A critical shortage: Amid burnout, fatigue, exhaustion, nurses leave their jobs
In 2021, at the height of the pandemic, Denelle Korin was assigned to the covid wing in an acute care hospital in central Pennsylvania where she worked as a nurse. For months, Korin saw patients die. Like thousands of nurses across the country, she herself put her health and safety...
Japan, South Korea protest China visa stoppage in covid spat
TOKYO — Japan and South Korea defended their public health restrictions on travelers from China on Wednesday, a day after China stopped issuing new visas in both countries in apparent retaliation. South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said he finds it “significantly regrettable” that China stopped issuing short-term visas to...
Experts: Dog flu hasn’t hit Western Pennsylvania, but precautions are good idea
A highly contagious respiratory disease targeting dogs has shown up in at least nine states, including Pennsylvania, in recent months, and it’s raising concern among those who work with dogs in the Pittsburgh area. But, while Becky Morrow, a veterinarian and founder of Frankie’s Friends, a nonprofit animal rescue shelter...
Callers keep flooding 988 mental health, suicide helpline
HYATTSVILLE, Md. — When Jamieson Brill answers a crisis call from a Spanish speaker on the newly launched national 988 mental health helpline, he rarely mentions the word suicide, or “suicidio” Brill, whose family hails from Puerto Rico, knows that just discussing the term in some Spanish-speaking cultures is so...
Safety agency to consider ban on gas stoves amid health fears
A federal agency says a ban on gas stoves is on the table amid rising concern about harmful indoor air pollutants emitted by the appliances. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission plans to take action to address the pollution, which can cause health and respiratory problems. “This is a hidden...
New covid variant — dubbed ‘kraken’ — found in Western Pa.
A new strain of covid nicknamed the “kraken” for its dominance over previous strains of the virus has been found in the Western Pennsylvania region, health officials said. Officially known as XBB.1.5, the new covid variant has jumped from just 1% of cases to become the dominant strain in the...
Use drugs, surgery early for obesity in kids
Children struggling with obesity should be evaluated and treated early and aggressively, including with medications for kids as young as 12 and surgery for those as young as 13, according to new guidelines released Monday. The longstanding practice of “watchful waiting,” or delaying treatment to see whether children and teens...
Hepatitis C is a slow-moving killer that can be stopped
LOS ANGELES — Michael Mendez said that when learned he had hepatitis C, “I didn’t even know what it was.” Mendez, 47, had been homeless for years in Los Angeles, and said he hadn’t gone to a doctor the entire time he was living on the streets. When Mendez got...
U.S. approves Alzheimer’s drug that modestly slows disease
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials on Friday approved a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug that modestly slows the brain-robbing disease, albeit with potential safety risks that patients and their doctors will have to carefully weigh. The drug, Leqembi, is the first that’s been convincingly shown to slow the decline in memory...
Ligonier-based Bethlen Communities to join Concordia Lutheran Ministries
Ligonier-based senior care organization Bethlen Communities signed a letter of intent to join Concordia Lutheran Ministries, a senior health care network with in-home care and inpatient locations in western Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the country. Both organizations “will work … toward an expected affiliation date in the spring,” officials said....
Highmark Health Plan names president
Tom Doran has been named Highmark Health Plan president, taking the reins of the country’s fourth-largest Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate with about 6.8 million members. Doran is not new to the Pittsburgh-headquartered health insurer. Most recently, he served as the health plan’s chief operating officer when former health plan...
Survey: 3.3 million U.S. adults displaced by natural disasters
More than 1.3% of the adult population in the United States was displaced by natural disasters in the past year, with hurricanes responsible for more than half of the forced relocations, according to first-of-its-kind survey results from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Household Pulse Survey results said that 3.3 million...
FDA finalizes rule allowing mail-order abortion pills
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday finalized a rule change that allows women seeking abortion pills to get them through the mail, replacing a long-standing requirement that they pick up the medicine in person. The Biden administration implemented the change last year, announcing it would no longer...
Experts: Next 24 hours critical in Damar Hamlin’s recovery
Experts say the next 24 hours will be critical in the recovery of Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety and McKees Rocks native who suffered cardiac arrest during a “Monday Night Football” game at Cincinnati. “It’s hard to say exactly what’s going on. But at this point, they are maintaining...
Merger of Excela, Butler health systems finalized
Ken DeFurio, who served as president and CEO of Butler Health System, will lead the new organization formed by the merger of Butler and Excela Health, officials announced Tuesday. The merger was final as of Sunday, Jan. 1. John Sphon, who was CEO of Excela Health, plans to retire in...
As legal pot grows, more kids sickened by edibles at home
The number of young kids, especially toddlers, who accidentally ate marijuana-laced treats rose sharply over five years as pot became legal in more places in the U.S., according to a study published Tuesday. More than 7,000 confirmed cases of kids younger than 6 eating marijuana edibles were reported to the...
New Alzheimer’s drug undergoes testing
PHILADELPHIA — A new drug designed to ward off Alzheimer’s is being tested at more than 100 sites around the world, including the University of Pennsylvania. Called lecanemab, it consists of antibodies that bind to the abnormal proteins that accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. Previous efforts to...
Nonprofit creates free online course to tackle Pennsylvania’s opioid crisis
The Rothman Opioid Foundation for Opioid Research & Education is offering a free online curriculum that will aid current and future prescribers to fight opioid addiction across Pennsylvania and the Appalachian region. Launched in 2019, the Philadelphia nonprofit is dedicated to raising awareness of the risks and benefits of opioids,...
$2.2M federal grant to advance Duquesne’s new college of osteopathic medicine
The first entering class of students at Duquesne University’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine will be outfitted with devices to aid patient examinations in remote areas under an award from the federal government. Money for the portable ultrasound handheld devices is included in a $2.2 million grant to help finance...
China to scrap covid-19 quarantine for incoming passengers
BEIJING — China will drop a COVID-19 quarantine requirement for passengers arriving from abroad starting Jan. 8, the National Health Commission announced Monday in the latest easing of the country’s once-strict virus-control measures. Currently, arriving passengers must quarantine for five days at a hotel, followed by three days at home....
Pitt committee approves up to $10M for land deal in BioForge project
A panel of University of Pittsburgh trustees on Wednesday authorized spending up to $10 million to acquire a piece of property in Hazelwood Green to develop a cell and gene therapy manufacturing facility. The three-acre property known as Lot 18 would become home to BioForge. “BioForge will be designed to...
How are Pa. hospitals handling the worst flu season in years as covid-19 cases rise?
Hospitals around the United States are feeling pressure from multiple fronts: RSV cases among children have been up for months, overloading some pediatric units. The nation, including Pennsylvania, is in the midst of its worst flu season in years. Most recently, covid-19 cases have begun to climb. PennLive has been...
U.S. starts grappling with untreated hepatitis C virus
WASHINGTON — Too many Americans are missing out on a cure for hepatitis C, and a study underway in a hard-hit corner of Kentucky is exploring a simple way to start changing that. The key: On-the-spot diagnosis to replace today’s multiple-step testing. In about an hour and with just a...
Children’s medicine shortage hits as flu season starts fast
Caring for sick children has become extra stressful recently for many U.S. parents due to shortages of Children’s Tylenol and other medicines. Doctors and other experts say the problem could persist through the winter cold-and-flu season but should not last as long as other recent shortages of baby formula or...
Loved or hated, Fauci’s parting advice: Stick to the science
WASHINGTON — Long before the bobbleheads and the “Fauci ouchie,” Dr. Anthony Fauci was a straight-shooter about scary diseases — and “stick with the science” remains his mantra. Fauci steps down from a five-decade career in public service at the end of the month, one shaped by the HIV pandemic...
