UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh gets approval to expand Heart Institute
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh has received approval from the city’s Planning Commission to build an addition at its Lawrenceville site to expand its Heart Institute. Plans call for a 50,000-square-foot addition atop an existing parking structure. The addition will accommodate the growing Heart Institute and create space for new...
AGH nurses urge call for staffing, safety improvements as negotiations loom
Citing an ongoing shortage of nurses and concerns for patient safety, the unionized registered nurses of Allegheny General Hospital urged health care workers throughout the region to demand improvements to staffing levels. At a news conference Wednesday at Allegheny Commons Park North in Pittsburgh, the RNs represented by SEIU Healthcare...
West Virginia state health officer to join board overseeing opioid fund distribution
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s state health officer was selected Wednesday to represent one of the hardest-hit regions of the state for drug overdoses on the board of a private foundation that will be distributing the majority of the state’s more than $1 billion in opioid settlements. Dr. Matthew Christiansen,...
Few U.S. adults support full abortion bans, even in states that have them, an AP-NORC poll finds
The majority of U.S. adults, including those living in states with the strictest limits on abortion, want it to be legal at least through the initial stages of pregnancy, a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds. The poll was conducted in late June, one...
Families with transgender kids are increasingly forced to travel out of state for the care they need
CHICAGO — On an early morning in June, Flower Nichols and her mother set off on an expedition to Chicago from their home in Indianapolis. The family was determined to make it feel like an adventure in the city, though that wasn’t the primary purpose of the trip. The following...
The FDA is being asked to look into Logan Paul’s energy drink, which has the caffeine of 6 Coke cans
NEW YORK — An influencer-backed energy drink that has earned viral popularity among children is facing scrutiny from lawmakers and health experts over its potentially dangerous levels of caffeine. On Sunday, Sen. Charles Schumer called on the Food and Drug Administration to investigate PRIME, a beverage brand founded by the...
Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi has full FDA approval now and that means Medicare will pay for it
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials granted full approval to a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug on Thursday, clearing the way for Medicare and other insurance plans to begin covering the treatment for people with the brain-robbing disease. The Food and Drug Administration endorsed the IV drug, Leqembi, for patients with mild dementia...
Study: Drinking water from nearly half of U.S. faucets contains potentially harmful chemicals
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Drinking water from nearly half of U.S. faucets likely contains “forever chemicals” that may cause cancer and other health problems, according to a government study released Wednesday. The synthetic compounds known collectively as PFAS are contaminating drinking water to varying extents in large cities and small...
Maternal deaths in the U.S. more than doubled over two decades. Black mothers died at the highest rate
Maternal deaths across the U.S. more than doubled over the course of two decades, and the tragedy unfolded unequally. Black mothers died at the nation’s highest rates, while the largest increases in deaths were found in American Indian and Native Alaskan mothers. And some states — and racial or ethnic...
Allegheny County overdose deaths dropped 5% last year, data show
Drug overdose deaths in Allegheny County dropped 5% last year compared to the year before, according to data released by the medical examiner’s officer. Overdoses killed 689 people in 2022, down from 719 in 2021, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Karl Williams said. Deaths in 2020 also totaled 689, the county...
New study finds that night owls’ unhealthy habits may lead to early deaths
According to a May 2023 study published in Chronobiology International, night owls — people who go to bed later and wake up later — possibly die earlier than those who operate during the earlier portions of the day. That mainly because those who are up late are more at risk...
Are you confronting a big medical bill? Attack it with a plan — and these tips
An enormous medical bill can trigger a wave of panic, but try to resist. That startling invoice that arrived in the mail may not be what you wind up paying. Errors or slow insurance payments may have inflated the total. Even if it’s accurate, financial aid or other assistance might...
Anthrocon attendees have added concerns with heat and smoke combination
Wearing a 30- to 50-
pound fur suit in temperatures in the mid-80s
with high humidity can
be uncomfortable enough.
Add in the smoke from the Canadian wildfires, and breathing can be a challenge. “There is always a concern about inclement weather of every type,” said John “KP” Cole of Orlando,...
Independence Health System lays off 53 employees
Independence Health System laid off 53 employees this week, bringing the total number of positions eliminated this year to 226. The changes come in the wake of significant financial losses and a financial credit rating downgrade for part of the health system. Formed by the merger of Butler Health System...
Credit rating agency says Butler Health System is backsliding further financially
Butler Health System’s credit rating was downgraded this week. The system, which combined with Greensburg-based Excela Health at the beginning of the year to form Independence Health System, had its rating downgraded three notches from A to BBB on June 26. Excela and Butler Health are rated separately. Fitch previously...
Doctors emphasize caution amid poor air quality in Western Pa.
Western Pennsylvania’s current poor air quality, caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires, can do more than make you cough — it can exacerbate existing health conditions and irritate the lungs, according to respiratory experts. The particles carried in the smoke can irritate lung passages and make it more difficult for...
Families worry over the future of Medicaid caregiver payments that were expanded during the pandemic
Nathan Hill started receiving $12.75 an hour from a state Medicaid program to help care for his severely disabled son during the pandemic, money he said allowed his family to stop using food stamps. The program was designed to provide a continuation of care and ease a home health worker...
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh looks to expand in Lawrenceville
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh is looking to build an addition at its Lawrenceville campus to house its growing Heart Institute. Hospital leaders presented plans Tuesday to the city’s Planning Commission that showed a 50,000-square-foot addition atop an existing parking structure. Diane Hupp, the hospital’s president, said the new addition...
Malaria cases in Texas, Florida are the first U.S. spread since 2003, CDC says
NEW YORK — The United States has seen five cases of malaria spread by mosquitos in the last two months — the first time there’s been local spread in in 20 years. There were four cases detected in Florida and one in Texas, according to a health alert issued Monday...
Next big advance in cancer treatment could be a vaccine
SEATTLE — The next big advance in cancer treatment could be a vaccine. After decades of limited success, scientists say research has reached a turning point, with many predicting more vaccines will be out in five years. These aren’t traditional vaccines that prevent disease, but shots to shrink tumors and...
Former Highmark Health employee accused of draining thousands from health savings accounts
Authorities are seeking a former Highmark Health employee in South Carolina who they say used her job with the health care giant to withdraw or attempt to withdraw nearly $90,000 from eight victims’ health savings accounts. Zakayah A. Scott, 23, of Columbia, S.C., has been charged with nine counts of...
A daily pill may work as well as Wegovy shots to treat obesity
What if treating obesity could be as easy as popping an effective pill? That’s a notion that has long fueled hope for many of the more than 40% of Americans who are considered obese — and fueled criticism by those who advocate for wider weight acceptance. Soon, it may be...
Chemo drug shortages hit cancer treatment centers across Pittsburgh region
The chemotherapy drugs cisplatin and carboplatin have become difficult for hospital systems across the country to access in recent months, disrupting cancer treatments and leading health care providers and patients to worry about the future. According to the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, platinum drug shortages, including cisplatin and carboplatin, were...
NICU reunion brings together former patients of all ages to celebrate survival
Treating infants in the neonatal intensive care unit means caring for babies who are the “sickest of the sick” and the “tiniest of the tiny.” For the doctors, nurses and others treating little patients at such a fragile stage, seeing those kids grow up is a chance to celebrate. “Sometimes,...
Xylazine-laced fentanyl is causing wounds and scrambling efforts to stop overdoses
WASHINGTON — A powerful animal sedative in the illicit drug supply is complicating the U.S. response to the opioid crisis, scrambling longstanding methods for reversing overdoses and treating addiction. Xylazine can cause severe skin wounds, but whether it is leading to more deaths — as suggested by officials in Washington...
