Doctors and nurses are being called out of retirement to help fight coronavirus as the number of patients grows in the United States. "It's truly an all-hands-on-deck approach" because of the "finite number" of health care workers, CBS News medical contributor Dr. Tara Narula said.

There's "really a dwindling supply of health care providers, either because they are quarantined, they're at home taking care of their kids, or many are getting sick," Narula said on "CBS This Morning" Wednesday.

Narula pointed to the number of medical professionals who reportedly got infected with coronavirus abroad. "Over 3,000 health care professionals infected in China. Over 4,000 in Italy. Over 5,000 in Spain," she said.

"We talk a lot about the supply of masks and ventilators, but those are things that when we decide to, we can ramp up production relatively quickly. It's not so the case with our health care providers. It takes years and years to train doctors and nurses and other health care professionals," Narula said.

Because of that, tens of thousands of retired and former doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners have volunteered to go back to work. One of them is Michele Pedicone, who left her practice as a respiratory therapist in Seattle two years ago to teach at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York.

"It's a calling on my heart," Pedicone told Narula. "I need to help because I believe the systems are going to be overwhelmed."

Pedicone, a single mom, said she discussed going back to work with her son. "He has seen me out in the hospitals most of his life, taking care of other people," she said. "He said, 'I could do it as long as I didn't get sick,' which sounds like a really good deal."

Pedicone admitted she was worried about her safety, but said she thinks that's normal.

"I think a little apprehension, maybe a little fear and anxiety can be healthy in this situation," she said.

She is worried about bringing the virus home to her son but said she recognizes that she could also bring it home by going to the grocery store.

Pedicone's father called her "a hero" for going back to help, she said. Asked how she felt hearing that, she said, "I cried for an hour. And then I moved on."

"Seeing how desperate the patients are and how desperate my colleagues are, there's no way I could just sit home and read their stories, not do something about it," Pedicone said.

Narula said there is concern about some doctors and nurses going back to work because of their ages.

"We know that about 40% of doctors and nurses are over the age of 55. As we've discussed, the older you are, the more underlying conditions you have, the more at risk you are for having a severe consequence or case of COVID," she said on "CBS This Morning." "That being said, we're trying to figure out where to put these retirees that might be safer. Some people are discussing using them in telehealth capacities now that those rules have changed. They can provide care across state lines. Or in areas where they wouldn't be directly facing patients or dealing with patients."

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Doctors and nurses put retirement on hold to fight coronavirus: "It's a calling on my heart" - CBS News

Over 1,000 local senior citizens can now virtually connect with their family and friends with the donated iPads.(Photo: Provided/City of Cincinnati)

[ This story is being provided for free to our readers during the new coronavirus outbreak. Consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Enquirer atcincinnati.com/subscribe.]

Twenty local retirement and nursing homes can now provide virtual visits for families while respecting Gov. Mike DeWine's stay-at-home order, officials said.

TCC Gives, a national corporate giving initiative, donated 25 iPads to Greater Cincinnati facilities, most of which are affordable or low-income housing. According to a release from the City of Cincinnati, those facilities house about 1,500 senior citizens.

The iPads were distributed Monday by representatives from the City of Cincinnati and the United Way of Greater Cincinnati.

TCC Gives donated 35 iPads to local retirement homes and nursing homes throughout Cincinnati.(Photo: Provided/City of Cincinnati)

This is a really challenging time for many people, especially the elderly in our community, and were committed to showing up for them quickly, Moira Weir, President/CEO of United Way of Greater Cincinnati, said in the release. Were proud to bring these resources together so people can stay connected to their families."

The City states they received numerous calls of concern from individuals unable to connect with their elderly family members following a March 12 announcement from DeWinethat nursing homes would be closed to visitors during the pandemic. It is believed that the elderly are of the most at-risk to contract the new coronavirus.

The United Way of Greater Cincinnati and the City's Office of Aging and Accessibility responded by partnering with TCC Gives and providing technology for virtual visits.

The iPads were delivered Monday by representatives from the City of Cincinnati and the United Way of Greater Cincinnati.(Photo: Provided/City of Cincinnati)

I am grateful we have compassionate nonprofit leaders in our community who learn of a need and act quickly to meet it, Mayor John Cranley said in the release. Providing technology to connect seniors to their loved ones who they would otherwise have no means to contact speaks volumes about our city. Lets continue to take care of each other.

Little Sisters of the Poor is one of the facilities benefitting from the donation, according to the release. Sarah Steffen, a representative from the home, said technology is "a huge positive for our home during this time."

"It is keeping spirits and smiles up," she said.

The City of Cincinnati's Office of Aging and Accessibilityhas created a list of resources in response to COVID-19. You can find those resources on their website.

[ Get breaking news related to the novel coronavirus by downloading theCincinnati.com app]

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Coronavirus in Ohio: Cincinnati nursing, retirement homes receive iPads for virtual visits - The Cincinnati Enquirer

Updated: May 25, 2018:

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Retirement and Health Plan Cost Reductions During a Financial Downturn or Recession - JD Supra

A filled shopping cart is seen at a supermarket on March 19, 2020 in Ahlen, western Germany, due to ... [+] the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19. - Adrian Blaschke, managing director of a patient transport company 'Sani-Trans', carries out ambulance trips for transport patients lying down or sitting in a stretcher chair and now he organises shopping for senior citizens so that they can stay at home as a risk group. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP) (Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)

Readers likely know that the emergency sick leave/childcare leave bill Ive been following passed and was signed by the president yesterday. The most substantial change from prior iterations has been that eligibility for the longer 3 month benefit, originally for a number of reasons, has been narrowed to provide for benefits for parents whose children are home from school. (Frustratingly enough, the definition of child as anyone under 18 remained, and Ive not been able to figure out whether that was intentionally expansive or if teenagers really were imagined to need direct parental care, but thats neither here nor there.) Others at Forbes have summarized the final provisions, and the Washington Post reports that the estimated price tag is $105 billion.

And at the same time, ABC News reported yesterday on the latest proposals:

The Treasury Department on Wednesday pitched the details of President Donald Trump's $1 trillion economic stimulus proposal to Congress, representing his top priorities for phase three of the federal governments response to the new coronavirus pandemic.

The proposal, obtained Wednesday by ABC News, would authorize two $250 billion rounds of direct payments to individual taxpayers, with the first payment issued beginning on April 6. Another wave of payments would be distributed to taxpayers beginning on May 18.

President Trump refused to place a dollar amount on the payments during a news conference Wednesday afternoon, although Treasury proposed for the payment amounts to be fixed and tiered based on income level and family size, and each round of payments would be identical in amount.

Folks, I dont know that this makes the Central States funding deficit of $39 billion into chump change (or the $30 billion in liability for the city of Chicago pensions), but the scale of economic disruption, and the degree to which the government is expected to intervene, will likely have effects well beyond the pandemic itself. And this is far bigger than questions of stock markets and 401(k) balances.

Will the course of the next several months completely upend our understanding of the governments role in our lives? And how will this transform expectations for our role in saving for our retirement, vs. having our needs provided for by the government in retirement, and how will it affect the discussions of underfunding/bailouts when it comes to state and local pensions as well as multiemployer pensions?

A few items to consider:

Some time ago, in the context of a survey finding that Millennials had worryingly-low levels of retirement savings, I speculated that too many of them were Millennials in a different sense, that is, thinking that we were about to reach The Millennium - that is, the secular equivalent of the 1,000 year period of peace believed by some Christians to come at the Second Coming of Christ, and declining to save accordingly. In fact, this was almost exactly two years ago, before Bernie Sanders promises of student loan forgiveness and no-cost-share universal health care, let alone Andrew Yangs promises of a universal basic income.

Now were in a different situation, in waters that are uncharted in many respects in terms of both public health, and the short- and long-term economic effects. How do we help people who right now are unable to work because restaurants are shut down, or have no caregivers during work hours for children too young to manage for themselves, and what will we need to do in the future after the current crisis is over? We have a playbook for recessions, and we have mechanisms in place such as unemployment and food stamps (which, admittedly, the government had already had a poor track record in processing quickly). But we also have a generation of young people, in those Bernie and Yang supporters, who are coming to believe that we are on the cusp of a radical economic transformation.

And here are some comments from Sundays debate that worry me.

Joe Biden:

Were going to have to not only deal with the immediate crisis, economic crisis, which is the most critical now to let people know their mortgages are going to be paid, their rents are going to be paid, theyre going to have childcare, theyre going to make sure that all their medical bills are cared for relating to this, et cetera. We have to go beyond that. Were going to have to be in a situation where were meeting on a daily basis, like we did in the middle of the financial crisis, to decide how we are going to find the wherewithal and the money to be able to see to it. We hold all these folks harmless [emphasis mine] . . . .

People are looking for results, not a revolution. They want to deal with the results they need right now, and we can do that by making sure that we make everybody whole who has been so badly hurt in terms of they lose their job, in terms of not having the ability to care for their children, in terms of the healthcare costs that they have related to this crisis. We can make them whole now, now, and put in process a system whereby they all are made whole [emphasis mine].

Bernie Sanders:

Well, I think it goes without saying that as a nation we have to respond as forcefully as we can to the current crisis, but it is not good enough not to be understanding how we got here and where we want to go into the future. So how does it happen that today, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, half of our people are scared to death? Good. I agree. In fact, that was my idea originally to make sure that every person in this country is made whole as a result of this crisis [emphasis mine].

This is a radically new idea: to imagine that the government can not just mitigate the economic harms people experience but act in such a way that can prevent anyone from suffering any ill financial effect due to the pandemic and its effects on the economy. In reality, of course, this is not happening: after the first two weeks, the paid leave legislation only covers 2/3rds pay. But if this mindset is adopted by Americans at large, rather than seen as overblown rhetoric by presidential candidates trying to one-up each other in their promises, then all the hard work people have put into encouraging greater savings rates might be for naught.

And consider further this comment to my prior article on multi-employer pensions and the prospect of a federal bailout:

The economic train wreck right in front of us ought to end the chance of pensioners being treated any differently than any other retirees without enough savings to cover their costs in retirement. Congress is probably going to have to do something to help impoverished retirees; that will have to cover Teamster pensioners the same as everyone else.

Will Congress feel obliged to provide the same sort of rescue to those affected by stock market drops, as to those whove lost their jobs or childcare source? Probably not. But if the long-term economic and political effects of the pandemic is a new expectation that the government should remedy all ills, then, in whatever our new normal becomes, it will be all the harder to prod people to save for retirement not just out of some future imagined extra income but in the here-and-now.

After all, if one considers others instances of national crises, there was a role for communities to come together to help: World War II had victory gardens and scrap metal drives. In World War I, women made surgical dressings and hand-knitted socks through the Red Cross. More recently, communities worked together to provide care packages to soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now? People wishing to help post on NextDoor their willingness to go shopping for their neighbors, to be sure, but, realistically, all eyes are on the government to get us through the next weeks and months by coordinating testing and treatment and by making up for lost income. Despite the closing of schools and the increasingly-strong recommendations for social distancing, CBS News circulated footage of college students happily partying away on the beach, unwilling to sacrifice their Spring Break trips, producing fears that, without cooperation with recommendations, mandatory lock-downs would be the next step. And where people in Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia have adapted by wearing face masks, we in the United States have been given the directive not to take this personal self-protective action in order to preserve the supply for medical personnel. (I was particularly struck by a recent New York Times opinion piece, Why Telling People They Dont Need Masks Backfired, which reports that mask-wearing has been promoted by the government in those countries as a part of their strategy; there are even mask patterns online. But this means that one way in which individuals can take a tangible action in other countries is effectively not available to us.)

I am wholly unqualified to forecast the progression of COVID-19/coronavirus disease in the United States, but, beyond the (short term in the grand scheme of things) effects of the disease itself, it seems entirely possible that we see a radical transformation in our collective expectations of the role of government in areas beyond public health.

The floor is open! Share your thoughts at JaneTheActuary.com!

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How Will COVID-19 Affect Our Retirement Savings System? - Forbes

ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) The Texas Masonic Retirement Center said Tuesday that 210 employees and residents tested negative for COVID-19, but four have tested positive.

This after a resident died and later tested positive for COVID-19.

The employees who tested positive had already been in self-isolation at home well before testing and their condition is improving, Gary Blair, Superintendent of the facility said in a statement.

Texas Masonic Retirement Center (Credit: CBS 11)

The residents, who both live in the independent living areas, continue in isolation and their condition is also improving, he said.

All residents had been in isolation for a week prior to testing.

We ask for your continued prayers and expressions of concern as we walk through this challenging time with those who are so dear to our hearts, said Blair.

Latest Coronavirus News | Coronavirus Resources

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4 More Residents, Employees Test Positive For Coronavirus At Retirement Center In Arlington Where Resident Died Of COVID-19 - CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

A nurse emerges from a tent with a kit to test for Covid-19 at a drive-through testing station for University of Washington medical center employees in Seattle, Washington. Photograph: Stephen Brashear/EPA

Government officials across the US are calling on retired health workers to come back to work amid the coronavirus pandemic, expecting the current workforce of health workers to be overwhelmed and many to fall ill themselves.

The call for retired workers and other qualified medical professionals to help frontline staff underscores the desperate measures officials expect will be needed to care for a surge in ill patients, as older workers themselves will be much more susceptible to complications and death from Covid-19.

New Yorks mayor, Bill de Blasio, called on retired doctors to volunteer last week, with 1,000 workers responding in one day. Some states are working to quickly re-certify health professionals expired licenses. Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois cut red tape to allow doctors and nurses to renew expired licenses. The US Department of Veterans Affairs called on doctors to rejoin to care for ill former military.

Theres a sense right now that its kind of the calm before the storm, said Dr Marvin Malek, 67, a primary care doctor in rural Springfield, Vermont. Ive done a lot of inpatient care. I could imagine being drafted to go back to the hospital if we have a lot of ventilator patients, he said. He said he would say yes to such a request.

The USs private healthcare system means responses to the outbreak have varied from state to state. In New York, which has fast become a global hotspot, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday that projections for needed hospital beds had sharply increased as the number of cases rises more quickly than predicted. Now, state officials expect 140,000 patients will need hospital beds, 30,000 higher than previous projections. New York currently has about 55,000 hospital beds.

A bed without staff is virtually useless, said Cuomo. I will turn this state upside down to get the number of beds we need. But we need the staff for those beds.

He continued, Were calling and contacting all retirees in the healthcare field, were calling all professionals in the healthcare fields, whether or not they work in a hospital, they can work at an insurance company, a clinic, whatever, but we want to enlist as many staff as we can.

Already, 40,000 health professionals have volunteered to act as a surge health force. Among them, are 2,400 nurse practitioners, 2,200 doctors have volunteered to help in the crisis. Another 6,000 mental health professionals are providing free therapy.

The problem of keeping hospitals, clinics and nursing homes staffed during the crisis is underscored by the very nature of the disease the world is fighting. In Wuhan, China, the likelihood of infection among medical workers was more than three times as high as the general population.

The coronavirus is highly contagious, and spreads through droplets of mucus and saliva, leaving health workers many of whom are caring for patients without the appropriate protective equipment at risk.

Existing staffing shortages are only likely to be exacerbated by the epidemic. About 100 rural hospitals in the US have closed since 2010. Further, of the more than 7,000 areas in the US with existing doctor shortages, 60% are in rural areas.

Already, healthcare workers have begun to get sick. Two emergency room doctors in New Jersey and Washington state were put in critical care last week. A New York nurse who spoke with the Guardian said a colleague was recently admitted to intensive care in her own hospital, ill with Covid-19, and had to be put on a ventilator.

Dr Kelly Cawcutt, the associate director of infection control and critical care at the University of Nebraska medical center, which cared for Covid-19 patients from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, said she expected up to 40% of her workforce could fall ill at any one time.

Were bracing for the potential of having up to 30-40% of the healthcare workforce step out of care at a given point of time, Cawcutt told the Guardian.

A retired emergency department doctor in Illinois said he has been monitoring the situation for months, and wondering when to step in.

Ive been trying to figure out how I can contribute since January when this all started, Dr Scott Altman told local news station WGN. It was very clear we were going to need to respond quickly and forcefully.

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Retired health workers urged to return as US coronavirus cases set to spike - The Guardian

The number of veterans who have have tested positive for coronavirus has increased from 204 on Monday to 296 confirmed cases on Tuesday. Reported deaths also inched up from two on Monday, to four on Tuesday.

The uptick comes as the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs braces for an influx of patients, and asks for additional health care workers to staff medical facilities.

The department has called out to retired VA and federal health care workers on Twitter and Facebook, to reapply for clinical jobs: "WE NEED YOU! Help us in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Consider #VA re-employment."

The appeals from the VA, which is the largest health care system in the U.S., come after Secretary Robert Wilkie said last week that the department was getting ready to deploy 3,000 medical staff to assist in the national fight against coronavirus.

The department entered the coronavirus epidemic short-staffed with 44,000 vacancies.

Those health care workers willing to come out of retirement to help VA clinics and hospitals may themselves be at higher risk of contracting coronavirus, because they're likely to be in the most vulnerable age group.

The job openings "could include both direct patient care and telehealth options, as well as call center and other administrative support."

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VA Wants Retired Health Care Workers Back To Treat Surge In Vets With Coronavirus - NPR

Retirement planning can be stressful. After all, many people are saving too little and studies have repeatedly shown thatAmericans fear they're not likely to have enough money to last throughout retirement. If you're worried about running short of cash, you may be dreading a time in your life that you should be looking forward to.

While it's really common to stress over retirement savings, I have no worries about my plans for the future. In fact, I never spend a moment thinking about saving for my later years. There are three primary reasons why.

Image source: Getty Images.

Most people get regular paychecks on specific days. Although I do freelance work, I also get funds deposited at specific times from the companies I work for. On the days when I know money will be deposited, I've set it up so some is automatically moved from my bank account into my investment account.

The money disappears as soon as it's put in so I couldn't spend it even if I wanted to. Because of that, I don't have to control my spending and try to make sure I have enough left over to invest. I don't have to manually move money over to my retirement accounts, either -- the money just goes where it's supposed to with no intervention and I don't have to think about it.

If I had a traditional job and a workplace 401(k), this would be even easier since I could sign up to have money taken right from my paycheck. If your employer offers this option, take it. If you don't have a 401(k), you can do what I do and set up automatic contributions for yourself.

While most financial experts traditionally recommend saving 10% of your income for retirement, evidence suggests it's better to save about 15% to 20% given longer lifespans and market conditions today. I err on the side of caution and save 20%, to make sure I'll have enough.

If you have an employer match for 401(k) contributions, you can factor that money in when figuring out the total percentage of your income you save. But if you want to avoid worrying about having enough as a retiree, aim to save a larger percentage of funds than is often advised.

You won't have to stress as much about market downturns if you're putting more into your accounts, since larger investments can lead to a bigger nest egg, even if your return on investment is lower than anticipated. And if something unexpected happens, such as a job loss or income cut or forced early retirement, the extra money you've put in means you should hopefully have enough to weather the storm.

The stock market has been on a wild ride in recent days, thanks to the novel coronavirus. But I haven't done more than briefly glance at my investment account online and haven't made any changes.

That's because I invest in a wide range of different kinds of assets in different sectors. By spreading my money around, I reduce the losses I incur when some assets perform poorly because there will be others that do better.

I'm also confident I've built a diversified portfolio that will perform well over the long term, so I don't have to worry about short-term market declines.

If you want to do the same, make sure you're investing the right percentage of your assets in the stock market (subtract your age from 110 to figure out what that is). And spread your money around so you have some investments in big companies, mid-sized companies, small companies, and emerging markets.

It feels good not to be worried about retirement savings. While it took me a while to get to the place where I was confident I'd have enough for a secure future, I was able to do it by making lifestyle choices and ensuring I made saving for retirement a priority.

The steps I took aren't impossible. In fact, they're things that anyone could do. If you're ready to stop worrying about your own nest egg, you may want to try them out for yourself.

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3 Reasons I Don't Have to Think About My Retirement Plan - The Motley Fool

Moments before the NBA suspended its season, Thurl Bailey was at Chesapeake Energy Arena preparing to call a game between the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder that would never happen. It was a night like any other, until it wasnt.

After Jazz all-star Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus and the 18,000-plus person crowd was calmly instructed to exit the building, Bailey, who played in Utah for 10 seasons, was whisked off the court behind Jazz players and broadcast colleagues.

The 58-year-old recalls being led with about seven others into a lounge near the visitors locker room. There they sat, eyes glued to a television that was reporting their own surreal experience in real time. Jazz head coach Quin Snyder settled some of Baileys nerves when he walked in the room to brief everyone on the situation, as serious as it was. Eventually Bailey was led from that room to another, where medical professionals in protective gear, gloves, and facemasks collected his personal information so he could be tested for Covid-19.

A doctor braced him for the process by letting him know what to expect and how uncomfortable it might be, before a cotton swab was inserted into his nose and mouth. According to Bailey, it was painless and simple. Waiting for results was anything but. After they quarantined at the arena for over four hours, the Jazz spent the night in an Oklahoma City hotel. Bailey sat in his room, concern mounting as he thought about his wife and children.

What if my test is positive? he remembers. Was I next to Rudy? How long was I next to him? Can you receive it if youre on the same plane as people? All those things you start replaying in your mind.

In the morning a Jazz employee called Bailey with good news: his results were negative. Soon after, the team flew back to Salt Lake City where they met with Angela Dunn, a state epidemiologist at Utahs Department of Health. She went over different risk factors, explained the meaning of asymptomatic, and made strong suggestions on how they (and everyone around them) should act through the life-changing days and weeks and months that loomed ahead.

Before the season was suspended, Baileys daily responsibilities were not limited to his job as a broadcast analyst for the Jazz. Earlier this month, he was elected as a board of director for the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA), a 1,000-plus member organization that includes some of the sports most integral historic figures former players from the NBA, WNBA, ABA, and Harlem Globetrotters.

No ones immune to [Covid-19], but it is a greater concern for our demographics, if you will, Bailey says. A lot of our players are the older generation, Bailey said.

Right now, in the face of a crippling global pandemic, its members also represent an increasingly vulnerable and shaken segment of society that needs all the security, support, and accurate information they can find. The average member is 55 years old and over 200 of them are at least 70. All are impacted by the coronavirus, stressed over their own future, from a physical, emotional, and financial perspective.

In addition to Bailey who previously served before he was termed out of the role due to appointment related rules other recently elected directors include Shawn Marion, Sheryl Swoopes, and Dave Cowens. (Cowens helped found the association in 1992 with Oscar Robertson, Dave Bing, Archie Clark, and Dave DeBusschere.) Johnny Davis was named chairman of the board after spending 34 seasons as an NBA player and coach, while Jerome Williams and Grant Hill were elevated into different roles on the executive committee.

Normally, the association serves multiple functions. Its a helping hand to members in search of new professional and/or educational opportunities. It reminds them of their own value as walking brand names, and encourages them to engage with the public in different ways. But unfortunately, our current timeline is anything but normal. The NBRPA has always expressed solicitude for its own, but right now its first, second, and third priority is to ensure the health and wellness of every member who feels susceptible.

No ones immune to [Covid-19], but it is a greater concern for our demographics, if you will, Bailey says. A lot of our players are the older generation.

The NBRPA has been in front of the issue as best it can. All former players with at least three years service have healthcare coverage, while counseling services, scholarships, grants, and a rainy day fund for any members who are struggling to cope are in place. General awareness of these resources has been spread via email and phone calls, but this pandemics unpredictable scale will test mechanisms that have never been burdened by a threat this widespread and relentless.

Many members work part time and are unsure of how theyll pay their next bill or make future house payments. Dozens have contacted the organization for assistance, which tells NBRPA President and CEO Scott Rochelle that many more may want to. Theres probably another hundred who need to reach out or havent reached out but need the information, he tells me. So thats guiding our efforts to date.

Spencer Haywood, who just termed out after two straight three-year stints as the NBRPAs chairman of the board, cant stop thinking about his fellow members, former teammates, and friends who were suffering even before the globe was blanketed by coronavirus.

I love them, Haywood says. Everybody just calls, Hey can you help me with $300. I need $400, $500. I need this to make my rent. I need this to get food ... We dont have a revenue stream. All of our guys have to work. Theyre doing basketball camps. Theyre traveling. They do groups. Thats how they make money ... Were at the very beginning [of this pandemic], so I know our family, the NBA retired family, were gonna have some drama. Im hoping that its not me. But who knows?

Now 70 and living in Las Vegas, Haywood has done his best to stay as safe as he possibly can, stopping just short of hoarding Purell and essential groceries several weeks ago when his brother, who lives in France, first told him how deadly the virus can be. His four daughters teased him about being overly cautious, but now admit he was right to be so proactive.

Aside from his inability to resist two concerts at the House of Blues, put on by Arrested Development and Leslie Odom Jr. before everything shut down I couldnt help myself! Haywood laughs. I went out against orders hes replaced daily trips to the gym with morning yoga and five-mile walks at a nearby park.

While shuttered at home last Saturday afternoon, Haywood a four-time NBA All-Star and ABA MVP as a 20-year-old rookie let a few hours pass in front of ESPNs panoramic Basketball: A Love Story documentary series, which featured his own 1971 Supreme Court case brought against the NBA that essentially allowed amateurs to bypass college and enter the NBA Draft straight out of high school. Im sitting there watching, he laughs. And Im like Damn. Pretty nice. I did some deep shit.

As it rolled across his television, Haywood says a few friends who were also cooped up watching the same thing decided to call him: They were like, Man, I didnt know you went through that kind of hell. And I said You were in the league! Man, oh man.

But the pandemic has also emphasized a few general frustrations Haywood wants to air: We wasted so much time in fake news and fake this, like shit, dude, if you didnt want to be president, why did you run?

He praises the donations made by current players to arena employees who, without NBA games, no longer have a job to do, and appreciates the players unions unanimous vote that gave healthcare coverage to retired players back in 2016 [NBPA President] Chris Paul has been a champion, Haywood says. I mean truly life saving.

But in the midst of a broad crisis that will be felt by more former players than are currently under the NBRPAs umbrella, Haywood also believes todays stars should make additional contributions. Its a survival thing. he says. Think about the ones who built it for you. Who built this big conglomerate for you. I think they just dont know. They never think about us.

The thing that bothers me so bad is they dont know when its gonna end, Cowens says, Or is it?

For the NBRPA, spring is typically a busy time of year, with college conference tournaments, the NCAA tournament, the McDonalds All-American game, and Full Court Press, a nationwide youth clinic launched through the Jr. NBA. In the coming months, members lined up to earn between $250-500k in appearances alone. Instead, thanks to a wave of cancellations, revenue is at zero. There are still engagement opportunities being explored through NBA2K, Twitch, and social media, but the ramifications are undeniable.

Speaking appearances are another source of income for those who can leverage their name and life experience to travel across the country and meet with different people. That includes Haywoods successor, Davis, the NBRPAs newly elected chairman. The 64-year-old lives in Asheville, North Carolina, and normally spends his time giving talks at different colleges and universities in the area. He also sits on the foundation board at UNC-Asheville, where hes heavily involved.

But with those opportunities no longer an option for the foreseeable future, Davis is instead staying put at his home up in the Blue Ridge mountains with his wife and son, where theyve lived since 2009. The warning bell has been sounded, he tells me. You can see the presence of what this virus has done. You can see it here in terms of how people are moving in their day to day lives. Its different. It feels different.

Davis is also spending some time acclimating to his new role with the NBRPA, going through the bylaws with Cowens, who lives in Maine for most of the year but has been down in Ft. Lauderdale since Jan. 10. Despite not having a full-time job, Cowens tries to keep himself busy. Last week he signed and mailed 800 basketball cards for Panini, the memorabilia company, that compensated him for the service. Its not a lot, but its enough to pay a few bills, he says.

The Hall of Famer currently lives two blocks from the beach in a 19-story building, with 12 units on each floor. Hes neighborly, but most of the residents are on the older side, and over the past couple weeks everybody has kept to themselves.

Nights are spent out on his balcony, drinking an occasional glass of wine. When asked about the NBA deciding to suspend its season, Cowens says he wouldve liked to see at least one game played without any fans in the stands. The sound of squeaking shoes, shouting coaches, grunting players, and a natural silence that would otherwise be filled by the Jumbotron reminds him of old exhibition games that his Celtics used to play against the Knicks in upstate New York. Only 1,500 people were in the stands.

But there are more pressing matters on his mind. Now 71, Cowens is troubled by everything we dont know about the coronavirus, how theres no vaccine or direct word from the inflicted about how it made them actually feel. He worries about his wife. He checks up on old college buddies from Florida State, and recently phoned former Celtics teammate Don Chaney, whos dealing with a heart condition and is likely at a higher risk than most.

Theres so much uncertainty. If youre feeling fine, but all of a sudden you start feeling sick, you then say Am I gonna die from this? And so you dont know. Young people dont care because theyre already immune to everything in the world anyway. Theyre gonna live forever. But theyre young, thats how they think, and for the most part theyre in pretty good shape for dealing with this, Cowens starts to chuckle. So I dont hang out at the clubs anymore. Thats not part of the schedule.

No one interviewed for this story can compare such active worldwide disruption to anything theyve witnessed or experienced firsthand. None can think of anything that comes close. Its an unknown anxiety, like walking a plank while blindfolded from an unknown height. The future grows more murky by the day. The thing that bothers me so bad is they dont know when its gonna end, Cowens says, Or is it?

He reminisces about his childhood in Newport, Kentucky. Cowens grandparents and aunt lived upstairs, in the same house as his parents and brother. His aunt would entertain with stories about getting to see Jim Thorpe (the only sports hero Cowens ever had) race with her own two eyes.

Cowens thinks about that time; how his grandfather lived to see his 60s despite serving in World War I and then enduring the Spanish Flu, which killed as many as 50 million people across the world. People are going to survive, Cowens says. Thats true. But the coronavirus will still crash into so many different lives, and so far the mortality rate for those it infects is substantially higher in seniors with underlying health issues.

Preparing for a disease that will infect and bankrupt thousands of people everyday was never in the NBRPAs sight line, and, frankly, itd be a little silly if it was. Very few organizations in this country, if any, were prepared. But that hasnt stopped them from doing whatever they can to steady the emotional wave so many are flailing through.

Right now, the organizations primary motivation is to keep a bad situation from getting worse, and so far most retired players are doing whatever they can to limit the damage. Social distancing and self-quarantining are two examples of individual responsibility each person must take seriously. Most retired players are. The NBRPA cant help those who wont help themselves, but they can spread facts and manageable tactics that will save lives. The minefield of misinformation can in many ways be as dangerous as an errant cough.

Towards the end of his career, Bailey spent four seasons playing overseas. Three of them were in Italy, where he formed lifelong friendships. For the last five summers, hes gone back to put on a basketball camp. Over the past couple weeks, Bailey has been texting with those who know firsthand what the coronavirus is capable of. They beg him to take it seriously. Given his position with the NBRPA, those around him are fortunate that he is.

Our organization is staying on top of our members and their families to make sure theyre getting through it, Bailey says. Its something that will always be etched in history. I was there. I was there the day the dominoes started to fall in Oklahoma City. In the sports world, anyway.

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How retired NBA players are helping each other survive the coronavirus - SB Nation

In preparation for the expected higher need for healthcare providers, the Pennsylvania Department of State took measures this week to aid the coronavirus response.

LANCASTER, Pa.

As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, health systems will likely require more healthcare providers. In preparation for the expected higher need for healthcare providers, the Pennsylvania Department of State took measures this week to aid the coronavirus response.

Certain administrative requirements will be waived for healthcare providers, including allowing physicians who have retired in the last five years to reactivate their medical licenses through the end of the year for free.

Dr. Ed Balaban of Ambler retired from his work as a hematologist and oncologist about a year and a half ago. He now plans to apply to reactivate his license and volunteer to treat COVID-19 patients. Though Balaban remained a trustee-at-large for thePennsylvania Medical Society after his retirement, he never expected to be practicing medicine again so soon.

I think its only right that I help and participate where I can, he said. Physicians, nurses, healthcare providers in general, I think its just part of our genetic makeup.

Pennsylvania had1,127 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of March 25. The number of infected is expected to double every two to three days.

As case counts double you can see that its going to get very high, very fast, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said in avirtual coronavirus update. The concern is that over the next number of weeks we are going to see a surge of new cases, and thus since approximately 10 percent of new cases require hospitalization, see a surge into our healthcare facilities.

The Department of States waiver of certain administrative requirements applies to physicians,nurses and pharmacists.

If the slope continues the way it is, then I suspect that a fair number of us will be needed, Dr. Balaban said.

The relaxed measures also allow current healthcare workers, like a family care nurse practitioner or retail pharmacist, to temporarily leave their usual specialties in order to care for COVID-19 patients, if needed.

So that we can move these people into these places where theres the greatest need, said Betsy Snook, CEO of thePennsylvania State Nurses Association.

Healthcare systems in need of volunteers or additional healthcare providers will reach out to the public through the media and online.

Some of it has already gone out through social media. And then the people can volunteer in that way, Snook said. They can just directly correspond with whoevers asking for the assistance.

The state also announced last week it was waiving licensing requirements for both in-state and out-of-state healthcare providers to treat patients viatelemedicine.

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PA reactivating retired healthcare providers' licenses to treat COVID-19 patients - FOX43.com