What if you don’t have Covid — but you still need a doctor? This question became more urgent in 2021, when many people moved to the Outer Cape to escape […]
Search Results for: nursing homes
HEALTH CARE
Need for Rooms at Cape Cod Hospital Exceeds Capacity
Patients face difficult choices about elective surgeries
HYANNIS — Cape Cod Hospital has been dealing with a triple threat: a recent swell in incoming Covid-19 patients, a backlog of inpatient discharges, and a pandemic-driven staffing shortage. The […]
PHILANTHROPY
A Place for Hospice Will Open in Wellfleet
Chance meeting of like-minded women leads to donation of house
WELLFLEET — As president of the Friends of the Wellfleet Council on Aging, a home health aide with the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA), and a nursing home ombudsman for Elder […]
PANDEMIC
Outer Cape’s Covid Infection Rates Remain Low
Those who got the Pfizer vaccine and are over 65, or at risk, can now get boosters
PROVINCETOWN — Three months after a steep rise in Covid-19 cases tied to Provincetown’s 4th of July weekend crowds, the number of cases on the Outer Cape is low compared […]
TRURO: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS
Town Boosters
Meetings Ahead
All meetings in Truro are held remotely. Go to truro-ma.gov and click on the meeting you want to watch. The agenda includes instructions on how to join. Thursday, Sept. 30 Climate Action […]
WELLFLEET: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS
Masks Up
Meetings Ahead
All meetings in Wellfleet are remote only and can be watched online. Go to wellfleet-ma.gov and click on the meeting you want to watch. Follow the instructions on the agenda. […]
IMMUNITY
Local Businesses, Health Care Providers Resist Requiring Vaccine
Experts agree on the vaccines’ effectiveness, but not on mandates
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information since its publication in the Aug. 5 print edition. PROVINCETOWN — Since May, Patrick Patrick, head of the Provincetown Chamber […]
COVID-19
Baker Ends Nearly All Pandemic-Related Restrictions
Business closures, rules for gatherings will disappear May 29
PROVINCETOWN — Citing a first-in-the-nation vaccine rollout and a plummeting count of Covid-19 cases, Gov. Charlie Baker moved the state’s “end of restrictions” date from the previously announced Aug. 1 […]
ELDER CARE
Privacy Protections Leave Gaps in Covid Death Reports
Data from assisted living facilities are mostly blacked out
PROVINCETOWN — When it comes to Covid, Massachusetts is pro-data. The Dept. of Public Health (DPH) publishes a weekly Covid report, daily Covid updates, and a weekly report on vaccinations. […]
THE ROAD TO NORMAL
Heartburn and Heartache in Vaccine Rollout
Hopes for quick access were raised, then dashed
PROVINCETOWN — Massachusetts had a plan for rolling out the Covid vaccine. First up would be the entire health-care industry, police and fire depts., and congregate living facilities where large […]
IMMUNITY
‘Rollout’ of Vaccine Gets to Cape Cod
First responders set to receive Covid vaccine starting Monday
PROVINCETOWN — The Outer Cape is getting vaccinated for Covid. Outer Cape Health Services has been inoculating its staff here and in Wellfleet with the Moderna vaccine. Seashore Point Wellness […]
VISITING THE SICK
Hospitals Can Be Flexible on No-Visit Policy
But sometimes you have to fight to get them to do it
Among all the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, perhaps the greatest is not being able to visit elderly loved ones. In some cases, Covid patients have died in health-care facilities […]
PANDEMIC
Wastewater Testing Yields Messy Data
But it’s a still a valued tool for detecting Covid outbreaks
PROVINCETOWN — Testing wastewater for Covid was an unproved idea at the start of this pandemic. If it worked, it would be a way to cheaply test entire communities at […]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Monetizing the Dead
Here at the Independent, we are diverse, age-wise. But we have some old-fashioned ideas. We’re serious about proofreading and fact-checking. We think classified ads are fun. We want our website […]
ELDER CARE
State Releases Partial Data on Covid Deaths in Assisted Living
One Cape Cod facility has had 11 previously unreported fatalities
Since late May, the state has provided detailed reports on fatalities from Covid-19 in nursing homes, but for assisted living facilities, the same information is hard to come by. The […]