How Western Pa. schools are making the best of remote learning
It’s too early to say what long-term impact remote learning might have on children in the age of the coronavirus. But experts say whether a child learns at home or at school, parents should be working with them to determine how to best meet their needs. “When you talk about...
Why you can’t get a quick, simple, at-home covid-19 test
SAN JOSE, Calif. — There’s a covid-19 test that is as routine, simple and quick as brushing your teeth. But it’s not legal for widespread use. Yet. Frustrated by restrictions on an approach that could ease the pandemic, the Bay Area tech community is helping lead a growing national effort...
Pennsylvania reports 963 new coronavirus cases, 18 new deaths
Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 963 new coronavirus cases — a 72-case jump from yesterday’s 891. The state Department of Health reported 18 new deaths attributed to the coronavirus after posting 10 on Friday. Thursday’s total of 20 deaths was the highest of the week. No new deaths were reported Monday....
Penn State football doctor: 30-35% of covid-19-positive Big Ten athletes had myocarditis
New data helps illustrate what Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren might have meant when he described “too much medical uncertainty and too many unknown health risks” as reasons for postponing the Big Ten’s 2020-21 fall sports season. During a State College Area school board of directors meeting on Monday night,...
FBI investigating embattled Brighton Rehab nursing home in Beaver County
Investigators with the FBI served search warrants Thursday morning at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, the Beaver County nursing home that was the site of one of the nation’s deadliest covid-19 outbreaks. U.S. Attorney Scott Brady confirmed the FBI executed court-authorized warrants at Brighton Rehab as well as Mount Lebanon...
Nursing home covid-19 case, death data still missing from Pa.’s public reports
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLIVE/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — During the first three months of the coronavirus pandemic, the public had no way to measure which Pennsylvania...
Steroids can save lives among covid-19 patients, UPMC and Pitt researchers sayVideo
An international study led by scientists at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that inexpensive steroids improve outcomes of severely ill covid-19 patients. The World Health Organization has updated treatment guidance in reaction to the study. The findings were published Wednesday in the Journal of the...
Allegheny County health director, executive receive shots in covid-19 vaccine trials
Allegheny County Director of Health Dr. Debra Bogen and County Executive Rich Fitzgerald are taking part in a clinical trial for a covid-19 vaccine, both said Wednesday. “As a pediatrician, I have great confidence in vaccines,” Bogen said during her weekly press briefing on the virus. She said she has...
‘Urgent’ request sent to states in push for coronavirus vaccine delivery by Nov. 1Video
WASHINGTON — Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sent a letter last week to the nation’s governors with an urgent request. The Trump administration wanted them to do everything in their power to eliminate hurdles for vaccine distribution sites to be fully operational by...
Health officials worry nation not ready for covid-19 vaccine
Millions of Americans are counting on a covid-19 vaccine to curb the global pandemic and return life to normal. While one or more options could be available toward the end of this year or early next, the path to delivering vaccines to 330 million people remains unclear for the local...
Dr. Anthony Fauci swats conspiracy theory on CDC covid death dataVideo
White House coronavirus task force advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday debunked online theories retweeted by President Trump claiming that only 6% of covid-19 deaths are directly because of the virus. Trump retweeted a post from a user “Mel Q,” who is supposedly a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy movement,...
Monroeville urgent care center offers antigen covid test results in 20 minutes
Dr. John Kolonich of Monroeville thinks people need to be talking much more about covid-19 testing, and that those doing the testing should be talking much more to their patients. “No test is 100% sensitive,” said Kolonich, a physician with iCare Urgent Care on Route 22 in Monroeville. “I think...
UPMC Hospitals recognized for LGBTQ policies
UPMC’s efforts to develop robust care policies and practices for members of the LGBTQ community have brought recognition to 26 of its facilities from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation. Ten of the hospitals were designated as “Leaders in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality,” meaning they met criteria in the areas of...
Lower Burrell woman, others join 6-person living-donor transplant swapVideo
Katherine “Kate” Maloney is definitely a daddy’s girl. And her father, Steve Leach, is definitely a girl dad. “When I look at my dad, I see a strong, hardworking man. I see my best friend,” said Maloney, 30, of Lower Burrell. “I see an amazing grandfather. I love that I...
Hundreds rally at Massachusetts State House against flu vaccine mandate for studentsVideo
Demonstrators, many not wearing masks, came to the Massachusetts State House on Sunday to oppose a new state rule that requires flu shots for school children. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker announced what is believed to be the first such requirement in the country earlier this month. A Massachusetts Department of...
Nurses on NY’s front lines call for minimum staffing ratios
ALBANY, N.Y. — Nurses on the front lines of New York’s covid-19 pandemic are calling for the state to enact minimum staffing standards ahead of another wave of infections. Health care industry leaders, though, warn that passing such a law would saddle facilities with billions of dollars in extra costs...
UPMC tops $11B in revenue in 1st half of 2020
UPMC took in $11.1 billion in revenue in the first half of 2020 — nearly $1 billion more than the same time period last year — despite grappling with hospital losses during the pandemic-spurred lockdown, the nonprofit health system reported Wednesday. By July, as patient volume picked up following a...
CDC, Pa. health department ease up on covid-19 travel guidelines
Federal and state officials have eased up on some of their guidelines for coronavirus-related travel restrictions. On Monday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health removed Arizona from its list of travel restrictions originally announced on July 2. No new states were added. The states that remain on Pennsylvania’s travel restriction list...
Gisele Fetterman gets personal about her medical marijuana use
View Gisele Barreto Fetterman through the lens of social media, and one might assume she is among the world’s most upbeat people. But those close to the lieutenant governor’s wife know she’s waged a lifelong war against chronic pain, with medical marijuana being an effective form of treatment. She felt...
Here is the AHN mobile clinic covid-19 testing schedule for this week
Allegheny Health Network announced its newest covid-19 testing schedule for its mobile clinic and community sites. AHN’s mobile clinic will visit the following locations from 10:30 a.m. till 4 p.m.:Wednesday: Hazelwood Family Health Center in Hazelwood at 4915 Second AvenueThursday: Alma Illery Medical Center in Homewood at 7227 Hamilton AvenueMonday:...
Miami ICU nurse: I have never in my life seen so many deaths
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Their final breaths are tormented. Rublas Ruiz has seen too many of them — the last gasps of 17 men and women who died of the coronavirus. A 41-year-old ICU nurse in Miami’s Kendall Regional Medical Center, Ruiz has witnessed the desperate, pleading, wide-eyed, barely there...
Indoor air purification systems play supporting role in covid-19 prevention measures
A mask mandate, a no-smoking policy and a suspension of indoor dining were among the measures Rivers Casino on Pittsburgh’s North Shore took to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus when it reopened in early July. That same week, the World Health Organization acknowledged airborne transmission of the virus, particularly...
UPMC East emergency department doubling capacity
UPMC East in Monroeville said Friday it is expanding its emergency department and doubling its capacity to accommodate patients. The hospital will begin using the new space on Aug. 24. The $24 million emergency department expansion adds 30,000 square feet to UPMC East. With the renovation, the number of private...
Allegheny County dealing with backlog of covid-19 hospitalization data
The Allegheny County Health Department is catching up on covid-19 hospitalization data that accumulated in the month of July. At a Wednesday news conference, Health Director Dr. Debra Bogen explained why this week, the county dashboard stopped providing daily counts of the number of past and present hospitalizations. During the...
Pharmacists can give childhood shots, U.S. officials say
NEW YORK — Pharmacists in all 50 states are now allowed to give childhood vaccinations under a new directive aimed at preventing future outbreaks of measles and other preventable diseases. Alex Azar, the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, took the step using emergency powers he...
