News

More Than 5,000 Surgery Centers Can Now Serve As Makeshift Hospitals During COVID-19 Crisis

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The Trump administration cleared the way Monday to immediately use outpatient surgery centers, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, hotels and even dormitories as makeshift hospitals, health care centers or quarantine sites during the coronavirus crisis.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced it is temporarily waiving a range of rules, thereby allowing doctors to care for more patients.

Hospitals and health systems overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients will be able to transfer people with other medical needs to the nation’s 5,000 outpatient surgery centers, about half of which are affiliated with hospitals. This will give the country thousands of additional hospital beds and operating rooms, some of which have ventilators or anesthesia gas machines that could be repurposed as ventilators.

Outpatient surgery centers will be allowed to treat patients with other critical needs — such as serious injuries, cancer or heart attacks — unrelated to COVID-19, allowing hospitals to conserve scarce resources

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Healthy Recipes

Core-strengthening goals? Have a ball | Health Beat

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Repetitive movements that engage your pelvic floor can help build muscles that improve strength and agility. (For Spectrum Health Beat)

Pilates is an excellent exercise discipline that develops strength and agility—and you don’t need to take formal classes or use Pilates machines to get its benefits.

Using a stability ball with floor exercises is tailor made to target your core, the muscles of your abdomen.

Here are three to try from the American Council on Exercise.

Note: Choose a ball between 7 inches and 10 inches in diameter.

Roll-ups

Sit on a mat and place the ball between your legs. Raise your legs and slightly lower your back to make a V shape with your body. Your arms should be straight out in front of you. Now, keeping your legs elevated, engage your pelvic floor and abdominal muscles and slowly roll down your back, vertebra by vertebra until it’s flat

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Fitness & Diet

‘Huge progress’ | Health Beat

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Ian, left, and Isaac Diehm are graduates of the Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Intensive Feeding Program. They still return to the clinic for progress evaluation. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)


Ian and Isaac Diehm

Therapy team staff will observe a meal to assess the brothers’ eating behaviors and make recommendations to advance feeding skills and diet. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)


Ian and Isaac Diehm

The Diehm twins were born in July 2014 at only 26 weeks, when Erin went into preterm labor. Each weighed just over 2 pounds and they spent five months in the NICU. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)


Ian and Isaac Diehm

Before the twins’ fourth birthday, they entered the day treatment program—eight weeks, 40 hours a week, with a parent or other caregiver participating each day with each child. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)


Ian and Isaac Diehm

Like most preemies, the boys had their share of challenges. Isaac had a congenital blockage in his

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