The most significant updates related to COVID-19 over the next several weeks are likely to be related to vaccinations, so I’m going to focus on a few of the most significant details related to the vaccines. There are two vaccinations that are likely to get an emergency use authorization from...
Over the last week, we have finally seen some reduction in the number of cases and hospitalizations due to COVID across the state. This is certainly welcome news that suggests that more precautions are being taken and that it is working. While good to celebrate some improvement in the situation,...
Iowa Specialty Hospital-Belmond is pleased to announce it has been named a 2020 Pinnacle of Excellence Award® winner by Press Ganey. The Pinnacle of Excellence Award recognizes top-performing clients from health care organizations nationwide on the basis of extraordinary achievement and consistently high levels of excellence for at least three...
This week has brought both some very good and some sobering news on the COVID-19 front. Let’s start with the good news. Two companies, Pfizer and Moderna, have released preliminary results of their phase 3 vaccine trials and both show that they are >90% effective at preventing COVID-19. Just as...
As part of National Rural Health Day, Iowa Specialty Hospital-Belmond, today announced it has been recognized by The Chartis Center of Rural Health and the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) for Overall Excellence in Outcomes and Patient Perspective. The Performance Leadership Award program utilizes the results...
The last week has brought the highest infection rates that we’ve seen yet and we’re seeing the effect of this in the hospital. As I write this, we have 8 COVID-19 patients admitted, which is the most that we’ve had at Iowa Specialty and continues to increase. All of our...
Over the last several weeks, there has been a large increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 in Iowa. Just comparing the last two weeks for which we have complete information we saw cases rise from 8,895 two weeks ago to 14,712 last week. As cases increase in a...
There is no way to describe this past week as anything other than a week in which we took a dramatic turn for the worse. There has been a large increase in positive cases across our area, the state, and the country. We are also continuing to see an increase...
There has not been much change in the amount of COVID-19 spread in our area over the past week. It continues to spread at a steady (and relatively high) rate with 34 new infections identified in Wright County from last Thursday to this Thursday. Four Wright County residents remain hospitalized,...
There has been no indication yet that the increased rate of cases in Wright County is slowing down. Just as significantly, with the exception of Franklin County, every county touching Wright County has been seeing a prominent spike in the number of cases as well. During this week, 6 Wright...
