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Officials Turn to Analytics to Predict COVID-19 Hotspots in Nursing Homes

Originally published on skillednursingnews.com by Maggie Flynn on april 13, 2020

An analytics company that provides data in real time about changes in patient conditions has launched an infectious disease surveillance program in the wake of the COVID-19 national emergency, with the goal of identifying hot spots for the disease before they gather steam.

Real Time Medical Systems, a provider of interventional analytics software based in Linthicum Heights, Md., also said on Friday that it would be announcing its first government contract to use the system soon.

“A huge U.S. county is now going to use us for all their nursing homes, looking for where’s the next infectious disease hotspot — where’s the next COVID hotspot,” Real Time executive chairman Dr. Scott Rifkin told Skilled Nursing News on Friday. “That way they can find it two or three days ahead of time, and focus their limited resources.

On Monday, Real Time announced that Montgomery County, in Pennsylvania, was going to use the surveillance system in the county’s nursing facilities, which volunteered to share their data.

Pressures on staff and extreme shortages of personal protective equipment across the health care spectrum make it imperative to catch the disease early, since doing so allows for better allocation of resources, he added.

Real Time provides interventional analytics for 1,000 facilities, with 55 in Maryland, 70 in Pennsylvania, and 60 in New Jersey, among others. The platform allows SNFs to catch early signs of medical problems by pulling information from facilities as it’s entered into a patient’s electronic health record (EHR).

The system is not itself a new product, but a new platform that Real Time first started developing about four weeks ago — when news of the first U.S. COVID-19 outbreak at a SNF in Kirkland, Wash., was starting to gather steam.

In the case of identifying COVID-19 hotspots, Real Time would identify such warning signs as increased temperature, high respiratory rate, cough, and shortness of breath. The data would be provided on a facility level to government and industry clients to protect individual patient privacy while allowing public health officials to identify potential outbreaks in SNFs.

The service has worked in identifying hotspots for COVID-19 “days before other folks noticed,” Rifkin told SNN. That data has been offered to state health departments, and the company is in discussions with several of them, he aded.

“This gives the health department a two- or three-day head start knowing what’s going on, in a real automated way,” he said. “They don’t have to call up every facility, they don’t have to wait for everybody to send in a written report.”

In addition, state associations for SNFs have been supportive, because the goal is to protect both their residents and their staff, Rifkin said.

The White House has also begun exploring ways that health care technology companies could work on surveillance and prevention, Rifkin pointed out. Real Time plans to start with counties or states that want to work with the company on developing the surveillance for skilled nursing facilities, but Rifkin believes Real Time’s product could be a national one.

Because as the cases of COVID-19 rise, the goal — as he emphasized — is for the nursing homes to protect patients and staff.

“I’ve got a son who is working in the ICU at Columbia Hospital in New York City,” Rifkin said. “This is personal. This is really personal.”

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Originally published on globenewswire.com on april 30, 2020

RESTON, Va., April 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comstock Environmental, an environmental engineering and consulting firm, announced today that Green Street Environmental, a Baltimore, MD based environmental firm providing Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Services, environmental due diligence and remediation services will be merged into Comstock Environmental’s operations.  The integration solidifies Comstock Environmental’ s footprint in the Mid-Atlantic and supports the company’s goal to become one of the premier environmental services firms in the region.

“We are excited to welcome the Green Street Environmental (GSE) team to the Comstock family,” said John Buzan, President of Comstock Environmental.  “Over the past year, I have come to know Scott Rifken and Bill Motley and their team and have been continuously impressed with their professionalism, performance, and client relationships.  Their experience and expertise in the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) sector will bolster our existing indoor air quality services including COVID-19 response.  In addition, Green Street's relationships with both Maryland's private and public sectors will provide Comstock Environmental with strategic advantages in the marketplace.  CES is emerging as a leader in the environmental services industry throughout the mid-Atlantic and northeast regions.

”Green Street Environmental’s strong foot hold in the Baltimore and DC markets provides Comstock Environmental with clear synergies with its existing service lines, as well as additional new service lines to offer its customers.  The addition of Green Street also provides critical geographic continuity with our existing offices in Pennsylvania and Virginia.

“Green Street brings a team with a tremendous amount of experience in the environmental industry as well as numerous long-term relationships which will be expanded through our newly formed relationship with Comstock Environmental,” said Scott Rifkin, President of Green Street Environmental.  “We are very excited to join the Comstock family.”

Comstock Environmental’s Response to Covid-19

Comstock Environmental provides emergency response coordination and implementation for buildings and facilities exposed to COVID-19 in conjunction with local, federal and state authorities and the CDC. Their cleaning protocols and implementation guidelines can help reduce the risk of infection or illness, cross-contamination, and downtime in operations.  For more information, visit Comstock Environmental.About Comstock Environmental

Comstock Environmental is an environmental engineering and consulting firm with licensed experts specializing in environmental due diligence, contamination remediation, and industrial hygiene services across the construction, manufacturing and industrial, and petroleum/petrochemical sectors across the Mid-Atlantic. With locations in Reston, VA, Philadelphia, PA, and Baltimore, MD, Comstock Environmental also offers regulatory compliance, site characterization and remediation, storage tank management services and waste management services.  Comstock Environmental is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comstock Holding Companies, a publicly traded company on NASDAQ under the symbol CHCI. For more information, visit Comstock Companies.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This release may include "forward-looking" statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect," "will," "should," "seeks" or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based largely on our expectations and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. Any number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning important risk factors and uncertainties can be found under the heading "Risk Factors" in our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Comstock specifically disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

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Jarrell Discusses COVID-19 on ‘Jmore’ Panel

Originally published on umaryland.edu By Lou Cortina on November 2, 2020

University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, participated in Jmore magazine’s second annual JBiz Innovation in Health Care panel discussion Oct. 27, providing his insights on COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, how Maryland citizens can stay healthy this winter, and UMB’s response to the pandemic.

“We’re in this situation with COVID-19 for a few more months, and probably longer than that the way things are looking right now,” said Jarrell, who fielded questions from the virtual event’s moderator, George Nemphos, JD, LLM, of Nemphos Braue Attorneys at Law. “But we’ve been doing well. I think the University is healthy and people have been extremely cooperative during these very difficult times.”

Clockwise from top left: Andrea Levine, Bruce Jarrell, Todd Peters, and George Nemphos. (Photo courtesy of Jmore)

Jmore publisher Scott Rifkin, MD, led off the event by introducing Jarrell, Nemphos, and the two other panelists: Andrea Levine, MD, MS, assistant professor of medicine and program director, Critical Care Medicine Fellowship, at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), and Todd Peters, MD, vice president and chief medical officer of Sheppard Pratt Health Systems.

Jarrell first discussed how the University responded to the pandemic in mid-March, when UMB leadership decided to implement telework for a majority of employees and curtail in-person clinical education for students. He noted that schools now are moving back to in-person clinical rotations, didactic education remains mostly remote, and basic research is at 50 percent capacity to keep the on-campus population density low.

Asked about the efforts to fight COVID-19 at UMB, Jarrell singled out the lab of Matthew Frieman, PhD, a microbiologist at UMSOM who has been studying coronaviruses for over a decade, and praised UMSOM’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD), which is conducting COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials.

“The Center for Vaccine Development has a spectacular reputation for being able to stand up vaccine clinical trials almost overnight, yet to do it in a highly efficient manner,” said Jarrell, who is participating in a CVD trial of a vaccine co-developed by Moderna, Inc., and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “CVD has a really robust capability, and Maryland should be proud to have a program like that in our state.”

Jarrell implored people of all backgrounds to participate in these trials and mentioned CVD’s efforts to recruit Latino and African American volunteers in Maryland, particularly in Prince George’s County and Baltimore.

“I urge everybody listening to keep your ear out for this kind of opportunity because we need volunteers,” Jarrell said. “I’m participating in CVD’s trial with Moderna. It’s the fifth vaccine trial I’ve volunteered for. It hasn’t hurt me, and it’s probably helped me.”

Asked about the state of Maryland’s fight against COVID-19, Jarrell said he’s worried about infection rates and the coming winter months. He praised Gov. Larry Hogan’s leadership during the crisis, pointing out the makeup of his Coronavirus Response Team, which includes UMSOM faculty members Wilbur Chen, MD, MS, and David Marcozzi, MD.

“The governor has made some excellent decisions,” Jarrell said. “One of the best things he did was to get a group of physicians and experts in epidemiology, vaccinology, and emergency medicine around him and then follow their advice.”

Moving forward, Jarrell said Marylanders need to remain vigilant in protecting themselves from the virus by adhering to the now well-known health safety protocols regarding COVID-19.

“There is extremely good data to show that if you follow the precautions religiously, you will protect yourself,” he said. “Washing your hands, wearing a mask, physical distancing — these methodologies work to limit the spread of this disease.”

Levine, meanwhile, discussed her experiences working with COVID-19 patients at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), where she is a critical care specialist.

“I spent four to six weeks caring for COVID-19 patients in our ICU and a countless number of weeks caring for patients in our outpatient clinic who are COVID-19 survivors,” she said. “I actually took care of the first patient in our hospital who had COVID-19, so I’ve been involved in this since the very beginning.”

Levine detailed how UMMC converted its intensive care units (ICU) into fully isolated biocontainment units to keep patients and staff as safe as possible, adding that she and her colleagues received insight from colleagues in New York who were dealing with an onslaught of COVID-19 patients in the spring.

“There was a vertical learning curve involved with the logistics of caring for patients in these units,” Levine said. “It was really incredible to watch parts of the hospital transform into totally different-looking units. I feel honored to have taken care of these patients and to have been on the front lines, but it has certainly been a difficult couple of months.”

Peters, an expert in child and adolescent psychology, talked about how Sheppard Pratt’s walk-in clinic was shifted to a virtual platform and said the expansion of its telehealth program during the pandemic has been a success.

“Our scale has grown exponentially, and it has allowed us to reach out to larger audiences than we ever have previously,” Peters said. “This has allowed us to provide direct care to individuals in their homes, meet them at a time of crisis, and actually refer them to more acute outpatient services or even inpatient services if needed.”

Read more about the event here.

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Hello, I'm Scott Rifkin

Scott Rifkin, MD, is a healthcare innovator and prominent entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience working as a physician and healthcare executive. He founded and currently serves as the Chairman of Provider Partners Health care. Apart from this, he is also the founder and part of the management of Mid-Atlantic Health care (MAHC). MAHC is a contemporary post-care organization that owns and runs one of the region’s largest long-term care facilities.

Dr. Scott Rifkin founded AmericasDoctor.com Inc. has registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission for sale of shares to the public. The organization provides online health information services to both the public and healthcare professionals. The company aims at raising $6- million in the IPO.

Scott Rifkin cofounded Mid-Atlantic Healthcare and is currently the CEO of the organization, which oversees the operation of the 21 skilled nursing facilities owned by the organization. Mid-Atlantic has successfully established long-term partnerships with hospitals and experienced care providers under Rifkin’s leadership to enhance health outcomes and the health of the population.

Dr. Scott Rifkin has also worked in Owings Mills as an internal medicine specialist since 31 years ago. In 1985, Scott Rifkin graduated from George Washing University School of Medicine. He specialized in internal medicine.

Scott Rifkin is also a publisher of Jmore, a magazine for the Jewish community who reside in Howard and Baltimore.  Rifkin is the founder of Maryland Jewish Media that produces the magazine.  The company provides monthly magazines and has a website and social media platform serving the Jewish communities.

Scott is also the founder and Chairman of the Board of Provider Partners health Plan Inc. (PPHP ). Nursing patients are able to get Medicare insurance from PPHP. The nurses benefit from rewards that the facility provides to those who provide high-quality care with improved revenue. PPHP also creates and manages Institutions Special Needs Plan, which is an Advantage plan in Maryland and PA as well as Five Star Physician services providing post-acute facilities and nursing homes with competent and experienced medical personnel.

Real-Time Medical System provides healthcare facilities and organizations with a platform that can be used to reduce hospitalizations. Using the platforms, healthcare facilities have witnessed a 25% to 50% reduction in the admission of patients to acute care. Real-Time Medical System is a state-of-the-art provider of medical data mining software and highly qualified physicians.

Apart from being a founder, Scott is an active member of the University of Maryland Medical system’s Board of Directors managing ten hospitals.  In 2017, Scott Rifkin was named Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the year. He also serves on the Board of Baltimore Zoo. Baltimore Zoo is a Health Facilities Association of Maryland and Pennsylvania Health Care Association.

Scott Rifkin went ahead to create three innovative startups after founding Mid-Atlantic Health care in 2003. One of these startups was National Post-Acute Healthcare, whose role is the management of bundled payments programs. The company is the recognized moderator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s Model 3 Bundled Payments for the Care improvement plan. The organization also established and oversees post-acute SNF networks for the hospital system.