Physical therapists can help seniors stay active and independent. And this therapy can also reduce the risk of falls, which lead to more than 30,000 deaths annually. But proposed federal payment cuts under Medicare threaten the financial stability of physical therapists, says Zach Walston, an Alpharetta-based physical therapist, in a new GHN Commentary. “Additionally, with…
By Zach Walston Specialty care providers in Georgia have worked tirelessly through the pandemic to ensure their patients have maintained access to vital care, including physical, occupational, and speech therapy. However, steep payment cuts proposed by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) threaten patient access to quality care –– worrying patients, providers,…
Editor’s Note: GHN is reprinting this 2019 article as a tribute to its author, Judi Kanne, an Atlanta freelance journalist and nurse who died recently. Singing isn’t new for Mike Shortal, who is 81 and lives in Sandy Springs. He loves music, and says being a member of a choir has long been one of…
Despite two recent mass shootings, including one in Georgia, the state Senate on Monday passed a gun rights bill that proponents say protects the Second Amendment freedoms of citizens. The bill passed along party lines, with Republicans, who control the chamber, voting in favor of it. Gov. Brian Kemp’s floor leader, Sen. Bo Hatchett (R-Cornelia),…
A Senate committee has gutted legislation that would require hospitals and long-term care facilities to allow a “legal representative’’ to visit a patient or resident during a health emergency. A stripped-down House Bill 290 was approved by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday after about 90 minutes of testimony and debate. A…
A Senate health committee narrowly passed a bill Tuesday that promotes the use of cameras in rooms of residents of long-term care facilities to prevent neglect or abuse. The split vote reflected the panel’s vigorous debate over the differences between cameras that are hidden, and those that would be visible and known to the facility…
A committee of the Georgia House, despite industry opposition, passed a bill Monday allowing people to visit patients in hospital and long-term care facilities during a public health emergency — like the current pandemic. House Bill 290 would allow a “legal representative,’’ usually a loved one, to visit a patient or resident for a minimum…
At first, Gail Manter thought the pandemic wouldn’t last long, and that she’d be able to see her husband, Tom, sooner rather than later. But the COVID-19 crisis in this country has now dragged on for 11 months. And instead of visiting Tom, 73, almost every day at his Hartwell nursing home, as she used…
For Georgia seniors, the COVID vaccine rollout has been rocky at best. Yet an increasing number of people 65 and older living in the community and in long-term care facilities now are receiving COVID-19 vaccinations. But what about the elderly who are homebound? Right now, Georgia public health officials are wrestling with that issue. Many elderly…
By William Newlin Tara Graham recently emerged from the side entrance of the Athens-Clarke County Courthouse ready to face one of two major public health threats looming this fall. Graham, a clerk in the county magistrate court, had just received her flu shot from a joint clinic run by the University of Georgia Health Center…