember, "Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me." With my medical history, if I get this thing, it won't be good. I am thankful that my friends understand that and are there for me.

 

Pete, I'll pray for your parents' friend. Unfortunately, the recovery rate once a patient goes on the ventilator isn't good with COVID-19, and your parents should be prepared for that.

 

[Pete M]

they are aware of the stats.  

 

We wipe/wash all our groceries and mail.  none of it hurts to do and it just might help. 

 

I've got a couple friends that haven't left their house but 3 times since the shutdown because they have a new baby (helps that his job is internet based).  all their groceries get shipped and everything that comes to the house goes into the garage for unpacking and cleaning before it can enter the house (or if it's unimportant, they just let it sit there for a few days).  they don't dare order takeout and while it pains them that they can't help out the local businesses, family comes first.  he figures there will be plenty of time after this all quiets down to go out to eat.

[Pete M]

they are weening him off the ventilator!    not out of the woods yet, of course, but fantastic news! 

[derf]

That's awesome news.

[ftpiercecracker1]

Awwwww yaa boyssss. We be eatin good to-night!

 

 

Not. Every cent is going right back to pay 18 and 19 taxes.

[mjeff87]

Same same....wife and I got ours via direct deposit last Thursday.  It pays for our taxes this year, almost to the penny.

[derf]

Sounds like efforts to open things back up are just causing the virus to spread much more quickly, unfortunately.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus/germany-surge-sounds-coronavirus-alarm-as-world-takes-steps-to-reopen-idUSKBN22N1QT

 

We really need to ramp up testing and contact tracing if we really want to open things back up.

[Eagle]

3 hours ago, derf said:

Sounds like efforts to open things back up are just causing the virus to spread much more quickly, unfortunately.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus/germany-surge-sounds-coronavirus-alarm-as-world-takes-steps-to-reopen-idUSKBN22N1QT

 

We really need to ramp up testing and contact tracing if we really want to open things back up.

 

That's hardly a surprise. I suspect part of the problem is that people are so anxious to return to "normal" that reopening means too many people are going to stop practicing social distancing, stop washing their hands, yada yada.

 

The VA hospital where I go for most of my medical care is going to re-open their clinics as on June 1. I hope that's not going to be too soon.

[JustEmptyEveryPocket]

https://www.jhsph.edu/covid-19/articles/achieving-herd-immunity-with-covid19.html

 

Interesting read. Explains concepts fairly well. The problem of maintaining a properly sloped infection curve in the US will be the people themselves. To quote a famous comic (Carlin) “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”

[derf]

There are two main factors in the spread of this disease.

 

1.  The density of the population.

2.  The density of the population.

[JMO413]

10 hours ago, derf said:

There are two main factors in the spread of this disease.

 

1.  The density of the population.

2.  The density of the population.

[Pete M]

so antibody testing has gotten widespread enough that they are testing everyone in the nursing home to see what's what.  Turns out my grandma did contract it at some point in time.    They aren't giving out info about other patients though, so I don't know about her roommate or other people in her wing. 

So in the past few months since turning 94 she survived the flu and the covid!  but now the stay-in-your-room lockdown might be her undoing.   she has gotten pretty dang weak.  but as a "positive" of her weakened state we were able to get her on hospice care.  It sounds super bad, but hospice care doesn't mean you're dying right now.  It means more along the lines of "you're not going to fully recover" (and it's unlikely she's going to be doing jumping jacks again).  most importantly it means that despite the lockdown my Aunt can now visit her every single day and grandma can qualify for more personal nursing care than she was previously getting.    None of this is especially good, but I'll take the silver linings where I can.  

[Smokeyyank]

5 hours ago, Pete M said:

so antibody testing has gotten widespread enough that they are testing everyone in the nursing home to see what's what.  Turns out my grandma did contract it at some point in time.    They aren't giving out info about other patients though, so I don't know about her roommate or other people in her wing. 

So in the past few months since turning 94 she survived the flu and the covid!  but now the stay-in-your-room lockdown might be her undoing.   she has gotten pretty dang weak.  but as a "positive" of her weakened state we were able to get her on hospice care.  It sounds super bad, but hospice care doesn't mean you're dying right now.  It means more along the lines of "you're not going to fully recover" (and it's unlikely she's going to be doing jumping jacks again).  most importantly it means that despite the lockdown my Aunt can now visit her every single day and grandma can qualify for more personal nursing care than she was previously getting.    None of this is especially good, but I'll take the silver linings where I can.  

 

 

Well got take the wins when they come. That is crazy she tested positive and beat it, good for her!  I worked as a equipment person for a hospice company years ago. We had a handful of people that would get discharged off more often than you would think. It is just as you said they met the criteria get placed in care, some additional nursing, etc and either no longer qualify or keep deteriorating. I remember we had one lady that was on and off hospice for years. 

[Pete M]

the human body is a complicated thing.  

[derf]

I found out that one of my dad's old classmates was the first one in his nursing home to pass from complications from Covid-19.  He was in his mid 80s so he probably had some underlying condition that made him vulnerable.

 

I knew him but not very well.  He has a daughter that's the same age as my older sister and we'd hang out when we went back to my dad's home town.

 

[ftpiercecracker1]

Bringing this back, figure its time for an update. Whats everybody status?

 

TP hasn't replaced the dollar as the countries currency so i guess there wasn't a total collapse of the socioeconomic structure, which is something right?