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A medical resident resident bought hair ties for a patient. Her acts of kindness initiative is now expanding to more hospitals
PHILADELPHIA — Noor Shaik rushed to the bedside of a patient with severe diabetes complications, who had remained upbeat while undergoing surgery to address a foot infection.
The woman was now crying uncontrollably, but not due to pain from her operation that morning. What caused her outburst was that her only hair tie had been lost in the ...Read more
Tips from an audiologist about hearing loss for patients and medical providers
The red flag signs of a hearing-related issue that requires medical attention include sudden hearing loss, or hearing loss in only one ear. Such symptoms should be taken seriously and assessed by a physician, audiologist Stephanie DiSpigno advises.
DiSpigno treats hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing in the ear), and fits patients with hearing ...Read more
What is West Nile virus, the infection that hospitalized Dr. Fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former top U.S. infectious disease expert, was briefly hospitalized earlier this month after contracting West Nile virus. The disease, which tends to peak during summer months, is known for its spread from mosquitoes to mammals causing fever and flu-like symptoms.
Fauci’s hospitalization came weeks after the seventh ...Read more
The sad state of primary care in Florida: Frustrated patients want doctors to devote more quality time to their health
Fifteen minutes. That’s about as much time as many primary care doctors in South Florida allocate to spend with each patient.
When Vicki Minard of Fort Lauderdale learned about the time limit from her primary care, she felt angry.
“Primary care doctors must explore many conditions with each patient before determining if a specialist should...Read more
People with physical and mobility disabilities need to work out, but there are a lot of obstacles in their way
Although wheelchair users, visually impaired people and others with mobility and physical disabilities need consistent exercise, it’s often hard for them to work out. In many cases, they can’t get access to “adaptive” exercise and sports equipment – meaning machines, weights and other devices that have been modified or engineered ...Read more
Mayo Clinic Minute: 4 ideas for avoiding the 'freshman 15'
The term "freshman 15" often refers to weight gain by students during their first year in college. Many times, it's their first time away from home and their normal routines.
Dr. Denise Millstine, a Mayo Clinic internal medicine physician, shares daily goals for every freshman.
In this season of packing up for college, here's a warning about ...Read more
Bipartisan effort paves way for reviving shuttered hospitals in Georgia
ATLANTA — At the shuttered Atlanta Medical Center, a “Stronger Together” mural sends a hopeful message near a summer spray of hydrangeas. The campus was mostly quiet on a recent weekend, since AMC closed almost two years ago. A lone security vehicle sat behind a chain-link fence, and pedestrians passed by without even a glance.
In the ...Read more
Ask the Pediatrician: How to help build resilience in children
Life can be complicated and unpredictable. And while there is no such thing as a “perfect parent,” there are strategies that can help your child become better able to deal with difficult circumstances as they arise.
Known in the pediatric community as Adverse Childhood Experiences, traumatic circumstances like death, divorce and poverty ...Read more
Inside the political fight to build a rural Georgia hospital
JACKSON, Ga. — Ed Whitehouse stood alongside a state highway in rural Butts County, Georgia, and surveyed acres of rolling fields and forests near Interstate 75. Instead of farmland and trees, he envisioned a hospital.
Whitehouse, a consultant for a local health care company that wants to build a hospital there with at least 150 beds, said ...Read more
Bill of the Month: Patient underwent one surgery but was billed for two. Even after being sued, she refused to pay
Jamie Holmes says a surgery center tried to make her pay for two operations after she underwent only one. She refused to buckle, even after a collection agency sued her last winter.
Holmes, who lives in northwestern Washington state, had surgery in 2019 to have her fallopian tubes tied, a permanent birth-control procedure that her insurance ...Read more
Tim Walz's son Gus has a nonverbal learning disorder. What is that?
After his heartfelt reaction to his father's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention thrust him into the spotlight, 17-year-old Gus Walz has become one of the most high-profile people with nonverbal learning disorder.
The condition doesn't mean Gus can't speak — he does. After hearing his dad, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, describe...Read more
Biden administration blocks two private sector enrollment sites from ACA marketplace
Federal regulators have blocked two private sector enrollment websites from accessing consumer information through the federal Obamacare marketplace, citing “anomalous activity.”
The unusual step comes as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is under the gun to curb unauthorized enrollment and switching of Affordable Care Act plans ...Read more
Amid Medicaid 'unwinding,' many states wind up expanding
Trisha Byers left behind one crucial item when she moved to North Carolina last year to be closer to her family after suffering a brain injury: health insurance.
In Massachusetts, Byers, 39, was enrolled in Medicaid, the government health program that covers low-income people. But she was ineligible in North Carolina, which had not yet expanded...Read more
Mayo Clinic Q and A: The risks of ticks: Staying safe in the great outdoors
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My kids and I love to go hiking when the weather is nice, but I've heard ticks are terrible this year. What are the risks? How can I keep us safe and still stay active outside?
ANSWER: Warm weather entices you into the great outdoors. But while you're having fun golfing, camping, picnicking and hiking, ticks are looking for a ...Read more
This year's new COVID shot has been approved by FDA
This year’s newly formulated COVID vaccines are expected to start shipping in the next few days after the FDA on Thursday officially approved and authorized the new shots.
“Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a ...Read more
This year's new COVID shot has been approved by FDA
After months of back and forth, the FDA has officially approved and given emergency use authorization for this year’s newly formulated COVID vaccines, and doses are expected to start shipping in the next few days,
“Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s ...Read more
UPenn will share $125M in research grants with national cancer institute partners
The University of Pennsylvania has renewed a national cancer research partnership focused on studying how the body's immune system can be used to fight — and maybe cure — cancer.
Penn was a founding member of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy in 2016. The organization was created with a $250 million gift from Silicon Valley ...Read more
Cautious optimism in San Francisco as new cases of HIV in Latinos decrease
SAN FRANCISCO — For years, Latinos represented the biggest share of new HIV cases in this city, but testing data suggests the tide may be turning.
The number of Latinos newly testing positive for HIV dropped 46% from 2022 to 2023, according to a preliminary report released in July by the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
The ...Read more
Inside conservative activist Leonard Leo's long campaign to gut Planned Parenthood
A federal lawsuit in Texas against Planned Parenthood has a web of ties to conservative activist Leonard Leo, whose decades-long effort to steer the U.S. court system to the right overturned Roe v. Wade, yielding the biggest rollback of reproductive health access in half a century.
Brought by an anonymous whistleblower and later joined by Texas...Read more
Mayo Clinic Minute: Managing migraines in the summer
Severe weather conditions are enough to give anyone a headache, but temperature fluctuations are even more problematic for migraine sufferers.
Dr. Rashmi Halker Singh, a Mayo Clinic neurologist, says the weather can trigger some migraine patients.
For some people, migraines are debilitating. The intense, throbbing head pain is often so severe ...Read more
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