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(Ascension Seton)
An AISD teacher gets vaccinated by Ascension Seton staff.
Austin ISD and Ascension Seton announced its partnership Saturday to get eligible teachers vaccinated over the weekend and through Tuesday.
<p>The first to receive the vaccine have been on-campus staff aged 65 and older. To follow will be those with a qualifying condition in Group 1B and those teachers whose accommodations were denied for the upcoming semester.</p><p>Superintendent Dr. Stephanie Elizalde revealed the news to staff in a letter sent on Friday.</p><p>While noting that AISD police officers and nurses have already begun receiving their vaccines, she added they will continue to advocate for all teachers and staff to be prioritized as the vaccines become more widely available.</p><p>Austin ISD central office staff are notifying eligible individuals via a personal phone call and email to tell them how they can register to be vaccinated, according to the announcment. </p><p>The news came just one day after Dr. Elizalde announced that in-person classes will resume on Tuesday with the added precaution of canceling all extracurriculars except varsity athletics. The option for online learning will be offered to families through the rest of the school year.</p>
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No longer the only option, telemedicine is here to stay—and Austin patients love it
27 November 2020
(MangoNic/Shutterstock)
Before the pandemic started, Adult Care of Austin on Menchaca Road didn't offer telemedicine appointments.
Now, the private practice conducts almost all of its visits virtually, either over the phone or on HIPAA-compliant video platforms.
Dr. Steven Dobberfuhl, an internal medicine physician, said telemedicine saved his practice—and has been a boon to his patients, around 75% of whom are 65 years or older and at high risk of contracting COVID-19.
"I didn't believe it would work as well as it has," he said.
<p>Dobberfuhl is not alone. </p><p>With policy changes enacted at the state and federal level earlier this year, including requirements that insurance companies <a href="https://austonia.com/telemedicine-offers-health-care-at-a-social-distance" target="_self">reimburse doctors</a> for telemedicine appointments, the technology finally made financial sense for many local physicians.</p><p>"Sadly, if it's not getting paid for, it's not getting done," Dobberfuhl said.</p><p><a href="https://www.healthit.gov/topic/health-it-health-care-settings/%20-and-telehealth" target="_blank">Telemedicine</a>—which includes live videoconferencing, recorded videos, remote patient monitoring and mobile health, such as texts—offers convenience and limits doctors and patients' exposure to the coronavirus. </p><p>But there were kinks to work out.</p><p>"Everything was sort of bottlenecked through telemedicine," said Dr. Terry Rascoe, medical director of telemedicine virtual urgent care for Baylor Scott & White Health, which expanded its telemedicine services <a href="https://austonia.com/telemedicine-offers-health-care-at-a-social-distance" target="_blank">early on in the pandemic</a>. </p><p>Over the last eight months, however, physicians and patients alike have discovered the benefits of telemedicine—and been able to return to in-person visits where they make sense now that the state has allowed elective procedures to resume. </p><p>"It was a crisis period (in March and April)," said Dr. Ashis Barad, medical director of virtual specialty care services for BSW Health. "We were replicating in-person care back then out of necessity. Really the hope now is to enhance care."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<a href="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjkxMDE2MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzgwNjUzMX0.8ik0qBqJZBPaJtnL_2RcENC7KxniTAGcfCJJERBEHU8/img.jpg?width=980" target="_blank"><img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4fc65ae2446d4f9e44adfb1edffe29ed" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="15c35" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjkxMDE2MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzgwNjUzMX0.8ik0qBqJZBPaJtnL_2RcENC7KxniTAGcfCJJERBEHU8/img.jpg?width=980"/></a>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
(Steven Dobberfuhl)</small>
</p><p><strong>The telemedicine revolution</strong><br/></p><p>For Barad, who is also a pediatric gastroenterologist, this means using telemedicine for follow-up visits and for those families who may live far from his Temple clinic, which serves dozens of counties in Central Texas. </p><p>"Patients are going to drive this," he said of telemedicine's continued use. "And I think in general, our patients love telemedicine." </p><p>Other physicians echoed this assessment.</p><p>Although no longer a necessity, telemedicine continues to save patients time. Instead of spending hours commuting to a doctor's office and possibly losing out on pay, they can instead pop into a video or phone call for 30 minutes. </p><p>"The patients are really seeing the benefit of not having to take a half day off of work," Dobberfuhl said.</p><p>There are also benefits to the doctors themselves. </p><p>Dobberfuhl likes getting a glimpse into his patients' homes—a kind of 2020 house call. </p><p>"For better or for worse, I kind of like having a little bit of that insight," he said. (Although there are some occupational hazards that crop up: "I've had patients not put on shirts.")</p><p>Overall the change has been a positive one.</p><p>"It's a good revolution," Dobberfuhl said. "We all really hope that parts of it stay (beyond the pandemic)." </p><p><strong>A tool in the toolbox</strong> </p><p>But telemedicine is not a panacea.</p><p>Many physicians and private practices are still reporting depressed patient volume as a result of the pandemic and haggling with insurance companies over reimbursement rates. </p><p>"They're still struggling," said Tom Banning, CEO of the Austin-based Texas Academy of Family Physicians. "There's no question about that."</p><p>Although telemedicine is useful in many instances, it doesn't address every problem caused by the pandemic. Banning estimates that patient volume has rebounded to about 85% of pre-pandemic levels, but that still leaves a 15% gap, which he attributed in part to patients losing their jobs—and with them their health insurance.</p><p>"I think telemedicine is just going to be one bullet in the gun," he said of the challenges facing doctors today. </p><p>Another reason for the drop in patient volume may be the success of COVID prevention measures.</p><p>"This time of year we're typically slammed," said Dr. Brian Temple, a co-owner and partner at Beansprout Pediatrics, which has locations in Bee Cave, Dripping Springs and Spicewood.</p><p>With kids wearing masks and social distancing, however, the common flu and cold cases are much less common. </p><p>Still, telemedicine is a useful tool for Temple's practice, especially for screening patients with COVID symptoms without having to bring them into the office, where they might infect staff. </p><p>With cases surging, this is a critical safeguard. </p><p>"If we didn't have that, I don't know what we would do," he said. </p>
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1 in 50,000 chances: Austin woman gives birth to identical triplets
18 November 2020
(Ascension Texas)
Devon Bernier, the mother, called the birth a "small miracle."
An Austin woman gave birth to identical triplets at Ascension Seton Medical Center in March, the hospital announced Wednesday.
<p>Devon Bernier and her husband Chad Mullenix, both in their 40s, call the birth a "small miracle," according to the hospital's statement.</p><p>Soon after the couple married in 2017, Bernier began in vitro fertilization, or IVF, using an egg donated by one of her sisters. During a doctor's visit, the couple was told that there were three heart beats. The news "blew their minds," according to the statement. Bernier and her husband were nervous about the potential risks of a multiple pregnancy, and so waited until delivery to learn the sex of the babies. </p><p>Maverick, Colton and Jack Mollenix were born as healthy baby boys on March 29.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="450" data-rm-shortcode-id="262bf9743b677423b5c459761842421d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc4ODQzMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MDY4MzUxMX0.wG-OzyCXxdcvSIOlJHpJKEv9zUt2oof4iqOyqJmH4_Y/img.jpg?width=980" data-width="800" id="94b72" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Maverick, Colton and Jack Mollenix were born March 29. Identical triplets are exceedingly rare. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Ascension Texas)</small></p><p>The hospital says COVID restricted the couple's visitors during Bernier's stay, in addition to other safety measures.<br/></p><p>"Although I couldn't see their faces, I felt very supported by the staff. They were warm and hands on," Bernier said in the statement. "I loved seeing my babies with them and knew they were taken care of."</p><p>Identical triplets are exceedingly rare. One <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12664963" target="_blank">study</a> found identical triplets to occur 20 to 30 times per 1 million deliveries. The outcome is much more likely with assisted reproduction, which make up the majority of instances.</p>
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Jimmy Partners with Indeed to Give Back to Comedy Clubs: The Hideout Theatre
Host of The Tonight Show Jimmy Fallon announced that, in partnership with Indeed, he would donate $15,000 to Austin's Hideout Theatre during his show.
<p>The improv club, located on 617 Congress Ave., has been closed since early March due to the pandemic. Fallon has been highlighting local comedy clubs that have been hit hard by COVID-19 on his show all week, donating $15,000 and giving a shoutout to each. </p>
<p>"We wanted to help them out a little more than just a shoutout," Fallon said on the show.</p>
<p>Nightlife and small businesses have struggled in the face of COVID-19; <a href="https://austonia.com/mugshots-closes" target="_self">numerous bars</a> and even other comedy clubs, like <a href="https://austonia.com/cap-city-comedy-closes?utm_source=Austonia&utm_campaign=53db106d4c-Daily+091020&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ad2a1dda78-53db106d4c-381158922" target="_self">Capital City Comedy Club</a>, have seen their end this year.</p>
<p>Kareem Badr, co-owner and general manager of The Hideout Theatre, said while they are very thankful for the donation, it will only cover a fraction, about 20%, of the theatre's back rent.</p>
<p>"(The donation) was completely out of the blue and a nice bit of good news in a year that has been incredibly challenging," Badr said in an email to Austonia. "The thing we are really hoping for is that the national attention brings the theatre some new audience members and companies interested in our virtual team-building workshops."</p>
<p>Badr said the theatre hasn't opened in effort to help slow the spread of COVID-19 and it does not plan to open back up until they are confident the virus is under control.</p>
<p>"Businesses where people gather in small spaces for extended periods of time should be literally the last places that open back up," Badr said. "That obviously poses a threat to these businesses and that is why we feel the local, state and federal governments should do more to help them survive while they have to be closed in the name of public health and safety."</p>Though you can't watch the shows in person, The Hideout Theatre still does live shows <a href="https://www.hideouttheatre.com/calendar/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">via Twitch</a> and the cafe is open for to-go orders. Shows are free to watch but the theatre is accepting donations.<p><br/></p><p><strong>More on celebs:</strong></p>
<h2><a href="https://austonia.com/andy-roddick-roast" target="_self">Austin's Andy Roddick is about to get served, charity style</a></h2>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQ3OTM0My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1OTE0MDI3Mn0.dxFtrCgHL2DpVgzePrDndSUjL4pUe81_Rk_bgTDVnpo/img.png?width=980" id="0dd19" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="04cb214e184ad7436ffac6b205aeff44" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Austin's Andy Roddick is about to get served, charity style
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