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A year after COVID-19 funding ran out, Pennsylvania childcare providers remain in a staffing crisis

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

PHILADELPHIA — After the onset of COVID-19 drove down business for childcare providers, the federal government stepped in to help. Grant funding came through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in 2021 to stabilize the already-fragile sector, helping providers survive the most difficult and straining times.

But that funding ran out about a ...Read more

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Long COVID study could be a 'game changer': AI can identify hidden cases from health records

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

BOSTON — A new long COVID study could be a “game changer,” according to local researchers who found that an AI tool can identify hidden cases of the mysterious condition from patient health records.

While some diagnostic studies suggest that about 7% of the population suffers from long COVID, this new approach from Mass General Brigham ...Read more

In hundreds of communities across the US, finding a dentist is like pulling teeth − but in 14 states, dental therapists are filling the gap

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

For more than 50 million Americans, finding a dentist is a difficult – in some cases, impossible – proposition. Many rural communities don’t have a dentist. People of color and those with disabilities often lack access, and only about one-third of dentists accept Medicaid.

That’s why dental therapists – professionals who don...Read more

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Online vape retailers ignore rules meant to protect minors, new UCSD study finds

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

LOS ANGELES — To try to keep young people from becoming addicted to tobacco, Congress took two steps in 2020 to keep minors from posing as adults to buy vaping products online: It barred e-cigarette sites from delivering through the U.S. Postal Service, and it required whatever delivery service they did use to check the recipient's ID.

The ...Read more

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The fascinating, crucial work of a poison control center

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

At the California Poison Control System in San Francisco, a call has just come in from a mother whose toddler accidentally drank a stain remover called “Grandma’s Secret.”

“I’m not sure how much she had and whether I should take her to the hospital,” the mom says. “She’s acting like her normal self, but she has her ‘disgusted ...Read more

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In Vermont, where almost everyone has insurance, many can't find or afford care

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

RICHMOND, Vt. — On a warm autumn morning, Roger Brown walked through a grove of towering trees whose sap fuels his maple syrup business. He was checking for damage after recent flooding. But these days, his workers’ health worries him more than his trees’.

The cost of Slopeside Syrup’s employee health insurance premiums spiked 24% this ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Minute: Looking for clues to stop seizures

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Using deep brain stimulation techniques, neuroscientists at Mayo Clinic are looking for early signals in the brain to help stop seizures. In their biomarker discovery initiative, a team of researchers is assessing how different stimulation patterns affect different parts of the brain.

The goal, says Dr. Jonathon Parker, a Mayo Clinic ...Read more

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What would happen if fluoride were removed from the water supply under a Trump presidency?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed that if President-elect Donald Trump appointed him to a health leadership position, the first thing he would work on would be removing fluoride from water.

Fluoride was first introduced to U.S. water in 1945 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Scientists saw a direct impact of positive tooth ...Read more

A new Trump administration's health policies could affect 'every Georgian'

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

ATLANTA — Changes to health care that President-elect Donald Trump has placed on the table in his statements and social media posts could affect millions. But many of them, such as voters who were three years old when the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, may not know it.

“Every Georgian is, or has the potential to be, impacted ... ...Read more

Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Column: American Indian Center's new Food is Medicine program marks a culinary shift in Chicago

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

CHICAGO — The American Indian Center’s new Food is Medicine program marks a generational and culinary shift — through braised bison with a blackberry mole sauce, and a venison dip sandwich with giardiniera — for the cultural center to 65,000 Native Americans in the Chicago area.

The AIC, founded in 1953, now located in Chicago's Albany ...Read more

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Ask the Pediatrician: Pediatricians say sharing books with children is the best holiday gift of all

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

A book can inspire joy and stir the imagination. Even better this holiday season is the gift of sharing that book with your child.

Turning the pages of a high-quality, print book filled with colorful pictures and rich, expressive language is best. While touchscreens and other electronic devices may be popular, they are typically passive or ...Read more

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Community health workers spread across the US, even in rural areas

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

HURON, S.D. — Kelly Engebretson was excited to get fitted for a prosthetic after having part of his leg amputated. But he wasn’t sure how he’d get to the appointment.

Nah Thu Thu Win’s twin sons needed vaccinations before starting kindergarten. But she speaks little English, and the boys lacked health insurance.

William Arce and Wanda ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Minute: 3 misconceptions about COVID-19 and flu vaccines

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Misconceptions about the influenza and COVID-19 vaccines may make some people hesitant to roll up their sleeves. What better way to clear up the confusion than hearing straight from a Mayo Clinic expert?

In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Robert Jacobson, medical director for Mayo Clinic's Primary Care Immunization Program, clears up some ...Read more

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12 states promised to open the books on their opioid settlement funds. We checked up on them

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

To discover how millions in opioid settlement funds are being spent in Idaho, you can visit the state attorney general’s website, which hosts 91 documents from state and local entities getting the money.

What you’ll find is a lot of bureaucratese.

Nearly three years ago, these jurisdictions signed an agreement promising annual reports “...Read more

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Retired journalist fell asleep doing a crossword. He woke up amid a stroke

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Avid local politics follower and retired journalist Paul Krueger had a full day. He sat in on a San Diego City Council meeting, swam in the Coronado Bay, then returned to city hall to participate in an afternoon session.

At home, he and his wife, Meg Bouher, had salads for dinner. Then Krueger started working on a crossword puzzle in bed.

...Read more

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Tribal health leaders say feds haven't treated syphilis outbreak as a public health emergency

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Natalie Holt sees reminders nearly everywhere of the serious toll a years-long syphilis outbreak has taken in South Dakota. Scrambling to tamp down the spread of the devastating disease, public health officials are blasting messages to South Dakotans on billboards and television, urging people to get tested.

Holt works in Aberdeen, a city of ...Read more

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Gov. Gavin Newsom announces $33 million in funding for California veterans' mental health

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Gov. Gavin Newsom formally proclaimed Monday as Veterans Day in California, which came with a major announcement.

The California Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded $33 million in grants to seven counties through the California Veterans Health Initiative. The grants will go to preexisting community organizations that provide mental ...Read more

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A bitter pill: As pharmacies shutter, Pitt experts wonder about the impact on access

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

It's no longer a new trend: Large retail pharmacies have been shuttering hundreds of stores across the nation. But an interactive map by University of Pittsburgh pharmacy researchers may help the public visualize the volume of those closures over the past 10 years — and glean the impact the closures may be having on the health of communities. ...Read more

Sugar detox? Cutting carbs? A doctor explains why you should keep fruit on the menu

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

One of my patients – who had been struggling with obesity, uncontrolled diabetes and the cost of her medications – agreed in June 2019 to adopt a more whole-food plant-based diet.

Excited by the challenge, she did a remarkable job. She increased her fresh fruit and vegetable intake, stopped eating candy, cookies and cakes and cut ...Read more

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How RFK Jr.'s health proposals would stack up in practice

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

​WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is lined up to advise the incoming Trump administration on its health policy agenda, has floated broad plans to “make America healthy again.” But how he will accomplish his wide-ranging agenda is still a question mark.

Kennedy’s suggestions have ranged from gutting parts of the Food and Drug ...Read more