Category: natural disasters

Mourning Paradise: Collective Trauma In A Town Destroyed

The depth of psychological damage after the fire in Paradise, Calif., may depend on how much help residents are getting now.

Paradise Lost: Wildfire Chases Seniors From Retirement Havens To Field Hospitals

Having fled quickly — often without medications, wheelchairs or pets to comfort them — refugees from the Camp Fire manage as best they can in makeshift shelters miles from home. A virus is spreading, and medical attention is spotty.

For Wildfire Safety, Only Particular Masks Guard Against Toxic Particulate Matter

As wildfires blaze in Northern and Southern California, millions of people outside of the burn zones are getting exposed to dangerous wildfire smoke. For those donning face masks for protection, only a specific mask will work.

Chaos And Agitation: Helping A Patient Survive A Hurricane

For families living with dementia, natural disasters can be particularly terrifying, heightening confusion, disorientation, anxiety and paranoia.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ A Detour On A Smoking Off-Ramp

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Sarah Jane Tribble of Kaiser Health News, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call talk about the Food and Drug Administration’s latest actions to address teenagers’ use of e-cigarettes, Arkansas’ Medicaid work requirements and news about the uninsured from the latest federal Census report.

Low-Income Californians Feel Twice The Burn From Wildfires

People living near highways and agricultural and industrial zones get hit with a “double whammy” when smoke blows into their neighborhoods, where the air is often polluted already.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Opioids, EpiPens And Health Funding

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss Senate action on health funding and opioid legislation, the state of the individual insurance market and consternation over expiration dates on EpiPens, the self-injected allergy remedy. Also, could an otter with asthma signal a potential public health crisis?

Trying To Pinpoint Hurricane’s True Toll, Researchers Say 1,139 Died In Puerto Rico

The estimate, published in the journal JAMA, dwarfs the government’s toll of 64 but is far lower than another highly touted analysis.

The Other Victims: First Responders To Horrific Disasters Often Suffer In Solitude

Some firefighters, emergency medical providers and law enforcement officers say recent mass shootings and other calamities — disturbing enough in themselves — have brought to the surface trauma buried over years on the job. Many are reluctant to seek help, though some employers are trying to change that.