UPMC to close Somerset hospice facility; care shifting to homes, hospital
SOMERSET — Hospice care inside Somerset’s In Touch Hospice House will end this summer, driven by changing industry trends, UPMC officials said. With more patients able to receive end-of-life care at home, demand for the North Center Avenue location’s 10-bed unit has decreased in recent years, a UPMC spokesperson said...
Should you get a vasectomy after Roe decision? Doctors explain how it works
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Since Roe v. Wade was overturned on Friday and Missouri’s trigger ban outlawed nearly all abortion in the state, interest in vasectomies has been on the rise around Kansas City. Since the ruling dropped on Friday, The Kansas City Urology Care, which has about a dozen...
5 questions about monkeypox with Pittsburgh infectious disease experts
A third confirmed case of the virus associated with monkeypox was reported Friday in Allegheny County, spurring further curiosity about the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting tests to confirm monkeypox, according to the Allegheny County Health Department. All three cases of orthopoxvirus were confirmed in...
Some medical debt is being removed from U.S. credit reports
Help is coming for many people with medical debt on their credit reports. Starting Friday, the three major U.S. credit reporting companies will stop counting paid medical debt on the reports that banks, potential landlords and others use to judge creditworthiness. The companies also will start giving people a year...
Pittsburgh considers partnering with Johns Hopkins University on drug-withdrawal program
Pittsburgh officials are considering partnering with Johns Hopkins University to analyze the city’s prehospital buprenorphine program. The city launched the program in November, allowing EMS personnel to administer the drug to patients experiencing opioid withdrawal. Hospitals and physicians commonly use buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder and opioid withdrawal, which...
A viral reprise: When covid-19 strikes again and again
For New York musician Erica Mancini, covid-19 made repeat performances. March 2020. Last December. And again this May. “I’m bummed to know that I might forever just get infected,” said the 31-year-old singer, who is vaccinated and boosted. “I don’t want to be getting sick every month or every two...
WHO chief: U.S. abortion ruling ‘a setback,’ will cost lives
GENEVA (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization on Wednesday criticized the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, saying the decision to no longer recognize a constitutional right to abortion was “a setback” that would ultimately cost lives. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a...
Monkeypox case diagnosed in Pittsburgh
A case of monkeypox has been detected in Pittsburgh, the infected patient’s primary care office said Wednesday in a statement. The individual received testing for monkeypox at Central Outreach Wellness Center on the North Side, according to the statement, and the state Department of Health confirmed the result Tuesday. The...
U.S. officials announce more steps against monkeypox outbreak
NEW YORK — Reacting to a surprising and growing monkeypox outbreak, U.S. health officials on Tuesday expanded the group of people recommended to get vaccinated against the monkeypox virus. They also said they are providing more monkeypox vaccine, working to expand testing, and taking other steps to try to get...
CVS, Rite Aid put limits on purchase of ‘morning after’ pills after seeing sales spike
CVS Health and Rite Aid are limiting how many so-called “morning after” emergency contraceptive pills a person can buy at one time. Both agencies told NBC News that the limit is being placed because of increased demand. The demand is likely connected to the Supreme Court ruling on Friday that...
FDA advisers debate updating covid booster shots for fall
Government advisers debated Tuesday if Americans should get a modified covid-19 booster shot this fall — and exactly how best to update it to fight a virus that surely will change even more by then. “That’s the problem — we’re being asked to more or less have a crystal ball...
Pittsburgh nurses say overturning Roe will endanger patients, increase burnout
About half a dozen nurses gathered Tuesday outside of West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield to decry the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, essentially making abortion illegal in several states. Pennsylvania still allows abortions up to 24 weeks into pregnancies and will continue at least through...
Millennial Money: Getting therapy when cost is a barrier
The race to find mental health treatment can feel like a marathon when you may not have the energy or ability to even make it to the starting line. You may be faced with limited affordable options and a lack of available therapists. “Prior to the pandemic, we had an...
Covid vaccines saved 20M lives in 1st year, scientists say
Nearly 20 million lives were saved by covid-19 vaccines during their first year, but even more deaths could have been prevented if international targets for the shots had been reached, researchers reported Thursday. On Dec. 8, 2020, a retired shop clerk in England received the first shot in what would...
FDA bans Juul e-cigarettes tied to teen vaping surge
WASHINGTON — Federal health officials on Thursday ordered Juul to pull its electronic cigarettes from the U.S. market, the latest blow to the embattled company widely blamed for sparking a national surge in teen vaping. The action is part of a sweeping effort by the Food and Drug Administration to...
Belle Vernon dad organizes blood drive in honor of ‘superhero’ son battling eye cancer
Albert Jasso knows how important it is to have donated blood at the ready during a medical emergency. Jasso’s 11-year-old son, Cam, recently needed blood transfusions while undergoing chemotherapy treatments for orbital rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of the eye. “This time around, we knew it was going to be more intense,...
Bethel Park double amputee, cancer survivor hopes to inspire others
Jean Mwale is putting one prosthetic leg in front of the other. The Bethel Park resident is taking the steps to heal and move forward, and she wants to share her story of fear, pain, hope and love. “Don’t give up,” said Mwale, smiling as she put on her prosthetic...
Trans kids’ treatment can start younger, new guidelines sayVideo
A leading transgender health association has lowered its recommended minimum age for starting gender transition treatment, including sex hormones and surgeries. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health said hormones could be started at age 14, two years earlier than the group’s previous advice, and some surgeries done at age...
Pa. health department ready to give covid vaccines to young children
The Pennsylvania Department of Health said Saturday that providers across the state are prepared to begin providing covid vaccines for young children starting early next week. The announcement comes shortly after the approval of two vaccines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and emergency use authorization from the...
Westmoreland health care providers, employees combat staffing shortages from pandemic
The local health care industry had its challenges before a pandemic swept around the world two years ago. As summer 2022 approaches, human resources directors and department managers are finding it even more difficult to find the people who can provide basic services. It’s especially tough for small facilities such...
FDA advisers endorse 1st covid-19 shots for kids under 5
The first covid-19 shots for U.S. infants, toddlers and preschoolers moved a step closer Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisers gave a thumbs-up to vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer for the littlest kids. The outside experts voted unanimously that the benefits of the shots outweigh any risks for...
Monroeville VA clinic expected to serve up to 10,000 veterans annually
Veterans Affairs officials are certainly proud of the work done at their flagship hospital in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. But they’re also well aware of the drawbacks elderly veterans face when walking up the aptly-named “Cardiac Hill” to their appointments. “There are a lot of steep hills, and in bad weather...
UPMC breaks ground on $1.5B hospital project in Pittsburgh’s Oakland
UPMC said Tuesday its $1.5 billion project to build a 17-story hospital in Oakland is the largest health care construction project going in Pennsylvania — and the largest in Pittsburgh’s history. “It will be the beating heart of life-changing medicine,” UPMC President and CEO Leslie Davis said of the planned...
FDA advisers back Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for older kids
NEW YORK — A government advisory panel Tuesday endorsed a second brand of covid-19 vaccine for school-age children and teens. The Food and Drug Administration’s outside experts voted unanimously that Moderna’s vaccine is safe and effective enough to give kids ages 6 to 17. If the FDA agrees, it would...
WHO convenes experts to decide if monkeypox is an emergency
GENEVA — The World Health Organization will convene an emergency committee of experts to determine if the expanding monkeypox outbreak that has mysteriously spread outside Africa should be considered a global health emergency. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Tuesday he decided to convene the emergency committee on June 23...
