She was too sick for a traditional transplant. So she received a pig kidney and a heart pump
NEW YORK — Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart. Lisa Pisano’s combination of heart and kidney failure left her too sick to qualify for a traditional transplant, and...
American Lung Association ranks Pittsburgh metro area among nation’s most polluted
The American Lung Association ranked the Pittsburgh metro area among the worst in the nation for pollution in a report released Tuesday. The annual ‘State of the Air’ report named the Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton metro area one of the worst in the nation for year-round particle pollution. The Pittsburgh metro area...
Supreme Court to weigh whether doctors can provide emergency abortions in states with bans
WASHINGTON — Nearly two years after overturning the constitutional right to abortion, the Supreme Court will consider Wednesday how far state bans can extend to women in medical emergencies. The justices are weighing a case from Idaho, where a strict abortion ban went into effect shortly after the high court’s...
Get better sleep with these 5 tips from experts
Spending too many nights trying to fall asleep — or worrying there aren’t enough ZZZs in your day? You’re not alone. Nearly one-third of American adults say they don’t get the recommended seven to nine hours a night. Some of the major causes: Stress, anxiety and a culture that experts...
Study: Women hospitalized for alcohol use nearly doubled during pandemic
Hospitals admitted nearly twice as many women ages 40-64 for alcohol abuse during the pandemic. That’s the latest findings from a new study published in the journal JAMA Health Forum. Authored by researchers from multiple schools — including Atlanta’s Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University — the study...
‘Miracle’ weight-loss drugs could have reduced health disparities. Instead they got worse
LOS ANGELES — The American Heart Association calls them “game changers.” Oprah Winfrey says they’re “a gift.” Science magazine anointed them the ” 2023 Breakthrough of the Year.” Americans are most familiar with their brand names: Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound. They are the medications that have revolutionized weight loss and...
West Virginia confirms first measles case since 2009
CHARLESTON — A West Virginia hospital has confirmed the first known case of measles in the state since 2009, health officials said Monday. The Monongalia County Health Department said WVU Medicine alerted officials Sunday that an adult patient living in the county tested positive for the viral infection. Health officials...
Vice President Harris announces final rules mandating minimum standards for nursing home staffing
The federal government is for the first time requiring nursing homes to have minimum staffing levels after the covid-19 pandemic exposed grim realities in poorly staffed facilities for older and disabled Americans. Vice President Kamala Harris announced the final rules on Monday before a trip to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where...
Biden sees a $35 price cap for insulin as a pivotal campaign issue. It’s not that clear-cut
WASHINGTON — Rarely a day goes without President Joe Biden mentioning insulin prices. He promotes a $35 price cap for the medication for Americans on Medicare — in White House speeches, campaign stops and even at non-health care events around the country. His reelection team has flooded swing-state airwaves with...
Emergency rooms refused to treat pregnant women, leaving one to miscarry in a lobby restroom
WASHINGTON — One woman miscarried in the lobby restroom of a Texas emergency room as front desk staff refused to admit her. Another woman learned that her fetus had no heartbeat at a Florida hospital, the day after a security guard turned her away from the facility. And in North...
FDA announces recall of heart pumps linked to deaths and injuries
A pair of heart devices linked to hundreds of injuries and at least 14 deaths has received the FDA’s most serious recall, the agency announced Monday. The recall comes years after surgeons say they first noticed problems with the HeartMate II and HeartMate 3, manufactured by Thoratec Corp., a subsidiary...
Living, domino donors possibilities for Indiana Township boy in need of 2nd liver transplant
Lucas Goeller is getting another shot. The 11-year-old from Indiana Township needs a new liver because the transplanted liver he received nine years ago is failing. Normally, that could mean a lengthy wait on the donation list before a suitable organ is found. Lucas already is on that list. But...
U.K. lawmakers will vote on a landmark bill to gradually phase out smoking
LONDON — The British government’s plan for a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking was expected to clear its first hurdle Tuesday despite vocal opposition from within Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party. The bill, a key policy announced by Sunak last year, would...
Pharmacists open up to state Senate committee about financial struggles at hearing
As an owner of four pharmacies and president of the Pennsylvania Pharmacist’s Association, Chris Antypas says he’s fed up. “Think of the most stress you’ve ever experienced, multiply that by 1,000, and that may give you some insight into what it’s like to work in a community pharmacy as a...
Only 26% of Americans say they get at least eight hours of sleep, new Gallup poll says
NEW YORK — If you’re feeling — YAWN — sleepy or tired while you read this and wish you could get some more shut-eye, you’re not alone. A majority of Americans say they would feel better if they could have more sleep, according to a new poll. But in the...
Ex-NBA player scores victory with Kentucky bill to expand coverage for stuttering treatment
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Former basketball star Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored a victory Thursday as a leading advocate for a new Kentucky law that will expand insurance coverage for people seeking treatment for stuttering. Kidd-Gilchrist, who played on a national championship team at the University of Kentucky and spent several years playing...
Job demand, good pay spur growth in nursing programs
Chelsey Strickland grew up watching her single mom work long shifts as a nurse at UPMC St. Margaret hospital to provide for her family. That’s what led the Tarentum resident to enroll in nursing school at 25, despite, two years earlier, having earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the...
Company that made millions of defective sleep apnea machines ordered to overhaul manufacturing
WASHINGTON — The company responsible for a global recall of sleep apnea machines will be barred from resuming production at U.S. facilities until it meets a number of safety requirements, under a long-awaited settlement announced Tuesday by federal officials. Philips will be required to overhaul its manufacturing and quality control...
Wisconsin governor vetoes Republican-backed bill targeting PFAS chemicals
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a Republican bill Tuesday that would have created grants to fight pollution from “forever chemicals” and took the unusual step of calling the GOP-controlled budget committee into meeting to approve spending $125 million to deal with contamination. Evers has only called a...
New EPA rule says 218 U.S. chemical plants must reduce toxic emissions that are likely to cause cancer
WASHINGTON — More than 200 chemical plants nationwide will be required to reduce toxic emissions that are likely to cause cancer under a new rule issued Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Agency. The rule advances President Joe Biden’s commitment to environmental justice by delivering critical health protections for communities burdened...
Many cancer drugs remain unproven 5 years after accelerated approval, a study finds
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s accelerated approval program is meant to give patients early access to promising drugs. But how often do these drugs actually improve or extend patients’ lives? In a new study, researchers found that most cancer drugs granted accelerated approval do not demonstrate such benefits within...
2 women who say abortion restrictions put them in medical peril feel compelled to campaign for Biden
WASHINGTON — A Texas woman who went into premature labor, developed sepsis and nearly died and a Louisiana woman who said restrictive abortion laws prevented her from getting medical help for a miscarriage are now campaigning for President Joe Biden as the Democrat highlights how women’s health is being affected...
Victims of Montana asbestos pollution that killed hundreds take Warren Buffett’s railroad to court
LIBBY, Mont. — Paul Resch remembers playing baseball as a kid on a field constructed from asbestos-tainted vermiculite, mere yards from railroad tracks where trains kicked up clouds of dust as they hauled the contaminated material from a mountaintop mine through the northwestern Montana town of Libby. He liked to...
West Newton heart transplant recipient honored at Donate Life Month ceremony
Madison resident Darcy Franicola regularly volunteers to help the Madison Volunteer Fire Company. She keeps active with her church, tends her garden and was able to go on vacation to Myrtle Beach in 2021. She’s been able to stay busy, stay involved, give back to her community — and stay...
Franklin Regional set to host public health, wellness fair
The Franklin Regional School District has a health services department. But when district officials began discussing ideas for a health and wellness fair, they decided to expand beyond the student body. The district’s April 29 community health fair will be open to the public, bringing more than 40 local health...
