Public Health
Trump Extends Flawed ‘Fix’ For VA Health Scandals
It was a “fix” that didn’t fix much — but Veterans Choice is expected to be extended anyway, with a stroke of President Donald Trump’s pen that could come as early as Wednesday. (Update: Trump signed the bill at a ceremony Wednesday at around 11:30 a.m.) Veterans Choice is a $10 billion response to the […]
San Francisco Seeks To Ban Sale Of Menthol Cigarettes, Flavored Tobacco Products
San Francisco has unveiled a tough anti-tobacco proposal that would ban the retail sale of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco or tobacco-related products that are often the first choice of minority group members and teenagers who smoke. Supervisor Malia Cohen, sponsor of the proposed ordinance, joined Tuesday with public health experts and community advocates […]
California Lawmakers Consider Mandatory Labels On Salon Products To Protect Workers
Beauty salon workers who paint the nails and treat the hair of millions of Californians are regularly exposed to toxic chemicals — and they may not know it, advocates say. The advocates are asking California lawmakers to approve legislation requiring cosmetic companies to list the ingredients of beauty products used in professional salons. The bill, […]
What Doesn’t Kill You Can Maim: Unexpected Injuries From Opioids
The trouble started for Lisa when she took a blood pressure pill and one to control seizures, along with methadone, a drug used to help wean patients off heroin. “I inadvertently did the methadone cocktail and I went to sleep for like 48 hours,” Lisa said, rolling her eyes and coughing out a laugh. “It […]
Preocupa falta de control sobre la donación de leche materna
PALM SPRINGS, California. — Empujando a sus hijos en un cochecito doble, Rebecca Soltes entró en la sala de reuniones decorada con colores vivos de un hospital. Llevaba una nevera llena de bolsas de leche materna congelada, un total de 100 onzas. Cuando puso la nevera sobre la mesa, la sala colmada de consultores en […]
Going For $1 An Ounce: The Burgeoning Trade In Mothers’ Milk
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Rebecca Soltes walked into a gaily decorated hospital meeting room, pushing her kids in a double stroller and carrying a soft-sided cooler filled with bags of frozen breast milk — 100 ounces of the stuff. She dropped it on a table, and the roomful of lactation consultants and maternal health advocates […]
Reluctant Patients, Hispanic Men Pose A Costly Challenge To The Health System
BALTIMORE — Peter Uribe left Chile at 21 with his wife and 2-year-old daughter, landing in Baltimore and finding steady work in construction. His social life revolved around futbol, playing “six or seven nights a week in soccer tournaments,” he said. A couple of years after his arrival, he broke his foot during a game […]
Desafío para el sistema de salud: los hombres hispanos que no buscan atención médica
BALTIMORE – Peter Uribe dejó Chile a los 21 años con su esposa y su hija de 2, aterrizando en Baltimore y encontrando un trabajo estable en la construcción. Su vida social giraba alrededor del fútbol, deporte que practicaba ”seis o siete noches a la semana en distintos torneos”, contó. Un par de años después […]
Rural Doctors’ Training May Be In Jeopardy
In nearly two years as a medical resident in Meridian, Mississippi, Dr. John Thames has treated car-wreck victims, people with chest pains and malnourished infants. Patients have arrived with lacerations, with burns, or in a disoriented fog after discontinuing their psychiatric medications. Thames, a small-town Mississippi native, said the East Central Mississippi HealthNet Rural Family Medicine […]
California Proposes Stringent Cap On Toxic Chemical In Drinking Water
California regulators are proposing a strict limit on a toxic man-made chemical that has contaminated water supplies throughout the state, particularly in its vast agricultural heartland. California would be only the second state, after Hawaii, to establish a threshold for the former pesticide ingredient and industrial solvent known as TCP (1,2,3-trichloropropane) in drinking water. The […]