'You Can't Care if You Aren't There': Provider Mental Health Can't Be Ignored

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants are an interesting cohort of health care providers. When you really get to the root of why people choose the profession, it almost always comes down to selfless service.

They don’t come to the profession for the title or lucrative salary; they do it because they feel a need to help other people and bring society to a better place. It doesn't matter if those efforts are centered on patient care, working within a health care system, or even research: It’s about making a difference and impact in whatever way they can.

So, then, why are we so quick to help everyone but ourselves?

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Democrats’ Efforts on BBB Reconciliation Package Continue to Stall

From Partnership for Medicaid Home-Based Care

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has further narrowed the universe of policies he wants to include in a modified Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376) to focus on tax changes (namely, increasing the corporate rate to 25 percent and establishing the capital gains tax rate at 28 percent); deficit reduction; and policies to reduce prescription drug prices.  He has indicated that any other changes must go through regular order, effectively giving policies like HCBS investments little chance (at the moment) to advance in reconciliation.  Some policymakers are concerned that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) is not aligned with Sen. Manchin’s desired tax changes, which could jeopardize even a small reconciliation bill.  Further, with Sen. Manchin attempting to negotiate a bipartisan climate package with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and other policymakers turning their attention to the conference committee for the Bipartisan Innovation Act, active discussions on reconciliation are unlikely in the coming weeks.

COVID-19 Updates (05/16/2022)

• Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are rising in a majority of American states, in what appears to be the first widespread increase since the peak of the Omicron surge in January.

• The coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has had billions of chances to reconfigure itself as it has spread across the planet, and it continues to evolve, generating new variants and subvariants at a clip that has kept scientists on their toes. Two-and-a-half years after it first spilled into humans, the virus has repeatedly changed its structure and chemistry in ways that confound efforts to bring it fully under control.

• Due to an updated analysis of the rare cases of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), which typically occur 1 to 2 weeks after vaccination, use of the J&J vaccine should be restricted to those for whom mRNA vaccines are "not accessible or clinically appropriate," or who would not get vaccinated if not for the J&J vaccine, the agency said.

More COVID-19 Fallout: Social Isolation Associated with Poor Health and Emotional Distress

Commonwealth Fund

As a result of social distancing and other interventions, the COVID-19 pandemic has cut many people off from their emotional and social support systems. For older adults, this may have exacerbated feelings of isolation; the percentage of those who reported feeling isolated jumped from 27 percent in 2018 to 56 percent after the start of the pandemic. This is particularly concerning for older adults with high health care needs — that is, people with multiple chronic conditions or functional limitations who require assistance with daily activities. Feelings of isolation not only create emotional distress but also have the potential to further exacerbate their already complicated health problems and even contribute to early mortality. Social distancing was an effective approach to slowing COVID-19 transmission — especially among a population at increased risk of infection — but any resulting feelings of isolation may have contributed to new health and social risks for this medically vulnerable group.

To explore how isolation affects high-need older adults and examine their experiences during the pandemic, we analyzed data from the Commonwealth Fund 2021 International Health Policy Survey of Older Adults. We found, consistent with previous research, that high-need adults are significantly more likely to report social isolation; more than one of 10 (12%) high-need older adults reported often feeling isolated from others, compared to 5 percent of older adults without high needs.

In line with previous research, isolation appears to be associated with poorer health. High-need older adults who reported feeling isolated were more likely than those not feeling isolated to report they were in fair or poor health (rather than good or excellent health); these adults were also more likely to report going to the emergency room for care that could have been provided by their regular clinician.

Among high-need adults who feel isolated, nearly two-thirds reported having a mental health diagnosis or feeling emotionally distressed in the past year; this is a significantly higher rate than high-need adults who do not feel isolated. Experts report that the relationship between mental well-being and feelings of isolation are bidirectional, with isolation worsening an individual’s mental health conditions, and mental health conditions exacerbating feelings of isolation. It is possible the COVID-19 pandemic had a multifaceted impact on the mental well-being of older adults.

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