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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public Health Officials Face Wave Of Threats, Pressure Amid Coronavirus Response

Emily Brown was stretched thin. As the director of the Rio Grande County Public Health Department in rural Colorado, she was working 12- and 14-hour...

If You’ve Lost Your Health Plan In The COVID Crisis, You’ve Got Options

The coronavirus pandemic — and the economic fallout that has come with it — boosted health insurance enrollment counselor Mark Van Arnam’s workload. But...

COVID-19 Batters A Beloved Bay Area Community Health Care Center

MARIN CITY, Calif. ― A small band of volunteers started the Marin City Health and Wellness Center nearly two decades ago with a doctor...

New Coronavirus Hot Spots Emerge Across South And In California, As Northeast Slows

Mass protests against police violence across the U.S. have public health officials concerned about an accelerated spread of the coronavirus. But even before the...

Elevadores en tiempos de COVID-19, un desafío de la vuelta al trabajo

Cuando la Asociación Médica Americana (AMA) trasladó su sede a un famoso rascacielos de Chicago en 2013, las vistas desde la sala de conferencias...

Health Workers Resort To Etsy, Learning Chinese, Shady Deals To Find Safety Gear

A nursing home worker in New Jersey rendezvoused with “the parking lot guy” to cut a deal for gowns. A director of safety-net clinics...

Tirarle gas lacrimógeno a manifestantes en medio de la pandemia es un “desastre”

En las manifestaciones a nivel nacional por la muerte de George Floyd bajo custodia policial, agentes han lanzado  spray pimienta y gas lacrimógeno contra las...

At-Home Care Designed For COVID Likely Here To Stay At Cleveland Hospital

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). CLEVELAND, Ohio — In late March, Andrea Laquatra began to feel sick. At first, it...

COVID-19 Overwhelms Border ICUs

CHULA VISTA, Calif. — Even as most California hospitals have avoided an incapacitating surge in coronavirus patients, some facilities near the Mexican border have...

Using Stories To Mentally Survive As A COVID-19 Clinician

Dr. Christopher Travis, an intern in obstetrics-gynecology, has cared for patients with COVID-19 and performed surgery on women suspected of having the coronavirus. But...

Newsom Likes To ‘Go Big’ But Doesn’t Always Deliver

Gavin Newsom knew it was a political gamble when, as the newly elected mayor of San Francisco, he promised to eradicate chronic homelessness. “I recognize...
This Thursday, May 21, 2020, photo shows a parked car with a broken front window after a smash-and-grab break-in in Los Angeles. The coronavirus hasn't been kind to car owners. With more people than ever staying home to lessen the spread of COVID-19, their sedans, pickup trucks and SUVs are parked unattended on the streets, making them easy targets for opportunistic thieves. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Protests And The Pandemic

Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. Following the death of George Floyd while in custody in Minneapolis, protests have mushroomed around...

Hiring A Diverse Army To Track COVID-19 Amid Reopening

As a contact tracer, Teresa Ayala-Castillo is sometimes asked whether herbal teas and Vicks VapoRub can treat COVID-19. These therapies aren’t exactly official health...

Tear-Gassing Protesters During An Infectious Outbreak ‘A Recipe For Disaster’

In nationwide demonstrations sparked by the killing of George Floyd in police custody, protesters have been frequently pepper-sprayed or enveloped in clouds of tear...

Efforts To Curb Congenital Syphilis Falter In COVID’s Shadow

U.S. public health officials are closer to identifying a road map for curbing the rising rates of syphilis infections in newborn babies, but with...

As COVID Cuts Deadly Path Through Indiana Prisons, Inmates Say Symptoms Ignored

Scottie Edwards died of COVID-19 just weeks before he would have gotten out of the Westville Correctional Facility in Indiana. Edwards, 73, began showing symptoms...
Hospital - Kaiser Health News

COVID-Like Cough Sent Him To ER — Where He Got A $3,278 Bill

From late March into April, Timothy Regan had severe coughing fits several times a day that often left him out of breath. He had...

Searching For Safety: Where Children Hide When Gunfire Is All Too Common

Justice Buress, 4, demonstrates how she hides under a table during a drill at Little Explorers Learning Center in St. Louis. Day care...

Coronavirus Tests The Value Of Artificial Intelligence In Medicine

Dr. Albert Hsiao and his colleagues at the University of California-San Diego health system had been working for 18 months on an artificial intelligence program designed...

The 30-Somethings Who Fled Big Cities To Shelter With Mom And Dad

AUSTIN, Texas — It took three weeks, but Lawrence and Arlene Maze finally persuaded their younger son, Gregory, of Los Angeles, to get on...

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: When It Comes To COVID-19, States Are On Their Own

Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. At least so far, states that reopened their economies are not seeing a major spike...
Woman Having Dental Checkup

Reopening Dental Offices For Routine Care Amid Pandemic Touches A Nerve

Tom Peeling wanted his teeth cleaned and wasn’t going to let the coronavirus pandemic get in the way. Luckily, his six-month regular appointment was scheduled...

Tennessee’s Secret To Plentiful Coronavirus Testing? Picking Up The Tab

To reopen businesses and public spaces safely, experts say, states need to be testing and contact tracing on a massive scale. But only a...

To Stem COVID, This Small Indiana City Decided To Test All Public-Facing Employees

Behind a nondescript strip mall in Carmel, Indiana, a short line of cars gathers mid-afternoon next to a large tent. Medical professionals stand out...
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center Hospital in San Diego

The Pandemic Is Hurting Pediatric Hospitals, Too

Children have largely escaped the ravages of COVID-19, but children’s hospitals have not eluded the financial pain the pandemic has wrought on health care...

Proveedores de Medicaid, al final de la lista para recibir fondos por COVID

Casa de Salud, una clínica sin fines de lucro en Albuquerque, Nuevo México, brinda atención primaria, servicios para adicciones y terapias alternativas como acupuntura...

Tourists, Beware: Foreign Visitors’ Travel Health Insurance Might Exclude Pandemics

It was evident that the fever, nausea and loss of appetite Vlastimil Gajdoš felt on his wedding day was not a mere case of...

How A Company Misappropriated Native American Culture To Sell Health Insurance

Jill Goodridge was shopping for affordable health insurance when a friend told her about O’NA HealthCare, a low-cost alternative to commercial insurance. The self-described “health...

In The COVID Age, Bring A Mask And Gloves To A Protest

INDIANAPOLIS — When Lamari Edwards joined Dreasjon “Sean” Reed’s Facebook Live video, she could sense something bad was going to happen, but she never...

How COVID Colors The Salon Experience

LOVELAND, Colo. — Blush Beauty Bar hair salon had been closed 48 days, a consequence of stay-at-home orders to stem the tide of the...

Despite Pandemic, Trauma Centers See No End To ‘The Visible Virus Of Violence’

CHICAGO — On an early March day at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the emergency room at the University of Chicago Medical Center...

Analysis: We Knew The Coronavirus Was Coming, Yet We Failed 5 Critical Tests

The arrival of COVID-19 has provided a nuclear-level stress test to the American health care system, and our grade isn’t pretty: at least 73,000...

In Reversal, Kansas Will Count All Positive COVID Cases, Even Asymptomatic Ones

Kansas leaders will include asymptomatic COVID-19 cases in their assessments of virus trends as they evaluate when to take further steps to ease stay-at-home...

Millions Stuck At Home With No Plumbing, Kitchen Or Space To Stay Safe

In nearly half a million American homes, washing hands to prevent COVID-19 isn’t as simple as soaping up and singing “Happy Birthday” twice while...

Trying Out LA’s New Coronavirus Testing Regime

Last week, after Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that Los Angeles was offering COVID-19 tests to all city and county residents, I decided to get...

Reopening In The COVID Era: How To Adapt To A New Normal

As many states begin to reopen — most without meeting the thresholds recommended by the White House — a new level of COVID-19 risk...

Looking For A Path To Reopen, Employers Weigh COVID Testing Of Workers

This story also ran on Time. This story can be republished for free (details). Just a few miles from Disney World, Harris Rosen’s hotel empire is...

Eerie Emptiness Of ERs Worries Doctors As Heart Attack And Stroke Patients Delay Care

The patient described it as the worst headache of her life. She didn’t go to the hospital, though. Instead, the Washington state resident waited...

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Blowing The Whistle On Trump Team’s COVID Policies

Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. Those working inside the Trump administration are getting so frustrated with the response to the...

How The Pandemic And An Anti-Vax Health Official Are Roiling A Montana Community

Even as Montana begins a gradual easing of stay-at-home restrictions intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the political schism it highlighted is...

Empleadores evalúan hacerles pruebas para COVID-19 a sus trabajadores

A pocas millas de Disney World, el imperio hotelero de Harris Rosen está cerrado casi por completo debido a la pandemia de COVID. Una condición...

California Shies Away From Calls To Eliminate Restrictions On Nurse Practitioners

This story also ran on Stat. This story can be republished for free (details). As the demand for health care workers surges with the coronavirus case...

‘It’s Not Over Until It’s Over’: 5 Things To Know About Hitting The COVID-19...

As New York, California and other states begin to see their numbers of new COVID-19 cases level off or even slip, it might appear...

The COVID-19 Bailout That’s Left Every Hospital Unhappy In Its Own Way

In the throes of the novel coronavirus outbreak in early April, Kenneth Raske, president of the powerful Greater New York Hospital Association, took his...

With Federal Nod, Consumers Could Lose The Boost They Get From Drug ‘Coupons’

Patients who get financial help from drug companies to cover their copayments for prescription drugs could owe a bigger chunk of their costs under...

Jails And Prisons Spring Thousands To Prevent Coronavirus Outbreaks

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). Terry Smith, a 65-year-old Vietnam veteran with PTSD, multiple health issues and a history of...

A Desperate Scramble As COVID-19 Families Vie For Access To Plasma Therapy

This story also ran on NBC News. This story can be republished for free (details). Stephen Garcia’s family is frantic. The auto body worker, just 32...

Massachusetts Recruits 1,000 ‘Contact Tracers’ To Battle COVID-19

This story is part of a partnership that includes WBUR, NPR and Kaiser Health News. This story can be republished for free (details). Massachusetts is launching...

Pediatric Practices Struggle To Adapt And Survive Amid COVID-19

BERKELEY, Calif. — The silence was striking. On a normal day, the well-child waiting room at Berkeley Pediatrics bustles with children playing, infants crying and...

How Do We Exit The Shutdown? Hire An Army Of Public Health Workers

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). Last month, facing the prospect of overwhelmed hospitals and unchecked spread of the novel coronavirus,...

Furor Erupts: Billions Going To Hospitals Based On Medicare Billings, Not COVID-19

Probably few hospital systems need the emergency federal grants announced this week to handle the coronavirus crisis as badly as Florida’s Jackson Health does. Miami,...
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center Hospital in San Diego

Millennial Zeitgeist: Attitudes About COVID-19 Shift As Cases Among Young Adults Rise

When Laura Mae, 27, first heard about the coronavirus, it didn’t seem like a big deal. “I’m in college, and school was still going on....

Comic Relief From COVID-19: Leaders Really Meme It When They Say Stay Home

CHICAGO — As their city confronts a wave of COVID-19 patients, Chicagoans are managing to get some belly laughs. The source? Memes of their...
Snowshoers head up a slope above Paradise at Mount Rainier National Park, Wednesday, March 18, 2020, in Washington state. Most national parks are remaining open during the outbreak of the new coronavirus, but many are closing visitor centers, shuttles, lodges and restaurants in hopes of containing its spread. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

A Colorado Ski Community Planned To Test Everyone For COVID-19. Here’s What Happened.

Christie Aschwanden In late March, residents of the Colorado town of Telluride and surrounding San Miguel County stood in line, along marked spots spaced 6...

Newsom’s Ambitious Health Care Agenda Crumbles In A ‘Radically Changed’ World

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). This was supposed to be a big health care year for California. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom...
Street Vendors At Vermont-Photographer: Alissa Walker

Postcard From The Edge: L.A. Street Vendors Who Can’t Stop Working

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). LOS ANGELES — One day last week, on a sunny, beautiful Los Angeles afternoon, 23-year-old...

‘When It Starts Getting Into Your Local Hospital, It Becomes Real’

The folding chairs outside the windows appeared late last month, after the maintenance staff at St. James Parish Hospital labeled each window with a...
In this March 28, 2020, file photo, David Yee, an NPI mechanical engineer, tests voltage of new batteries at Bloom Energy in Sunnyvale, Calif. The COVID-19 outbreak has prompted companies large and small to rethink how they do business. Bloom Energy makes hydrogen fuel cells. But recently, they have been refurbishing old ventilators so hospitals can use them to keep coronavirus patients alive. (Beth LaBerge/KQED via AP, Pool, File)

Nursing Homes Have Thousands Of Ventilators That Hospitals Desperately Need

Joanne Faryon As the number of COVID-19 patients climbs and health officials hunt for ventilators to treat them, nursing homes across the United States have...

‘You Pray That You Got The Drug.’ Ailing Couple Gambles On Trial For COVID-19...

Josie and George Taylor stand on the porch of their home in Everett, Washington, on March 24. They are two of the first people...

Mysterious Heart Damage, Not Just Lung Troubles, Befalling COVID-19 Patients

While the focus of the COVID-19 pandemic has been on respiratory problems and securing enough ventilators, doctors on the front lines are grappling with...

Long-Standing Racial And Income Disparities Seen Creeping Into COVID-19 Care

The new coronavirus doesn’t discriminate. But physicians in public health and on the front lines said they already can see the emergence of familiar...
Medical Law

‘You’ve Been Served’: Wisconsin Hospitals Sued Patients Even During Pandemic

When her doorbell rang Sunday night, Blanche Jordan was just starting a new Game of Thrones puzzle on her living room floor. Jordan, 39, is...

Under Pressure, Florida Governor Finally Orders Residents To Stay Home

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). With pressure mounting from public health officials and political leaders nationwide, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis...

‘Essential’ Or Not, These Workers Report For Duty

Pauline Lawrence is a home health aide for a 97-year-old man who depends on her.(Heidi de Marco/KHN) Use Our Content This story can be republished for...

With Coronavirus Rare In Rural Florida, Experts Dispute Way Forward

JUPITER, Fla. ― Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has refused to issue a statewide “stay-at-home” order to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus because...

More Than 5,000 Surgery Centers Can Now Serve As Makeshift Hospitals During COVID-19 Crisis

The Trump administration cleared the way Monday to immediately use outpatient surgery centers, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, hotels and even dormitories as makeshift hospitals, health...

Already Taxed Health Care Workers Not ‘Immune’ From Layoffs And Less Pay

This story is part of a partnership that includes WBUR, NPR and Kaiser Health News. This story can be republished for free (details). Just three weeks...

Addiction Is ‘A Disease Of Isolation’ — So Pandemic Puts Recovery At Risk

Before the coronavirus became a pandemic, Emma went to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting every week in the Boston area and to another support group...

The Nation’s 5,000 Outpatient Surgery Centers Could Help With The COVID-19 Overflow

As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, a group of anesthesiologists wants to convert America’s surgery centers into critical care units for...

Help Wanted: Retired Doctors And Nurses Don Scrubs Again In Coronavirus Fight

Laura Benson retired from nursing in 2018, but this week she reported for work again in New Rochelle, New York, where the first cluster...

Physicians Fear For Their Families As They Battle Coronavirus With Too Little Armor

Dr. Jessica Kiss’ twin girls cry most mornings when she goes to work. They’re 9, old enough to know she could catch the coronavirus...

Not So Fast Using CPAPs In Place Of Ventilators. They Could Spread The Coronavirus.

The limited supply of ventilators is one of the chief concerns facing hospitals as they prepare for more COVID-19 cases. In Italy, where hospitals...

California Isn’t Testing Enough Children For Lead, Prompting Legislation

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). In some parts of California, a higher percentage of children who were tested had elevated...

Public Health Officials To Newsom: Lockdown Won’t Work Without Enforcement

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). When Gov. Gavin Newsom last week ordered nearly all 40 million Californians to stay in...

California Lawmakers Struggle To Conduct Business Amid COVID-19 Lockdown

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). SACRAMENTO — The weekend before California shuttered its Capitol building, Senate leader Toni Atkins spent...

Some States Are Reporting Incomplete COVID-19 Results, Blurring The Full Picture

Several states are reporting only positive COVID-19 test results from private labs, a practice that paints a misleading picture of how fast the disease...
Los Angeles City Hall

Photo Essay: LA Under Lockdown

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). LOS ANGELES — Some of Southern California’s most iconic destinations were deserted Monday. There were...

Listen: The Reverberations of Gun Violence In Baltimore

When a good friend in Baltimore said he was offering a final haircut to a client who had been killed by gun violence, Chaseedaw...

CDC Coronavirus Testing Decision Likely To Haunt Nation For Months To Come

As the novel coronavirus snaked its way across the globe, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in early February distributed 200 test kits...
Hospital - Kaiser Health News

Coronavirus Threatens The Lives Of Rural Hospitals Already Stretched To Breaking Point

Rural hospitals may not be able to keep their doors open as the coronavirus pandemic saps their cash, their CEOs warn, just as communities...
In this Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, photo, a nurse feeds water to a patient in the isolation ward for 2019-nCoV patients at a hospital in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province. The number of confirmed cases of the new virus has risen again in China Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020, as the ruling Communist Party faced anger and recriminations from the public over the death of a doctor who was threatened by police after trying to sound the alarm about the disease over a month ago. (Chinatopix via AP)

Some Hospitals Continue With Elective Surgeries Despite COVID-19 Crisis

In the same week that physicians at the University of California-San Francisco medical center were wiping down and reusing protective equipment like masks and...

As Coronavirus Spreads Widely, Millions Of Older Americans Live In Counties With No ICU...

Fred Schulte, Kaiser Health News and Elizabeth Lucas, Kaiser Health News and Jordan Rau, Kaiser Health News and Liz Szabo, Kaiser Health News and...

Gig Economy Workers Hurt By Coronavirus Eye New Federal Funds For Relief

Being your own boss can mean missing out on benefits that many employees get on the job: paid leave when you’re sick or caring...

Funeral Homes, Families Ponder Deaths In The Age Of COVID-19

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). As COVID-19 cases spread across the nation, disrupting daily routines for the living, growing numbers...

As Coronavirus Surges, Programs Struggle To Reach Vulnerable Seniors Living At Home

Close down group meals for seniors. Cancel social gatherings. The directive, from the Illinois Department on Aging, sent shock waves through senior service organizations late...

Is The Bay Area’s ‘Unprecedented’ Lockdown The First Of Many?

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). Life came to a grinding halt for millions of San Francisco Bay Area residents as...

As Coronavirus Testing Gears Up, Specialized Swabs Running Out

The two top makers of the highly specialized swabs used to test patients for the novel coronavirus are straining to keep up with the...

Many Schools Have Closed ― But Not All. What Parents Need To Know About...

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). In the face of a global pandemic, thousands of K-12 school districts from Los Angeles...

Testing Shortages Force Extreme Shift In Strategy By Local Health Officials

Public health officials in California’s state capital region announced this week they have stopped tracing the contacts of patients diagnosed with the novel coronavirus....

Looking For Answers After Coronavirus Contact? Welcome To The Gray Zone

ST. LOUIS — Liz Lucas got a call Tuesday afternoon from a friend she’d interacted with closely at a journalism conference in New Orleans...

Coronavirus Puts Prisons In Tight Spot Amid Staff Shortages, Threats Of Lockdown

Federal prison union officials and inmate advocates warn that the combination of chronic understaffing, a new leave policy and the realities of coronavirus quarantines...

Donald Trump’s Wrong Claim That ‘Anybody’ Can Get Tested For Coronavirus

To show that his administration has been fast and effective in its response to the new coronavirus, President Donald Trump claimed that anybody who...
Women's sanitary supplies on a pink background - Photographer: Marco Verch

Tampons, Pads And Politics Mesh In New Push For Access To Menstrual Supplies

DENVER — Geoff Davis’ gray Kia sedan is chock-full of tampons and maxi pads. Davis, 50, volunteers as executive director of Period Kits, a Colorado...

How To Avoid Coronavirus? Lessons From People Whose Lives Depend On It

Andrea Amelse knows hand-washing. For the past eight years, she’s been washing her hands pretty much every time she passes a sink. When she’s near...

With Coronavirus Lurking, Conferences Wrestle With Whether To Cancel

Nearly 100,000 pop culture fans flocked to Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle last year, including many dressed as superheroes, aliens and robots. But...

On Front Lines, First Responders Brace For Coronavirus ― And Their Own Protection

Carmen Heredia Rodriguez, Kaiser Health NewsWhen first responders answered roughly 10 calls from a long-term care center in Kirkland, Washington, over the course of...

Despite A Birth By A Colorado Legislator, Paid Family Leave Bill Feels Labor Pains

DENVER — When Brittany Pettersen, a Colorado state senator, gave birth to a boy in January, she became only the second lawmaker in the...
Hospital - Kaiser Health News

During A Pandemic, States’ Patchwork Of Crisis Plans Could Mean Uneven Care

A possible coronavirus pandemic could overwhelm the nation’s hospitals and force doctors into difficult decisions about how to allocate limited resources. Yet, experts say,...

Nursing Home Outbreak Spotlights Coronavirus Risk In Elder Care Facilities

An outbreak of coronavirus disease in a nursing home near Seattle is prompting urgent calls for precautionary tactics at America’s elder care facilities, where...

Insurers Sank Connecticut’s ‘Public Option.’ Would A National Version Survive?

Health care costs were rising. People couldn’t afford coverage. So, in Connecticut, state lawmakers took action. Their solution was to attempt to create a public...

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