Already Thursday and time for your
NCMS Morning Rounds.
May 14, 2020
More Loan Funding Available for NC Small Businesses
Included in the recently signed into law 2020 COVID-19 Recovery Act legislation is $125 million allocated for small business loans. The loans will be administered through the Golden Leaf Foundation. The initial application for an NC COVID-19 Rapid Recovery loan takes only about 15 minutes to complete and could mean up to $50,000 to assist your practice. Learn more and apply here.
The COVID-19 Rapid Recovery loan is designed to fill lending gaps, including while businesses are waiting on SBA loans. Note: this is not a forgivable loan. These loans are six months payment-free. At the end of the six-month period, the loans will be termed out for 48 months at 5.5 percent interest.
We Appreciate Our Business Alliance Members
With the COVID-19 pandemic changing so many aspects of how we live and work, we are especially grateful to our three newest NCMS Business Alliance members. Welcome to Parsec Financial, AbbVie and Professional Risk Associates (PRA).
These organizations recognize that Business Alliance membership, even during these unusual times, offers a new way to interact with the NCMS and its members to foster long-term, meaningful relationships. Now more than ever, our physicians and PAs are seeking innovative community partnerships as we all respond the pandemic.
We thank all our Business Alliance members and particularly Parsec Financial, AbbVie and PRA for helping provide our members with the necessary tools to improve the health of all North Carolinians now and in the future.
If you or a business in your community would be interested in becoming part of our Alliance, please visit our NCMS Business Alliance webpage to learn more. Or contact Pam Highsmith, [email protected], or (919) 830-4127.
Tool to Assess COVID-19 Impact on Health Care Workers
Clark Gaither, MD, medical director for the NC Professionals Health Program (NCPHP) and family physician in Goldsboro, recently alerted readers of his ‘Dr. Burnout’ blog a new tool to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers.
Called the ‘Pandemic Experience & Perception Survey’ (PEPS), the tool is a 35-item questionnaire for working adults, for group administration, and takes about 5- 10 minutes to complete online. It has been designed to measure employees’ experiences working during a pandemic and provides for real-time results reporting. The stated purpose of the survey is to, “measure the extent of pandemic impact, work resources, risk perception, employee work-life, and leadership,” Dr. Gaither writes.
Learn more about how to access this assessment on Dr. Gaither’s blog, which is focused on helping health care workers, who are burned out, retool and reignite their passion and purpose. See the latest blog post on the PEPS.
The NCMS also has compiled a list of Emotional Support Resources specifically for addressing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care teams. View those on our webpage.
In the News
No Intubation: Seniors Fearful of COVID-19 Are Changing Their Living Wills, Kaiser Health News, 5-12-20
Learning Opportunity
The National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Countering the US Opioid Epidemic will hold a day-long Public Virtual Symposium on May 21 beginning at 8:30 a.m. Speakers will address the highest priority elements of the nation’s response to the opioid epidemic particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Learn more and register to attend this free, virtual symposium – you are welcome to attend for the whole day or for any session that you find interesting.