The coronavirus on Smart Talk Wednesday: Disability providers ask state for immediate help, masks in everyone’s fashion future and can dogs smell COVID-19?

Pennsylvanians living with an intellectual disability or autism are struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. About 80% have a pre-existing condition that makes them more susceptible to the illness, and the stay-at-home and shutdown orders have left many without support they normally would get.

Advocates say the provider organizations are facing a financial catastrophe due to the pandemic and the situation is going largely unnoticed.

Joining Smart Talk on Wednesday are Mark Davis, President and CEO of Pennsylvania Advocacy and Resources for Autism and Intellectual Disability Provider Association, along with Kathy McHale, President & CEO, SPIN, in Philadelphia. They are asking Governor Wolf and the legislature to address the funding crisis for these services before it is too late.

Also, dogs and their ability to smell is renown. Their superior sense of smell comes from 220 million olfactory receptors in their nose. Scientists are now researching if this talent can be used to diagnose the coronavirus.

Dr. Cindy Otto, DVM, Ph.D., Director, Penn Vet Working Dog Center, joins Smart Talk to highlight a new study researching odor imprinting and the COVID-19 virus.

So, we all must wear face masks, but this is the first-time many people have ever put one on their face. How do you know if you’re wearing them correctly?

There are different types of masks, and some are more effective than others. Appearing on Smart Talk today is Nicole Jochym, a Medical Student at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, and the Co-creator of Sew Face Masks Philadelphia. Jochym will talk about the new grass roots organization making and donating masks, and how to wear properly for function and comfort.

Coronavirus on Smart Talk Tuesday: Wolf says counties defying “red” level face repercussions; Report-state’s nursing home plan delay hurt

Gov. Tom Wolf says “politicians” in counties who are now in the red stage of the coronavirus stay-at-home, business shutdown and are threatening to defy the governor’s order and move to the yellow stage, are cowards and selfish. Wolf questioned whether officials in those counties are thinking about the spread of the virus and their constituents’ health.

Lancaster, Dauphin, Lebanon, Franklin and Schuylkill Counties are amongst those that say they will defy the governor’s orders this week because the majority of COVID-19 deaths have been in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities and workers are suffering financially.

Thirteen Republican elected officials signed a letter to the governor announcing plans for Lancaster County to move to the yellow stage, from red, on Friday. The yellow level would allow some retail businesses to re-open.

Republican State Senator Scott Martin of Lancaster County, a former County Commissioner himself, is on Tuesday’s Smart Talk to explain the move.

Cumberland County attorney David Mueller also joins us to list the repercussions counties and businesses could face if they go against the governor’s orders.

Finally, Spotlight PA reported that Pennsylvania had a robust and aggressive plan ready to protect the state’s nursing homes, but failed to enact it.

Critics of the Department of Health’s coronavirus response say this is why nearly 70% of COVID-19 deaths have been in nursing homes and private care homes. They also say that had officials used their first and more aggressive plan state facilities would be in much better shape today.

Joining us on Smart Talk Tuesday to share insight into the report is Spotlight PA Reporter Aneri Pattani.

Coronavirus on Smart Talk Monday: Opioid overdoses increase and standardized diagnostic testing

The Monroe County Coroner recently called on Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, MD, to resign over the what he says is the disparity between the Covid-19 deaths reported by the state and the number the deaths coroners are seeing.

As deaths and COVID-19 infections began to rise in the Commonwealth earlier this year, area coroners noticed another disturbing trend; Opioid overdose deaths were increasing, too.

Officials in both York and Cumberland Counties say that the spike in overdose deaths is certainly connected to the coronavirus outbreak. Some people needing care for dependency may be avoiding treatment centers because of fears of catching the virus. Also, because this population is often more impacted by loss of income, homelessness and social isolation, they may be more susceptible to substance abuse.

Appearing on Smart Talk on Monday are York County Coroner Pam Gay, along with Cumberland County Coroner Charley Hall to share their observations.

When a person visits a doctor or medical facility with an ailment, there are different diagnostic tools that go into making a medical assessment, often involving bloodwork. It is frequently said that laboratory screenings account for more than 70% of medical decisions, so access to screening tools is imperative.

But in many places around the world lab screening isn’t available, affordable, or standardized.

A local doctor wanted to change that by advocating for a screening tool called ‘essential diagnostics.’ The list of essential diagnostic tests offers clinicians a directory of the most necessary tests to help make a diagnosis.

Dr. Mustafa Barbhuiya, Ph.D., is a clinical chemistry fellow at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and he established a non-profit foundation called the ‘Foundation for Advancement of Essential Diagnostics.’ The foundation promotes essential diagnostics across the globe, especially in poor areas with limited resources.

Barbhuiya says that during the coronavirus pandemic it is also important to discuss the availability and affordability of antibody testing. He joins Smart Talk Monday.

 

Coronavirus on Smart Talk Friday: Nursing home protections; Help for the vulnerable

About two-thirds — or maybe more — of the COVID-19 deaths in Pennsylvania have occurred in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities. It’s not just in Pennsylvania — the state of Maryland is requiring testing of all long-term care facilities because the death rate there is so high.

Republican Speaker of the State House of Representatives Mike Turzai is proposing legislation that would would establish a public-private-partnership approach of regional health systems. According to the Speaker, these health collaboratives would administer/manage personnel, protocols, testing and expenditures to protect the seniors in these facilities.

Speaker Turzai is on Friday’s Smart Talk.

Meanwhile, Democratic State Rep. Rob Matzie of Beaver and Allegheny Counties is proposing legislation that would require immediate inspections at all Pennsylvania nursing homes or other long term care facilities to assess infection control and provide testing.

Rep. Matzie appears on Friday’s Smart Talk.

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging’s Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRC) Office has been awarded $3 million from the federal government to support efforts to mitigate and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ADRC, also known as the PA Link to Aging and Disability Resources provides information and referral services to older adults and individuals with disabilities.

Pennsylvania’s Deputy Secretary of Aging Steven Horner joins us on Smart Talk to explain what the program is doing during the pandemic.

The Pennsylvania Office of Advocacy and Reform (OAR) is launching a volunteer think tank comprised of 25 experts who will develop a plan to make Pennsylvania a trauma-informed state during the coronavirus pandemic. The Office of Advocacy and Reform (OAR) was established last year to protect Pennsylvania’s vulnerable populations.

Office of Advocacy and Reform Executive Director Dan Jurman is with us on Smart Talk.

PA Link to Aging and Disability Resource Center Toll-Free Helpline: 1-800-753-8827

The coronavirus on Smart Talk Thursday: What’s new in the virus’ fight and moving Pa. forward

Beginning Friday, May 8, two regions in Pennsylvania will begin the process of a ‘phased reopening,’ as directed by Gov. Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, MD.

This is a highly anticipated lifting of certain work restrictions and social interactions, but officials warn that it is only one small step forward and that the coronavirus remains a threat to Pennsylvanians.

The first two deaths in the state were reported on March 6 and now, two months later, more than three-thousand Pennsylvanians have died of COVID-19 related illness. State health officials say that while this number is high, there would have been many more deaths had the state not enacted social distancing mandates early in the crisis.

Health officials and scientists have learned a lot since the beginning of the year when global reports warned the viral threat originating in China. But there is still so much about the coronavirus that is not known and there is currently no approved vaccine.

On Thursday’s Smart Talk we’ll focus on the coronavirus and what we know now, with Dr. John Goldman, MD, an Infectious Disease specialist with UPMC Pinnacle.

Pennsylvania Department of Health question line: 1-877-724-3258 and UPMC Pinnacle nurses advice line: 1-866-918-1591

The coronavirus on Smart Talk Wednesday: Independent pharmacies call for action against price gouging and Report for America reporters hit the ground running

Pennsylvania’s independent pharmacies say that while they are working hard to offer service during the pandemic, pharmacy benefit managers are making their jobs nearly impossible.

Once the pandemic crisis hit, PBM’s responded by cutting reimbursement rates for many unrelated drugs. Independent pharmacies bear the brunt of these cuts because they must cover the difference if the reimbursement rate does not cover the cost.

PBM’s were established in the 1960’s to reduce health-care costs by basically performing the function of a drug demand aggregator, or buyer. What started as a model to help lower health care costs, PBM’s are now being scrutinized as part of the problem in price transparency.

Patricia Epple, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association, along with Chuck Kray, a pharmacist with Hershey Pharmacy, appear on Smart Talk to discuss the threat to Pennsylvania’s independent pharmacies by what they call “price gouging.”

Report for America is a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. WITF and PA Post are two of the more than 160 other news organizations across the country selected for the program.

Appearing on Smart Talk Wednesday is Report for America co-founder Charlie Sennott, along with reporters Alanna Elder and Anthony Orozco, who are covering central Pennsylvania’s growing Latino communities for WITF and PA Post.

 

 

The coronavirus on Smart Talk Tuesday: The air we breathe and Teacher Appreciation Week

The saying that every cloud has a silver lining might in fact ring true during the coronavirus pandemic. There is plenty of bad news, to be sure, but every so often there is good news, too.

Since the nation and Pennsylvania went under stay-at-home orders in March there is a noticeable improvement in air quality. Major cities like Los Angeles and New York are experiencing some of their best air quality in decades; reports that are echoed in big cities around the world.

In central Pennsylvania, the Clean Air Board tracks air quality in the state and reports that air quality has improved markedly throughout the region, with no “alert” days since March 1.

But can it last? As 24 counties in Pennsylvania begin a phased reopening on May 8, will air quality suffer?

Appearing on Smart Talk Tuesday are Thomas Au, President of the Clean Air Board of Central Pennsylvania, along with American Lung Association Director of Environmental Health Kevin Stewart. The ALA recently released the State of the Air 2020 report and they join the program to discuss this and the impact of air quality on lung health, and observations at the Department of Environmental Protection air quality monitoring sites during the pandemic shutdown.

This is National Teacher Appreciation Week and to mark the occasion the National Education Association commissioned a parent’s poll to gauge their support for teachers during the coronavirus crisis.

Rich Askey is the President of the Pennsylvania State Education Association and he joins Smart Talk to share the poll results.

Smart Talk will also talk to three area educators about how they are tackling teaching from a distance. Joining Smart Talk are Susan Sneath, Ed.D., Chief Academic Officer with the Harrisburg School District, Kassandra Shute a first-grade teacher and Traci Moyer, 8th-grade English as a second language teacher.

Coronavirus on Smart Talk Monday: Public schools in Pa. facing billion dollar tax loss impact and is telework the new normal?

The bad news for Pennsylvania schools keeps pouring in.

Financial analysts met last week and issued a dire prognosis on the budget fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic.

Tax revenues that support Pennsylvania schools are so unpredictable that best guess estimates put shortfalls in the neighborhood of more than one billion dollars. And that is just an estimate that they determined from tax revenue numbers from the Great Recession and forecasting even deeper cuts.

Hannah Barrick, assistant executive director with the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, appears on Smart Talk Monday to discuss the figures that go into the estimate.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf ordered all schools closed in the state in the middle of March and for all intents and purposes many working families were thrust into teleworking from home in order to be with their kids.

Stay-at-home orders soon followed and nearly two months later more than half of American workers are working remotely.

Researchers see this abrupt change as an opportunity to study how employees adapt and to identify the innovation that has helped speed this transition.

Professor Eddy Ng, Ph.D., the James and Elizabeth Freeman Professor of Management at Bucknell University joins us on Smart Talk Monday to share the research plan and the search for study participants. Individuals who have transitioned to working remotely can participate in the study through this survey link.

Coronavirus on Smart Talk Friday: Former Gov. Ridge takes on protesters, how virus gained a foot hold in Pa’s nursing homes, and voting by mail

Former Pennsylvania Governor and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge is speaking out about the nationwide protests against stay-at-home orders and business shutdowns. Ridge is especially critical of those who attended the rallies armed with semi-automatic rifles and other firearms — many who called themselves patriots.

The former governor authored an opinion column on the protests for USAToday this week that garnered a lot of attention and response.

Gov. Ridge appears on Smart Talk Friday to discuss his thoughts on protesters.

Hundreds gathered outside the Pennsylvania capitol on Monday, April 20, 2020, to urge the lifting of restrictions ordered by Gov. Tom Wolf to halt the spread of coronavirus.

Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities have been hit hard by COVID-19. Pennsylvania is one of a handful of states where over half of the COVID-19 deaths have occurred in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities. Nationally, the figure is a little over one-in-four deaths.

Lack of widespread testing for the coronavirus has been one of main culprits, according to the facilities, but many say they also are not getting protective equipment.

Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA) President and CEO Zachary Shamberg joins us on Smart Talk Friday to describe how nursing homes are the front lines of the coronavirus battle.

Pennsylvania’s primary election has been pushed back to June 2 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The question for many is whether voters can safely cast ballots in person.

Democratic State Senator Wayne Fontana of Allegheny County introduced a bill that would change Pennsylvania’s voting system so that all elections are conducted entirely by mail. Sen. Fontana is on Friday’s Smart Talk.