Health

(April 1, 2020 2:10 PM) Physicians treating patients with COVID-19 at Henry Ford Allegiance Health are turning to a drug called hydroxychloroquine as part of their treatment strategy. Hydroxychloroquine (also known as Plaquenil or hydroxychloroquine sulfate) is an arthritis medicine that also can be used to prevent malaria. This past weekend, the Food and Drug Administration granted "emergency use authorization" for hydroxychloroquine to be used in the treatment of COVID-19. “All patients with COVID-19 who are sick enough to be admitted to our hospital are receiving a standard five-day course of hydroxychloroquine,” said Vivek Kak, MD, Medical Director for Infectious Disease at Henry Ford Allegiance Health. “This is part of a well-defined protocol that was developed by a multi-disciplinary team of critical care physicians and nurses, pharmacists and infectious disease specialists.” In addition to using hydroxychloroquine to treat patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19, the hospital is also administering the drug to some “persons under investigation” who meet criteria and are believed to have COVID-19 but are awaiting lab result confirmation. “We are seeing encouraging results from this protocol,” added Dr. Kak. “In some cases, we are seeing sick patients coming off ventilators, which makes us guardedly optimistic this intervention will reduce…

(April 1, 2020 12:03 PM) The Jackson County Health Department released the COVID-19 positive numbers for Jackson County.  As of 12 PM today, there are 56 positive cases (cumulative), and two deaths.  This is the second death reported in Jackson County, the first occurring Saturday.  No other information was provided by the Health Department.  Further details should be made available later today. As of 3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31, there are 20 individuals with positive COVID-19 results who are inpatients at Henry Ford Allegiance Health. There are also 13 persons under investigation who are inpatient at HFAH. These numbers are posted each day by 12:00 Noon . These numbers do not reflect any cases identified through Michigan Department of Corrections.  MDOC cases are included in the state report issued each day at 3 PM. Jackson County Cumulative Report: as of Tuesday at 12 Noon Breakdown of COVID-19 positive cases by sex: Gender Number Percent Male 26 46% Female 30 54% Age - Years Number Percent 0 -19 1 2% 20 - 29 3 5% 30 - 39 11 19% 40 - 49 6 11% 50 - 59 15 27% 60 - 69 13 23% 70 -79 5 9% 80…

(April 1, 2020 11:27 AM) Forecasting models from Michigan Medicine clinicians show aggressive social distancing could reduce the number of COVID-19 patients at U-M hospitals in early May by as much as 65 percent at peak. “This data confirms that everyone in Michigan can help us flatten the curve and it is crucial. This is not to be taken lightly,” said Vikas Parekh, M.D., associate chief clinical officer for Michigan Medicine’s adult hospitals and professor of internal medicine. Parekh adds that through sustained and prolonged social distancing, Michigan residents can greatly reduce the portion of the population who become infected and significantly reduce these estimates for the number of patients who would require hospitalization. “In a scenario where the virus spreads throughout the local population infecting the majority of the population, our model shows tremendous differences between less and more aggressive social distancing,” Parekh said. “Our models show that in this worst-case scenario, with less social distancing, our peak census of patients in U-M hospitals could be as high as 5860 patients on May 4. With aggressive social distancing, the model shows about 2000 patients on that same date.” The reduction of 65 percent is the difference in census in…

(April 1, 2020 10:33 AM) The Jackson District Library has added new online resources and extended due dates on all library materials. JDL has added three online resources in the wake of the "stay home, stay safe" order: Tumblebook Math, Audiobook Cloud, and Romance Book Cloud (swoon).  Ancestry.com can now be accessed from home.  Temporarily, this genealogy website is available to everyone with a JDL card from home computers.  Hoopla has "Bonus Borrows" that don't go against your checkout cap, check out their list of free borrows here. The library asks patrons to NOT return materials until they reopen.  The stay at home order currently runs through April 13 but is subject to change.  JDL has extended the due dates on all materials checked out to April 30. All fines that may have accrued during closure will be waived, and they will make changes to the due dates depending on any updates to the stay at home order. If  If you have an item on hold, your place in the queue is frozen, and if you have a hold item ready for pick up, it will be there for you when we reopen. MeLCat statewide interlibrary loan service has been suspended,…

(April 1, 2020 7:54 AM) Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA )continues to see a historical increase in the newly unemployed seeking emergency financial relief.  UIA has released a new schedule they say is designed to improve functionality, accessibility and help alleviate bottlenecks.  Tuesday, the UIA website crashed and was down for nearly two hours.  The agency says the site is back up and functioning.  The state warns the process will be slow due to the high demand. UIA has released a fact sheet: To apply for unemployment benefits, contact UIA and see available resources, visit http://Michigan.gov/UIA.

(March 31, 2020 10:55 PM) April 1 is rent due day for many apartment residents.  If you’re concerned about what will happen if you can’t pay your rent, state and federal government have taken several steps to help. Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order on March 20 temporarily halting evictions for nonpayment of rent through April 17. The order allows tenants and mobile home owners to remain in their homes and allows courts to delay eviction-related proceedings. The governor has also extended the tax foreclosure deadline. The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that its suspending all evictions and foreclosures until the end of April. The Federal Housing Finance Agency directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to do the same for a minimum of 60 days. The CARES Act puts a 120-day eviction moratorium in place nationally for tenants in properties that are part of government programs or that have a federally-backed mortgage loan. The National Multifamily Housing Council put out a release asking apartment owners and landlords to halt evictions for renters who were experiencing job loss or reduction in income due to COVID-19. The council went on to request a 90-day pause on all rent increases. The council asked its member landlords…

JTV Photo (March 31, 2020 7:14 PM) The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) announced today it will request a federal waiver of statutory and regulatory requirements in the Child Nutrition Programs, in accordance with federal guidance. The Michigan Department of Education is requesting the waiver on behalf of all Child Nutrition Program sponsors determined to be in good standing in the state of Michigan. “The need for nutritious meals does not take a break during a public health emergency such as COVID-19,” said State Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice. “In fact, the need for healthy meals heightens due to factors beyond the control of Michigan families. Allowance of additional sites will ensure that children who receive meals from these programs have access to the nutrition that is needed.” MDE is seeking to request a statewide waiver to allow all participating Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sponsoring organizations, as well as current National School Lunch Program (NSLP) sponsors, the option to serve and receive reimbursement for open meal sites that do not meet the 50 percent or more free or reduced priced eligibility requirement during times of unanticipated school closures. Child Nutrition Program sponsors do not need to request exceptions from the…

(March 31, 2020 4:28 PM) The Michigan Department of Attorney General has denied a request from a well-known craft and hobby retailer that asked the office to agree that its storefronts should remain open during the Stay Home, Stay Safe executive order.   Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office on Monday sent a letter to JoAnn Fabrics indicating the business’s storefront operations should be temporarily suspended while Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order remains in place. The order was issued to protect the public health and welfare of Michigan residents and reduce person-to-person contact whenever possible due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).  Two change.org petitions are online calling for the retailer to close storefront operations.    One of the petitions has gained over 10,000 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon. JoAnn Fabrics has a store location on Wisner Street in Jackson. “I can appreciate the desire of businesses that want to remain open and provide their customers with the same products and services they have come to expect from these retailers, but there must be common sense protections in place during this global health emergency,” Nessel said. “Employees should be permitted to work from home whenever possible and businesses that are not necessary to sustaining or protecting life should comply…