Experts tell firsthand stories of children harmed by addicted parents
Dr. Bill Jenkins thought he had seen most of what life could throw at people during his years as an emergency room physician and medical director of Greensburg-based Mutual Aid, one of the state’s largest ambulance services. In the past three decades, he has tended to patients with drug overdoses,...
‘Frightening rate’ of children dying due to parents’ drug abuse
Four days after Christmas 2020, Hannah Moore felt horror like no other when she awoke to find her 2-month-old daughter’s cold, lifeless body nestled next to her in bed, inches away from her other two children. Traces of blood trickled from Avery Davis’ mouth and nose as Moore frantically dialed...
UPMC to reinstate medical mask policy
Pittsburgh health care giant UPMC is requiring masks at its facilities as it sees an increase in cases of covid, flu and other illnesses. “UPMC is seeing an increase in cases of respiratory viruses, including covid, influenza and RSV,” according to a statement from UPMC. “To protect the health and...
AHN expands services at Downtown Pittsburgh clinic
Allegheny Health Network is adding services to its primary care clinic in Downtown Pittsburgh. The Express Care services at its clinic on Penn Avenue are available for minor health conditions such as cold, flu and covid-19 symptoms; rashes and infections; and other afflictions. Testing also is available for covid, flu,...
A common abortion pill will come before the U.S. Supreme Court. Here’s how the drug works
Medication abortion is the preferred method of ending pregnancy in the U.S., and one of the two drugs used — mifepristone — will now go in front of the U.S. Supreme Court next year. Demand for the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol has grown as states have imposed bans or...
The Supreme Court will rule on limits on a commonly used abortion medication
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to take up a dispute over a medication used in the most common method of abortion in the United States, its first abortion case since it overturned Roe v. Wade last year. The justices will hear appeals from the Biden administration and...
Safer eyedrops will require new FDA powers and resources, experts say
WASHINGTON — When you buy eyedrops at a U.S. store, you might assume you’re getting a product made in a clean, well-maintained factory that’s passed muster with health regulators. But repeated recalls involving over-the-counter drops are drawing new attention to just how little U.S. officials know about the conditions at...
Butler Health System credit rating continues to slip downward
Butler Health System’s credit rating was further downgraded this week by rating agency Fitch. The system, which combined with Greensburg-based Excela Health at the beginning of the year to form Independence Health System, Monday, Dec. 12, had its rating lowered one notch from BBB to BBB- with a Negative Outlook....
Holidays usher in flu season: When should you visit doctor or ER?
This time last year at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Chief of Emergency Services Dr. Raymond Pitetti and his team were overwhelmed with sick children. At the beginning of December 2022, the department saw a spike in activity from a combination of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), covid-19 and flu cases,...
‘Hospice is more about living better,’ transitional care director says of misunderstood program
A few days remain before Robert Patterson will mark his 97th birthday, on the day after Christmas. No one can be sure how many more candles he’ll add to his cake. He and his wife, Joyce, who is 90, have experienced declining physical health, including taxing respiratory conditions. It got...
2 gene therapies for sickle cell disease approved in U.S.
Regulators on Friday approved two new gene therapies for sickle cell disease that doctors hope can cure the painful, inherited blood disorder that afflicts mostly Black people in the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration said the one-time treatments can be used for patients 12 and older with severe forms...
White House delays menthol cigarette ban, alarming anti-smoking advocates
WASHINGTON — White House officials will take more time to review a sweeping plan from U.S. health regulators to ban menthol cigarettes, an unexpected delay that anti-tobacco groups fear could scuttle the long-awaited rule. Administration officials indicated Wednesday the process will continue into next year, targeting March to implement the...
A pregnant Texas woman is asking a court to let her have an abortion under exceptions to state’s ban
AUSTIN, Texas — A pregnant Texas woman whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis asked a court Tuesday to let her have an abortion, bringing what her attorneys say is the first lawsuit of its kind in the U.S. since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. Texas is one of...
Former Brighton Rehab employee testifies that she was told to falsify records
A former employee at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center said Friday that her supervisor asked her to add names of people who had not worked to the schedule to pad their numbers to meet state staffing requirements. Susan Harrington worked at the facility, previously known as Friendship Ridge nursing home...
Allegheny County Jail ordered to provide medication to inmates with opioid use disorder
Allegheny County Jail health officials will now be required to provide medication for inmates being treated for opioid use disorder after reaching an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. As part of the agreement, the county also will pay a person at the jail who was denied access to...
Independence Health sees about $23 million in losses over 3-month period
Independence Health System operated at a deficit of almost $23 million between the beginning of July and the end of September this year, according to recently released reports. The shortfall is an extension of the downsliding pattern that the combined health system — made up of subsidiaries Excela Health and...
Highmark reports profit as post-covid health care system steadies
A growing insurance business and rising patient volumes at Allegheny Health Network helped boost Highmark Health’s first nine months. Highmark Health, the parent company of the 14-hospital Allegheny Health Network, reported a profit of $431 million on $20.3 billion in revenue. That’s an increase over the same period last year,...
U.S. life expectancy rose last year, but it remains below its pre-pandemic level
NEW YORK — U.S. life expectancy rose last year — by more than a year — but still isn’t close to what it was before the covid-19 pandemic. The 2022 rise was mainly due to the waning pandemic, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers said Wednesday. But even with...
Pennsylvania will require patient consent for pelvic exams by medical students
HARRISBURG — A new Pennsylvania law will require doctors to get a patient’s verbal and written consent before medical students can perform pelvic or rectal exams on someone who receives anesthesia. At a press conference Monday, supporters touted the recently enacted legislation, which goes into effect in January. Tracking how...
Why get your flu shot and covid booster at the same time? Experts weigh in
Pharmacies, clinics, and primary care providers are offering the 2023-2024 updated covid booster and this year’s flu vaccine—and it’s both safe and convenient to get both vaccines at the same time, according to medical experts. In fact, you can get both shots in the same arm, said Dr. Graham Snyder,...
China says a surge in respiratory illnesses is caused by flu and other known pathogensVideo
BEIJING — A surge in respiratory illnesses across China that has drawn the attention of the World Health Organization is caused by the flu and other known pathogens and not by a novel virus, the country’s health ministry said. Recent clusters of respiratory infections are caused by an overlap of...
Casey touts Senate legislation to improve coal miners’ access to black lung benefits
It’s been difficult for Tony Kodric to breathe since an injury a decade ago ended the Uniontown man’s 36-year career as a coal miner. He’s seen specialists, repeatedly measured the oxygen in his blood and battled coal companies. Despite Kodric’s efforts, the federal government won’t grant him monetary benefits for...
UN confirms sexual spread of mpox in Congo for the 1st time as country sees a record outbreak
LONDON — The World Health Organization said it has confirmed sexual transmission of mpox in Congo for the first time as the country experiences its biggest-ever outbreak, a worrying development that African scientists warn could make it more difficult to stop the disease. In a statement issued late Thursday, the...
OxyContin maker’s settlement plan divides victims of opioid crisis. Now it’s up to the Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — The agreement by the maker of OxyContin to settle thousands of lawsuits over the harm done by opioids could help combat the overdose epidemic that the painkiller triggered. But that does not mean all the victims are satisfied. In exchange for giving up ownership of drug manufacturer Purdue...
Comprehensive Healthcare falsified records to earn higher federal reimbursements, witnesses say
Social worker Jamie Folkens had worked at a nursing care facility in Mt. Lebanon for seven years before Comprehensive Healthcare bought it in early 2017. Although she felt her job was to help patients return home as quickly and safely as possible, she told a jury Tuesday in federal court...
