By Ray King
Health care workers at nursing homes and long-term care facilities will be receiving bonuses as a part of the federal money the state receives from Medicaid.
At his daily press conference on the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Asa Hutchinson said federal authorities approved a waiver which will allow nurses, respiratory therapists, and other medical professionals who “are on the front lines” to receive between $125 for part-time workers and $250 for full-time workers.
Additionally, those medical professionals who deal directly with COVID-19 patients will receive bonuses ranging from $125 a week for people who work 1-19 hours, $250 for those who work between 20 and 30 hours per week and $500 for those who work 40 hours or more.
The governor said the funds can only be used for nursing homes and long-term care facilities and only for medical professionals. Non-direct care works such as cooks, janitors and the like are excluded.
Hutchinson said at a meeting later today with members of his staff and the team assembled to decide how to spend federal dollars allocated to fight COVID-19, he will ask for the same amount of money to be allocated for medical professionals who work at hospitals as well as non-direct care workers at both hospitals and nursing homes.
Updating the daily numbers, the Governor said an additional 71 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the state, bringing the total to 1,569. Of that, 1,044 are active.
Eighty-three patients are hospitalized, two more than were reported on Tuesday.
State Health Officer Dr. Nate Smith said one death was reported, bringing the total to 33 and that death occurred in a nursing home, the seventh person to die in a nursing home as a result of COVID-19. He said there are reported cases now at 28 nursing homes or long-term care facilities involving 98 patients or staff.
The Governor also said that modeling from the University of Washington which projected that the Corona virus would peak on April 224 has now been revised to April 27, and now to May 2
“Our goal is to flatten the curve in the total number of cases and lower them and it shows we are on the right trajectory,” Hutchinson said.
He also talked about when the state would open up, particularly since President Trump has mentioned May 1 as a possible target date and said the state would look at what the federal plans might be.
Smith said several factors will be necessary, including an increase in contact tracing to head off another epidemic, and the process will be gradual.
“If we see an increase in the number of cases, we might have to change some things,” Smith said. “we will also collaborate closely with the federal government and our neighboring states.
