‘Concierge’ focused Connected Health in Pine adds wellness coaching to services
About five years ago, Niki Campbell was still in the early stages of a career change when she did some public relations work for the owner of Connected Health in Wexford and saw where she hoped her new vocation would lead her. When she met Betty Rich, the CEO and...
UPMC names new chief financial officer
UPMC has tapped Frederick Hargett as its executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective Oct. 1, succeeding Edward Karlovich. Hargett comes to UPMC from Novant Health, Inc., a Winston-Salem, N.C.-based health system that encompasses 16 medical centers, more than 1,900 physicians and outpatient surgery centers, rehabilitation programs, diagnostic imaging...
U.S. will regulate nursing home staffing for 1st time, but proposal lower than many advocates hoped
NEW YORK — The federal government will, for the first time, dictate staffing levels at nursing homes, the Biden administration said Friday, responding to systemic problems bared by mass covid deaths. While such regulation has been sought for decades by allies of older adults and those with disabilities, the proposed...
Planned reduction of Medicare drug costs could ease burden on cash-strapped seniors
Susie Bell of Penn Township dreads this time of year. It’s not the hot weather that bothers her, but the fact that by early summer, she’s fallen into the “doughnut hole,” a colloquial term for the annual Medicare coverage gap — when the health care plan contributes far less toward...
North Huntingdon restaurateur not slowing down, despite being on kidney transplant list
As Sam Murray makes tacos in the kitchen of his North Huntingdon restaurant and talks of a plan to ride his bicycle across the country, it’s hard to image he undergoes kidney dialysis before work three days week. Or that he’s awaiting a kidney transplant. “I am not surrendering to...
Covid cases up slightly as health care providers prep for respiratory illness season
As students return to school and residents of Western Pennsylvania head inside for the fall, covid-19 cases are on the rise, local health care providers say. The increase in cases is modest compared with the past three years of larger pandemic waves, but it’s still representative of a seasonal uptick...
Highmark Health to bring more remote workers back to the office
Highmark Health plans to bring more of its remote workforce back into the office in September. While about 20,000 of the Pittsburgh-based health care giant’s clinical workers at Allegheny Health Network have been on-site during the pandemic, other employees worked remotely where possible. Highmark estimates about half of its 12,000...
5 people hospitalized in E. coli outbreak at the University of Arkansas
Health officials are investigating an outbreak of E. coli food poisoning among students at the University of Arkansas, with dozens reporting symptoms and five people needing treatment in the hospital. Among those affected are two 19-year-old sorority members who developed a serious complication that can lead to kidney failure after...
See which drugs President Biden is targeting for Medicare price-lowering talks
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is targeting the blood thinner Eliquis, diabetes treatment Jardiance and eight other medications for Medicare’s first-ever drug price negotiations as it seeks to lower medical costs for Americans. The administration on Tuesday released a list of the 10 drugs for which prices will be negotiated...
Proposal aims to make Pittsburgh a ‘sanctuary city’ for gender-affirming care
Legislation set to be introduced to Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday aims to make Pittsburgh a “sanctuary city” for gender-affirming health care. The measure, sponsored by Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, would shield gender-affirming care providers, recipients and legal guardians from out-of-state investigations or prosecution. The legislation mirrors a measure approved...
Federal judge: West Virginia can restrict abortion pill sales
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia can restrict the sale of the abortion pill, despite federal regulators’ approval of it as a safe and effective medication, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers determined Thursday that the near-total abortion ban signed by Republican Gov. Jim Justice...
Strained smiles as dentists struggle with staffing
If you’re in a rush to schedule a dentist appointment in Western Pennsylvania, you might be out of luck. Covid-era retirements and departures from the industry, combined with inflation and a backlog of patients who couldn’t make it to the dentist during the early months of the pandemic, have combined...
UPMC sees growth in insurance usage during first 6 months of the year
More people are using UPMC’s insurance options, particularly in Eastern Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh-based health care giant reported an 11% increase in insurance enrollment, bringing membership to about 4.5 million during the first half of 2023. UPMC attributed the growth to its expansion of behavioral health and Medicaid products into the...
Coin drives in Bethel Park, Altoona benefit young patients
All those quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies added up to $11,061. Every cent will benefit hospitalized children. The cash was raised through coin drives held during May in the Bethel Park and Blair County school districts for the Sean Rovers and Kaylee Kruise Smiles Fund at UPMC Children’s Hospital Foundation....
Local doctors: New RSV vaccine can help protect newborns from severe illness
A newly approved vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV, will give pregnant moms a chance to protect their babies from wheezing, coughing and other more serious symptoms that can land infants in the hospital. Pfizer Inc.’s Abrysvo is the first vaccine for use during pregnancy that works...
1 in 5 moms belittled, abused or ignored during pregnancy or birth, CDC reports
One in five U.S. mothers reported mistreatment while receiving maternity care with their most recent pregnancy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in a new study Tuesday. Mothers said health care providers shouted at or scolded them, ignored requests for help or threatened that their treatment would be...
FDA approves RSV vaccine for moms-to-be to guard their newborns
WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators on Monday approved the first RSV vaccine for pregnant women so their babies will be born with protection against the scary respiratory infection. RSV is notorious for filling hospitals with wheezing babies every fall and winter. The Food and Drug Administration cleared Pfizer’s maternal vaccination to...
Cancer Bridges’ Camp Clubhouse gives children affected by cancer a safe space
A little girl with long wavy brown locks danced to the song “Brown Skin Girl” — the tune by Blue Ivy, SAINt JHN, Beyoncé and Wizkid is one she and her late father would perform as he held her little hand while she spun around the living room floor and...
Seton Hill, Westmoreland County Community College form nursing partnership
Westmoreland County Community College nursing students receiving registered-nurse degrees can pursue a bachelor’s degree at Seton Hill University, as part of a newly announced partnership. The transfer agreement will allow students a chance to pre-plan their admissions and transfer options for a more seamless transition to Seton Hill’s bachelor’s degree...
Pig kidney works in a donated body for over a month, a step toward animal-human transplantsVideo
NEW YORK — Surgeons transplanted a pig’s kidney into a brain-dead man and for over a month it’s worked normally — a critical step toward an operation the New York team hopes to eventually try in living patients. Scientists around the country are racing to learn how to use animal...
Some abortion drug restrictions upheld by appeals court in case bound for Supreme CourtVideo
NEW ORLEANS — New restrictions on access to a drug used in the most common form of abortion in the United States would be imposed under a federal appeals court ruling issued Wednesday, but the Supreme Court will have the final say. The ruling by three judges on the 5th...
North Carolina GOP seeks to override governor’s veto of bill banning gender-affirming care for youth
RALEIGH, N.C. — Transgender rights take center stage in North Carolina again Wednesday as GOP supermajorities in the General Assembly attempt to override the governor’s vetoes of legislation banning gender-affirming health care for minors and limiting transgender participation in school sports. The state House will hold the first of two...
A Pennsylvania study suggests links between fracking and asthma, lymphoma in children
HARRISBURG — Children who lived closer to natural gas wells in heavily drilled Pennsylvania were more likely to develop a relatively rare form of cancer, and nearby residents of all ages had an increased chance of severe asthma reactions, researchers said in reports released Tuesday evening. The taxpayer-funded research by...
States that protect transgender health care now try to absorb demand
States that declared themselves refuges for transgender people have essentially issued an invitation: Get your gender-affirming health care here without fearing prosecution at home. Now that bans on such care for minors are taking effect around the country — Texas could be next, depending on the outcome of a court...
Popular weight-loss drugs like Wegovy may raise risk of complications under anesthesia
Patients who take blockbuster drugs like Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss may face life-threatening complications if they need surgery or other procedures that require empty stomachs for anesthesia. This summer’s guidance to halt the medication for up to a week may not go far enough, either. Some anesthesiologists in...
