WHO walks back advice to delay routine dental work, blames mediaVideo
When the World Health Organization in early August advised people to postpone routine dental work during the pandemic, Pittsburgh oral surgeon Dr. Eric Smiga was livid. “I was shocked, quite frankly. I thought it was a sad commentary from the WHO without any scientific basis,” Smiga said. “The Centers for...
Flu vaccines are important, safe in midst of pandemic, experts say
With flu season rapidly approaching and covid-19 still spreading, health experts say it’s imperative — and safe — to get a flu shot this year. Dr. Marc Itskowitz, an internal medicine physician with Allegheny Health Network, said he recommends the flu vaccine this and every year. “It gives the immune...
Facing incurable, speech-robbing disorder, Westmoreland Chamber CEO Chad Amond forges ahead
The first signs of trouble were unmistakably odd. It wasn’t like Chad Amond to forget the name of someone he knew as they greeted. Not once but twice. And it certainly wasn’t like him to ask his wife, Amy, when she brought home a new type of his favorite ginger...
Study hints, can’t prove, survivor plasma fights covid-19
Mayo Clinic researchers reported a strong hint that blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors helps other patients recover, but it’s not proof and some experts worry if, amid clamor for the treatment, they’ll ever get a clear answer. More than 64,000 patients in the U.S. have been given convalescent plasma, a...
Pitt researchers collect stories of covid-19 patients in Story Booth project
University of Pittsburgh researchers are gathering the personal accounts of patients who have recovered from covid-19 as part of an ongoing project called Story Booth. The archive of stories will be used as a tool to promote patient-centered outcome research — a mentality that focuses attention on patient experience and...
Slippery Rock, McKeesport school districts contend in lawsuits that Juul created ‘youth vaping epidemic’
Slippery Rock and McKeesport Area school districts have filed lawsuits against the makers of Juul vape products, alleging their marketing tactics have created an epidemic of harmful e-cigarette use among students. The districts are the fifth and sixth area districts to file federal lawsuits against the company. Lawsuits filed by...
Highmark CEO: Covid-19 pandemic has not deterred growth across Pa., neighboring states
Despite recent plunges in hospital revenues statewide, the covid-19 pandemic has not thwarted Highmark Health from strengthening its overall financial position and increasing its reach across Pennsylvania and neighboring states, Highmark CEO David Holmberg said Thursday. “We believe that we are very well-positioned for the long term,” Holmberg told reporters...
Allergy season plagues Western Pennsylvania, thanks to grass, ragweed, pollution
Seasonal allergies are plaguing Western Pennsylvania again this year with ragweed pollen on the rise. Dr. Thomas Mertz, an allergist at Allergy and Asthma Associates of Pittsburgh, said this allergy season seems to be severe as mid-August arrives. Mertz blamed poor air quality and lots of pollen for the severe...
New York’s true nursing home death toll cloaked in secrecy
NEW YORK — Riverdale Nursing Home in the Bronx appears, on paper, to have escaped the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, with an official state count of just four deaths in its 146-bed facility. The truth, according to the home, is far worse: 21 dead, most transported to hospitals before...
U.S. skeptical of Russia’s virus vaccine safetyVideo
TAIPAI, Taiwan — U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says it’s more important to have a safe and effective vaccine against the coronavirus than to be the first to produce a vaccine. Azar, on a visit to Taiwan, was asked by ABC on Tuesday what he thought of...
Covid-19 cases among American children jumped 40% in late July
Coronavirus infections among U.S. children grew 40% in the last half of July, according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association, bringing the total number of child infections to 8.8% of all U.S. cases. The report, which aggregates data from 49 states, comes...
Trump administration begins vaccine pilot program
WASHINGTON — After months of remaining vague about its plans to distribute a covid-19 vaccine, the Trump administration is quietly piloting distribution working groups, CQ Roll Call has learned. The plan, which has not been made public, was confirmed by four state health departments. Federal officials from the Centers for...
Allegheny County Court rules in favor of Jefferson Hills in UPMC case
An Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas recent decision means UPMC cannot build a hospital one mile down the road from an Allegheny Health Network hospital in Jefferson Hills — for now. Judge Joseph James dismissed an appeal of AUUE Inc., an affiliate of UPMC, after the Jefferson Hills Zoning...
‘I don’t want to die here’: Problems at Brighton Rehab didn’t start with coronavirus, Trib investigation finds
Talk. Kenneth Miller has heard a lot of it since March when night and day, people all around him began dying at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center. There has been talk of change, talk of state and federal probes into how the aging, 589-bed Beaver County facility that one local...
Brighton Rehab under scrutiny for hydroxychloroquine use to thwart coronavirus
Evelyn Gilbert, 53, began her five-day dose of hydroxychloroquine while battling covid-19 in a room with three other infected residents at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center. Kenneth Miller, 66, who had not shown symptoms of the virus, was jolted awake by a Brighton staffer urging him to sign a consent...
‘Covid cannot be used as a cover-up’: Brighton Rehab residents, families outraged by lax oversight during outbreak
As death became a constant at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in mid-April, so did certain daily rituals, according to some of the more than dozen residents, families and current and former staff members interviewed during a Trib investigation. Family members’ frantic pleas for updates about loved ones locked down...
After months of uncertainty at the top, Brighton Rehab has manager in place through end of year
A state-appointed manager will oversee operations at the troubled Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center at least through the end of the year, signaling some consistency after months of uncertainty about who is in charge. State officials confirmed Allaire Health Services, installed in mid-May to temporarily manage the facility where 73...
Veil of silence: As outbreak spun out of control, Brighton Rehab ownership group remained mum. It still does.
A knock on the door at two Long Island addresses listed for the owners of Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center did nothing to lift a veil of silence surrounding the company since 73 patients and a housekeeper at the Beaver County nursing home died earlier this year. The reporter who...
Local, federal officials warn against drinking hand sanitizers to combat coronavirus
Local and federal officials are warning people not to ingest hand sanitizers as more people turn to the popular cleansing agent to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are liquids, gels or foams that can disinfect hands. Such products should contain only ethanol or isopropanol. But...
Doctors, hospitals launch voter registration efforts
An emergency room doctor in Boston is assembling thousands of voter registration kits for distribution at hospitals and doctor’s offices. Later this month, students at Harvard and Yale’s medical schools are planning a contest to see which of the Ivy League rivals can register the most voters. And a medical...
Komen Pittsburgh Race for the Cure goes virtual this year
Thousands of Komen Pittsburgh Race for the Cure participants may not be gathering in Schenley Park this year, but event organizers are not letting that stop their mission. The race, which typically draws 15,000 people to the Flagstaff Hill section of the park, will celebrate its 28th year virtually, said...
CDC predicts seasonal outbreak of rare childhood paralysis linked to virus
Starting this month, the United States should expect an outbreak of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a form of childhood paralysis thought to be caused by a viral infection, government health officials said Tuesday. Though AFM remains uncommon, it spikes in even-numbered years, with 238 cases identified in 2018, the Centers...
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb: Investigate state health department over coronavirus oversight at Brighton Rehab
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb on Tuesday renewed his criticism of the Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County, calling for an additional investigation into how the Pennsylvania Department of Health oversaw the facility during the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter dated Monday to the federal Centers for Medicare &...
National Guard captain from Washington County targets Pittsburgh Half Marathon after leukemia battle
What happened there? What was that about? In October 2019, those questions scrambled through Jason Mounts’ mind. A quick, three-mile run wiped him out. It was supposed to be just a warm-up for an extended workout. But he was whipped. That was odd for Mounts. A former soccer player at...
Walmart to open 9 added covid-19 test sites in Pennsylvania
Retail giant Walmart will open nine additional covid-19 drive-thru testing locations at stores across Pennsylvania this week, most of them in Western Pennsylvania, state health officials announced Monday. But one health expert is concerned those sites will do little to help control the outbreak. “It is an important goal to...
