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Two Missouri towns are without operating hospitals after private equity-backed Noble Health left both facilities mired in debt, lawsuits, and federal investigations. The hospitals’ new operator, Platinum Health, agreed to buy them in April for $2 and laid off the last employees in early September.
Refugees are arriving in the U.S. in greater numbers after a 40-year low, prompting some health professionals to rethink ways to provide culturally competent care amid a shortage of mental health services.
As abortion restrictions take effect across the South in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, cancer doctors are trying to decipher the laws. They’re grappling with how to discuss options with pregnant patients, who may be forced to choose whether to proceed or forgo lifesaving cancer treatments that can prove toxic for the fetus.
The nonprofit owners of Atlanta Medical Center, a 460-bed Level 1 trauma center in the heart of the city, plan to close the hospital in November. As many community members worry about the hole the closure will leave in the city’s safety net, the news has thrust health care into the political spotlight less than two months before Election Day.
The gay community is disproportionally affected by the monkeypox outbreak, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says public health efforts should prioritize gay and bisexual men. But in the South, some LGBTQ+ advocates fear that this is not happening consistently. They say they are having to take matters into their own hands in the absence of a coordinated response from state governments.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
For decades, the U.S. medical establishment has adhered to a legally recognized standard for brain death, one embraced by most states. Why is a uniform clinical standard for the inception of human life proving so elusive?
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has tapped Mary Wakefield to help “reset” the agency after its public failures handling the covid pandemic. Those who know Wakefield say her high standards and problem-solving skills make her a good fit for the job.
Public health officials and resettlement groups across the U.S. have used community organizers to encourage newly arrived refugees and other vulnerable people to get vaccinated against covid-19. In a Georgia city that is home to many refugees, the vaccination rate is higher than in the state, county, and surrounding communities of similar socioeconomic status.
Abortion access is shaping races for legal office across the country, from local district attorneys to attorneys general. But it’s also highlighting the boundaries of their offices.
Know-how gained through the covid pandemic is seeping into other public health areas. But in a nation that has chronically underfunded its public health system, it’s hard to know which changes will stick.
Nonprofit RIP Medical Debt buys up unpaid hospital bills plaguing low-income patients and frees them from having to pay.
Experts say the EPA’s recent declaration that some PFAS chemicals are unsafe at detectable levels in drinking water signals acceleration in efforts to curb exposure to compounds found in nearly every American’s blood.
Wastewater testing has proved a reliable early alarm bell for covid outbreaks. U.S. researchers are now adapting the approach to track the explosive spread of monkeypox.
More than two years into the pandemic, parents face a child care crisis. That’s why some hospitals are considering starting child care centers to address recruitment and retention troubles.
Some people living with HIV and some state health officials are raising concerns about part of the federal effort to end the HIV epidemic: a new technology that analyzes blood samples to find emerging outbreaks. The critics say it’s too invasive and stigmatizing and might not be more effective than older public health approaches.
Abortion will almost certainly face new restrictions in Georgia. Patients will have a harder time finding services, and providers will have to figure out how to navigate the new landscape. Meanwhile, abortion opponents see the moment as an opportunity to put further restrictions on the procedure.
Most of the dozen states that haven’t fully expanded eligibility for Medicaid have extended or plan to extend the postpartum coverage window for new mothers. That could mean improved maternal health, but it’s only part of the puzzle when it comes to reducing the number of preventable maternal deaths in the U.S.
People talk about the sacrifices they made when health care forced them into debt.
Trauma surgeons say that the weapons used in mass shootings are not new but that more of these especially deadly guns are on the street, causing injuries that are difficult to survive.
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