Page 14 - SFHN Feb 2021

Physician Advocacy Meaningful Support for Hospitals

Kicks into High Gear and Health Care Staff
Should Include Liability Protection
The season is upon us! And I don’t mean the NHL or
the looming return of Spring Training. It’s legislative
season as the Miami-Dade County Legislative Our frontline care- from the national stockpile.
Delegation returns to Tallahassee and the Dade givers – nurses, physi- Amid these many and
County Medical Association (DCMA) prepares for one cians, emergency room rapid changes, however,
of the most important legislative sessions in recent staff, and many others - there is one constant: hospi-
memory. The return of the Florida Legislature is com- who have bravely given tals’ commitment to deliver-
ing at an opportune time as our state continues the so much to provide care ing the best patient care pos-
largest mass vaccination initiative in its history and throughout the pandemic sible to save lives.
continues to address the fallout from the pandemic. need our gratitude and It has become clichéd to
The return to Tallahassee will provide additional support, not lawsuits and talk about hospitals being on
opportunities for our locally-elected officials to shape depositions. the frontlines and their
our recovery and coordinate the pandemic response. BY FRASER COBBE Today, as we hopefully health care staff as heroes.
These unprecedented challenges demand a renewed begin to emerge from the But, it is essential that we not
focus on collaboration and unwavering leadership. darkest days of the pan- BY MARY MAYHEW lose sight of the leadership
Members of the DCMA Board of Directors recently had the opportunity to meet demic, hospitals and hospitals and their teams
with Lt. Governor Jeannette Nuñez to discuss COVID-19 vaccination distribution their staff need meaning- have demonstrated through-
in Miami-Dade County. Our organization remains committed to making sure that ful recognition of their essential leader- out this pandemic. Hospitals have been
non-hospital-affiliated community physicians have a targeted process to secure the ship role in pandemic response. Key to the vanguard of novel, sometimes exper-
vaccine given the critical importance of community-based care as we try to reduce that recognition is protection from law- imental, treatments for a new highly
virus exposure and decrease the strain on hospital capacity and resources. suits that seek to take advantage of the infectious disease with a multitude of
In what has become an annual tradition, the Miami-Dade County Legislative ever-changing nature of the crisis. short- and long-term symptoms and lin-
Delegation and the DCMA held a pre-session meeting to discuss health care issues While it feels at times as if the pan- gering side effects that manifest differ-
important to our community. The elevated focus on health care issues was evident demic has been with us forever, it was ently in different people. They reconfig-
by the tremendous turnout of legislators that participated in this year’s event. We just under 11 months ago that the first ured physical spaces and realigned
would like to thank all 14 Legislators and the three additional legislative staff coronavirus case was diagnosed in staffing roles and responsibilities to meet
members who were able to join us. The virtual discussion focused on a series of Florida. Since then, new information and the unprecedented demand for care.
timely health care issues including the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and vaccina- understanding have emerged almost on a They took on new roles to help their
tion distribution, telehealth services, health insurance prior authorization reform, weekly basis as everyone – from clini- post-acute and long-term care colleagues
prescription drug coverage, and liability relief for physicians battling COVID-19. cians to scientists – learn more about care for their vulnerable residents. And,
Each legislator in attendance was able to share their health care initiatives for the the virus. For example, the list of symp- they offered advice based on lessons
coming session. toms to identify potential COVID-19 learned to private businesses and public
Based on the feedback we received, the event was the best in years and sets the cases has changed significantly since governments on safe re-opening strate-
table for a successful and policy-focused debate in Tallahassee. March. Testing initially was not readily gies.
available; PPE and supplies were This leadership, resourcefulness, and
Fraser Cobbe, Executive Director, Dade County Medical Association, extremely limited; and for the first sever- initiative should be applauded.
can be reached at fcobbe@miamimed.com. al months, lab results took considerable Unfortunately, there are some who
time to turn around. would exploit the crisis and subject hos-
Clinical and operational guidance also pitals and their staff to unwarranted liti-
evolved throughout the pandemic. gation. In the upcoming legislative ses-
Federal agencies’ expectations and direc- sion, Florida’s hospitals will be asking for
tives changed repeatedly and were lawmakers’ help and support by enacting
updated quickly to support the latest COVID-19-related liability protections
understanding of the virus – how it is to guard against unfounded lawsuits that
transmitted, its symptomology, its long- seek to take advantage of the ever-chang-
term effects, and how to combat it. ing situation.
For hospitals and their health care When the chapter is closed on the
staff, that learning and adaptation have COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-21, we will
taken place in real time with real patients have the advantage of hindsight to
under very real constraints and challeng- inform future pandemic responses.
ing circumstances. Policies, procedures, Litigation is the wrong path forward to
and practices have had to change quickly that insight and will only drain precious
in response to new guidance. An April resources and limit hospitals’ ability to
2020 report from the Office of the care for their patients and communities.
Inspector General at the U.S. Florida’s hospitals and their employees
Department of Health and Human have given so much to their communi-
Services noted hospitals’ concerns both ties over the last year. We should express
with staying current with Centers for our appreciation and support by protect-
Disease Control and Prevention guid- ing them from unfounded and protracted
ance and with conflicting guidance from legal challenges.
different government and medical
authorities, including criteria for testing, Mary Mayhew is President and CEO of
determining which elective procedures the Florida Hospital Association.
to delay, use of PPE, and getting supplies

14 February 2021 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News