Category: Public Health

Finding Connections And Comfort At The Local Cafe

For Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers, social and emotional isolation is a threat. But hundreds of “Memory Cafes” around the country offer them a chance to be with others who understand, and to receive social and cognitive stimulation in the process.

How Lifesaving Organs For Transplant Go Missing In Transit

Scores of organs — mostly kidneys — are trashed each year and many more become critically delayed while being shipped on commercial airliners, a new investigation finds.

In Fierce Debate, Democratic Candidates Expand Health Agenda Arguments

A sampling of health policy highlights from the eighth Democratic presidential primary debate in Manchester, N.H. 

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Happy Friday! In news that is technically really good and exciting but is also kind of icky: yarn made from human skin could eventually be used to stitch up surgical wounds as a way to cut down on detrimental reactions from patients. As CNN reports, “The researchers say their ‘human textile,’ which they developed from […]

Trump On ‘Medicare for All’ And The Costs Of Extending Health Care To Undocumented Immigrants 

In his Feb. 4 State of the Union address, President Donald Trump said the cost of extending health care to people regardless of their citizenship status would “bankrupt” the U.S.

What To Do If Your Home Health Care Agency Ditches You

If you’re told Medicare’s home health benefits have changed, don’t believe it: Coverage rules haven’t been altered and people are still entitled to the same types of services. All that has changed is how Medicare pays agencies.

Why Home Health Care Is Suddenly Harder To Come By For Medicare Patients

Medicare has changed how it pays for services. In response, agencies across the country are firing therapists, limiting physical, occupational and speech therapy, and terminating services for some longtime, severely ill patients.

As VA Tests Keto Diet To Help Diabetic Patients, Skeptics Raise Red Flags

The Department of Veterans Affairs is partnering with Virta Health, a California startup that offers remote coaching and monitoring for people with Type 2 diabetes to help them follow the ultra-low carbohydrate diet.

Public Health Officials Offer Scant Details On U.S. Coronavirus Patients

To date, the U.S. has six confirmed cases of the viral infection that originated in Wuhan, China. One person caught it from a person in the U.S. So why don’t health officials share more information with the public?

Preeminent Hospitals Penalized Over Rates Of Patients’ Injuries

Medicare cut payments for 786 hospitals because of high infection and complication rates. They included a third of the hospitals proclaimed as the nation’s best in one prominent ranking.