Rae Ellen Bichell

Author's posts

Thanks to Reddit, a New Diagnosis Is Bubbling Up Across the Nation

Social media has helped spread the word about a treatment that involves getting Botox in the neck. It’s for a condition that’s gaining awareness but still often dismissed: the inability to burp.

With Only Gloves To Protect Them, Farmworkers Say They Tend Sick Cows Amid Bird Flu

A Colorado picnic celebrated Farmworker Appreciation Day. But some dairy workers there said they aren’t feeling appreciated: They don’t have basic protective gear, even as bird flu spreads through area farms.

Colorado Dropped Medicaid Enrollees as Red States Have, Alarming Advocates for the Poor

Colorado defended its high disenrollment rates following the covid crisis by saying that what goes up must come down. Advocates and researchers disagree.

FDA Urged To Relax Decades-Old Tissue Donation Restrictions for Gay and Bisexual Men

Federal regulations prevent gay and bisexual men from donating tissue, such as corneas, ligaments, and blood vessels. Similar restrictions have been relaxed or lifted for donated blood and organs in recent years.

How a Friend’s Death Turned Colorado Teens Into Anti-Overdose Activists

High school students in Colorado are pushing for a change they say is necessary to combat fentanyl poisoning: ensuring students can’t get in trouble for carrying the overdose reversal drug naloxone wherever they go, including at school.

A Nanoengineer Teamed Up With Rihanna’s Tattoo Artist to Make Smarter Ink

Tattoos are more popular than ever. About a third of Americans have at least one. A scientist-entrepreneur, together with a celebrity tattoo artist, believes that ink could be doing a lot more.

A Nanoengineer Teamed Up With Rihanna’s Tattoo Artist to Make Smarter Ink

Tattoos are more popular than ever. About a third of Americans have at least one. A scientist-entrepreneur, together with a celebrity tattoo artist, believes that ink could be doing a lot more.

The Player-Coaches of Addiction Recovery Work Without Boundaries

States, tribes, and local governments are figuring out how best to spend billions of dollars from an opioid lawsuit settlement. One option they’re considering is funding peer support specialists, who guide people recovering from addiction as they do it themselves.

Baby, That Bill Is High: Private Equity ‘Gambit’ Squeezes Excessive ER Charges From Routine Births

Hospitals, boosted by private equity-backed staffing companies, have embraced a new idea: the obstetrics emergency department. Often, it is just a triage room in the labor-and-delivery area, but it bills like the main emergency department.

Patient satisfaction surveys fail to track how well hospitals treat people of color

The health care industry is obsessed with consumer satisfaction. But national patient surveys still don’t get at an important question: Are hospitals delivering culturally competent care?