COVID Chronicle

Declaration of Public Health Emergency On March 13, 2020 President Trump declared a National Emergency under the Stafford Act and DHHS Secretary Azar issued a public health emergency declaration. These steps allowed the federal government to waive regulatory requirements, known as “1135 waivers.” The President’s declaration was followed by Governor Mills proclaiming a State of Emergency on March 15, 2020. The state and federal declarations created the opportunity for an unprecedented number of state and federal regulatory waivers providing healthcare organizations and healthcare professionals significant flexibility to care for individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency period. Waivers that allowed hospitals to establish off-campus COVID-19 testing sites, expand licensed bed capacity, employ licensed providers from out of state, and significant expansion of telehealth services are examples that highlight how Northern Light Health operationalized waiver opportunities.

Tracking Federal Waivers Working collaboratively with the Maine Hospital Association (MHA) and MaineHealth to understand state and federal authority to implement waivers, we learned that the Maine Department of Health & Human Services needed to review and approve each federal waiver in addition to approving waivers initiated at the state level. Working as a team, MHA, MaineHealth and Northern Light Health created a tracking inventory of federal waivers for the state to review and approve. Weekly meetings with DHHS leaders and staff from the Governor’s office provided the communication structure to ensure that all the state and federal waivers received proper approval for implementation. Northern Light Health also worked closely with staff of Maine’s congressional delegation to ensure that Maine’s Senators and Representatives were informed of the financial and clinical impact the pandemic is having on our hospitals, home care services, and nursing homes. Staff for Senators Collins and King also assisted Northern Light Health supply chain leaders to obtain necessary personal protective equipment and access to Remdesivir, a medication for patients severely affected by the COVID-19 virus.

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