Pa. Medical Society Supports Proposed Health Care Emergency Fund
Last Updated: Mar 25, 2020 The following is from Lawrence John, MD, president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society: The Hospital and Healthsystem of Pennsylvania (HAP) has asked the Wolf Administration to create a health care emergency fund to help bolster preparations for the expected surge of patients with COVID-19 in the coming weeks and months. The Pennsylvania Medical Society, which represents thousands of physicians on the front lines of this pandemic, stands with HAP and strongly supports this request. In these historic times, we must provide our health care workers and hospitals with the resources they need. Swift action is needed to save lives. We must ensure that all levels of health care are included in this funding, from single practitioners in rural Pennsylvania to larger health systems that span our state. There are many urgent needs. For example, private practices have limited supplies of personal protective equipment (PPEs) that can be used when trying to determine if a patient has COVID-19. In addition to similar shortages, hospitals must also increase supply of ventilators and create temporary facilities or update current facilities to ensure patients with other ailments are protected while COVID-19 patients receive care. Funding should also go into quicker results for tests. The wait on the test results often lead to overuse of PPEs and further infection in the community. The preparations we make now will impact the ability of our physicians to save lives, protect their own lives, and help mitigate this pandemic. We urge Gov. Wolf to strongly consider this proposal. Media Contact Jeff Wirick Pennsylvania Medical Society MediaRelations@pamedsoc.org The Pennsylvania Medical Society helps its 16,000 physician and medical student members return to the art of medicine through advocacy and education. Learn more by visiting www.pamedsoc.org or by following us on Twitter at @PAMEDSociety.