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1. Another Sunday, another squall of storms

• Severe thunderstorms pounded parts of the Deep South with hail, high winds and drenching rains on Sunday as forecasters warned residents to brace for possible overnight tornadoes and flooding across a region reeling from a deadly twister outbreak one week ago.
• Alabama’s Wiregrass region was hit particularly hard late last night as reports of wind damage ranged from Troy south to Dothan.
• One death has been reported in Henry County, according to WTVY.
• Alabama Power says as many as 30,000 of its customers lost electricity last night and crews now are working to restore service.
• It looks like our next severe weather threat will be Thursday. Such is life during spring in the South.
• Read more HERE.

2. Coronavirus pushes telemedicine efforts, access in Alabama

• The new coronavirus has changed so many aspects of our daily lives, and some of those changes may have lasting impacts long after the virus is finally gone.
• One is telemedicine, or connecting doctors and patients remotely for visits. While it existed in Alabama before the coronavirus, the need to keep residents at a social distance has quickly ramped up its use.
• Dr. Eric Wallace, the medical director for telehealth at UAB, has been working to create a statewide telehealth network in Alabama. He said the conversation has altered dramatically because of the coronavirus.
• “It’s changed from a patient willingness to do telehealth, from a provider willingness to do telehealth, from a payer willingness to do telehealth,” Wallace said. “Now we have a real imperative that we have to deliver health care this way.”
• Wallace said that with a cell phone camera and a good connection, a physical examination can be done, but telehealth visits aren’t yet a complete replacement for in-person appointments.
• “Telehealth is not about getting 100% of our visits remotely, it’s about getting as many visits as possible remotely to prevent the spread while making sure that the people who need care and need it here in person have that option,” he said.
• Of course, there are challenges to a dramatically increased reliance on telemedicine. Not everybody has a laptop or camera with a video camera on it. And, with Alabama’s well-documented broadband access issues, not everybody lives in an area where you have the coverage to connect with a doctor via FaceTime.
• All of this is informing a health policy discussion that will be interesting to see develop.
• Read the full story from ADN’s Mary Sell HERE.

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3. Trump, Congress near deal on small business, hospital aid

• The Trump administration and Congress expect an agreement today on an aid package of up to $450 billion to boost a small-business loan program that has run out of money and add funds for hospitals and COVID-19 testing.
• As talks continued, President Donald Trump said there’s a “good chance” of reaching a bipartisan agreement with Democrats.
• “We are very close to a deal,” Trump said Sunday at the White House.
• Along with the small business boost, Trump said the negotiators were looking at “helping our hospitals,” particularly hard-hit rural health care providers.
• The Senate is scheduled for a pro forma session Monday, but no vote has been set.
• The House announced it could meet as soon as Wednesday for a vote on the pending package, according to a schedule update from Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.
• With small-business owners reeling during a coronavirus outbreak that has shuttered much economic activity, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he was hopeful of a deal that could pass Congress quickly and get the Small Business Administration program back up by midweek.
• “I’m hopeful that we can get that done,” Mnuchin said Sunday.
• The emerging deal would provide $300 billion for small-business payroll program, and $50 billion would be available for small business disaster fund. Additionally, it would bring $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for testing, according to those involved in the talks.
• Full story HERE.

4. Then & now: ten years after oil spill

• The first photo was taken June 12, 2010 by the late, great Dave Martin of The Associated Press. The photo, which shows crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill washing ashore in Orange Beach, became one of the defining images of the 2010 oil spill.
• The second one was taken a few weeks ago by AP’s Gerald Herbert along the same beach. It shows the pristine, emerald waters we are used to in Orange Beach.
• Together, they illustrate the difference ten years makes since the 2010 catastrophe.
• The spill that began April 20, 2010, killed 11 workers on an oil platform and marred miles of coastline from Texas to Florida. Money to corral the oil, clean estuaries and prop up economies began flowing shortly after the disaster, though much of it came from the 2016 approval of a $20.8 billion settlement that dictated payments by BP through 2031.
• Not only have many cities and economies bounced back, they’re seeing new life and business in ways unforeseen during what locals call the “summer of oil.”
• Jay Reeves takes us back to that time and forward to the present as only he can to show us how coastal life is different today along the Gulf Coast.
• Read his full story HERE.

5. Column: From the oil spill, lessons and hope for coronavirus

• Not to overdo it, but I have some thoughts on the oil spill myself.
• Back then, I was working for Gov. Bob Riley as his press secretary, a role that offered a behind the scenes glimpse into a unique disaster and response.
• There really is no comparison in terms of size and scope of the oil spill and what is happening now with the new coronavirus outbreak – there’s a reason we keep using the word unprecedented.
• But there are some unmistakable parallels between the two, and perhaps lessons to be applied.
• I wrote about some in my latest column. Here’s an excerpt:

• Read the full column HERE.

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