health care

More than 20 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed at the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, including at least five deaths. The nursing facility is about 90 miles west of Boston.

11 Veterans Die At Soldiers' Home in Massachusetts Amid COVID-19 Outbreak

12:44pm March 31, 2020

by Bill Chappell

More than 20 coronavirus cases have been confirmed at the facility, and officials are rushing to do more tests, hoping to learn the full extent of the exposure.

With the coronavirus outbreak taking hold in the U.S., thousands of flights have been canceled — but on Sunday, there were still 2,800 planes in the air, according to aviation site Flightradar.com

Coronavirus: U.S. Still Seeing Thousands Of Flights, Despite A Drop In Air Travel

9:05pm March 30, 2020

by Bill Chappell

"The U.S. domestic market is so large that even a substantial decrease leaves a lot of traffic in the sky," says Ian Petchenik, of the aviation tracking site Flightradar24.com.

Aetna was the first insurer to announce its plan to help shield patients with COVID-19 from high medical bills. But out-of-network charges and other surprise bills remain a risk, say advocates for patients.

Some Insurers Waive Patients' Share Of Costs For COVID-19 Treatment

6:56pm March 30, 2020

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

Aetna, Cigna and Humana now say they will waive most treatment costs associated with COVID-19 that would normally be picked up by patients enrolled in their health plans. Will other firms follow suit?

Workers inside a warehouse in Columbus, Ohio, prepare Battelle's decontamination units for deployment.

National

Technology To Clean And Reuse PPE Is Being Deployed To Hotspot Hospitals

4:43pm March 30, 2020

by Paige Pfleger

An Ohio-based research group just got expedited FDA approval of its PPE decontamination system after pleas to the White House from the governor. The system cleans up to 80,000 pieces of PPE at a time.

Queue Listen Now

Health & Safety

Cone Health Asks For Medical Supply Donations

4:30pm March 30, 2020

by April Laissle

Cone Health is asking for donations of personal protective equipment for its medical workers.

COVID-19 Has Brought Rapid Change To A Brooklyn Hospital

4:23pm March 30, 2020

by Gwynne Hogan

New York City has more than 36,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection. A look inside a Brooklyn hospital shows it has been rapidly transformed to handle COVID-19 patients.

As hospitals consider how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting care, maternity wards across the country are changing policies on deliveries and visitors.

Pregnant Women Worry About Pandemic's Impact On Labor, Delivery And Babies

1:34pm March 30, 2020

by Sacha Pfeiffer

As pregnant women and their doctors consider how the COVID-19 crisis is affecting pregnancy and care, maternity wards across the country are reconsidering policies on deliveries and visitors.

Queue Listen Now

The U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort is welcomed to New York City by Charlene Nickloan, waving a flag from the Matthew Buono war memorial in Staten Island, N.Y., on Monday.

Hospital Ship USNS Comfort Arrives In New York To Ease Coronavirus Pressure

12:23pm March 30, 2020

by Bill Chappell

The Comfort will use its roughly 1,000 beds to treat patients who do not have the coronavirus disease COVID-19 but who urgently need other care.

Army Chief Of Staff Tours N.Y. Military Hospital

5:20pm March 29, 2020

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Army Chief of Staff, Gen. James McConville, about what the Army is doing to help bolster New York City's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Queue Listen Now

A photograph from 1940, taken for infectious research purposes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, shows respiratory droplets released through sneezing.

Health & Safety

WHO Reviews 'Available' Evidence On Coronavirus Transmission Through Air

7:53pm March 28, 2020

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

A scientific brief from the World Health Organization says "current evidence" points to infectious respiratory droplets passed in "close contact" situations, but some say it's too soon to be sure